Through the years, some nice British boxing warriors have battled their means via large, even monstrous odds. Trendy-day legends resembling Lloyd Honeyghan, Nigel Benn, Tyson Fury, Ricky Hatton, and Carl Froch have despatched their opponents packing, the percentages be damned. However it could actually by no means be forgotten – in actual fact, it by no means might be forgotten – how THE greatest, most monumental upset ever scored by a British boxer got here on the night of July tenth in 1951.
On this night time, the very good Sugar Ray Robinson, on the ultimate cease of his whistle-stop tour of Europe, met Randolph Turpin in London. 18,000 followers have been available to see the incomparable Sugar Ray, an astonishing 129-1-2(84) coming in, face swell underdog Turpin, 40-2-1(29).
No person thought Turpin would win, however the British followers have been sure of 1 factor: Randy would give his greatest, his all. And he would make the flamboyant, overconfident Robinson work onerous to maintain his middleweight crown. As an alternative, in what will need to have been the uplifting get together of all events within the UK, whose residents have been nonetheless slowly recovering from the ravages of WW II on the time (rationing didn’t finish within the UK till 1954), Turpin pulled it off.
Robinson, drained from his European efforts, each within the ring and out of it (“I left my legs in Paris,” Sugar Ray later quipped when reflecting on his Euro exertions) had a troublesome time with Turpin’s model, together with his sheer bodily power, and together with his personal fatigue. Sugar Ray was additionally reduce through the battle, with the best to ever do it later complaining, just a bit, about Turpin’s “ruffian model” of combating.
As uncommon because it was to see Robinson lose, it was equally as uncommon to hearken to him make any excuse for having finished so. To his championship credit score, Robinson additionally stated he had “no alibis” for having misplaced and that his sole aim was now regaining the title. Turpin, an finally tragic determine, didn’t have too lengthy to get pleasure from his incredible victory.
Simply 64 days later, in New York, Robinson, once more having a troublesome time with Randy – Sugar Ray being badly reduce and on the verge of being stopped – poured it on in seismic vogue to flatten Turpin within the tenth spherical of one other traditional encounter. Turpin bought again up, however after taking 5 hefty head pictures, his eyes glassy, Turpin was saved by referee Ruby Goldstein.
There was no rubber match.
As an alternative, each greats headed into an unsure future. No person knew how a lot Robinson had left at age 31. Whereas completely no one may have presumably predicted the horrible downfall Turpin would endure.
However on today, some 73 years in the past, Randolph Turpin was the king of kings, and he grew to become so by defeating the best fighter who ever lived. Nothing when it comes to British boxing glory has ever come shut, both earlier than or since. And really possible by no means will.
