Jake Lamotta, RIP -- September 20, 2017

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Former Middleweight champ Jake Lamotta has died. My wife's first comment was "I thought he was already dead." He wasn't a great human being while he was a fighter, but he was a relentless fighter with a concrete jaw and a powerful killer instinct. Today he would probably be forgotten by everyone but fight fans if not for Martin Scorsese's movie Raging Bull, which starred Robert De Niro as Lamotta.

Lamotta fought Sugar Ray Robinson six times and won only the first fight.

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Sugar Ray Robinson Beats Carmen Basilio -- July 13, 2017

Motion Picture Daily, 28-March-1958

When I was a kid, people insisted that the greatest fighter pound for pound was Sugar Ray Robinson.  Many people still believe it.  In 1957, Robinson fought tough Carmen Basilio and lost the middleweight title in a 15-round classic.  On 03-25-1958, they fought again.  Basilio's eye swelled shut, but some people thought he won another 15 round decision.  The judges said that Robinson had won.  The Ring Magazine named each event its Fight of the Year. 

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Sugar Ray Robinson. 

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Sugar Ray Robinson and Carmen Basilio at work.