Pound For Pound

Hailed by Muhammad Ali as “the king, the master, my idol,” Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest boxer America had seen since Joe Louis and is considered by many to be the best boxer the sport has ever known. With his graceful yet powerful style he embodied the very essence of the Sweet Science. After a short-term retirement, he finally hung up his boxing gloves for good in 1965 at the age of forty-four but not without setting the world ablaze, particularly in his early and middle years.

His successes were not his alone, however. They belonged to his family as well, though those relationships would be marked by neglect and abuse. And at a time still characterized by discrimination, his victories, like those of Jackie Robinson, represented victories for all black America. And they were all the more symbolic because of the place he chose to call home—Harlem. Co-written with Robinson’s son, Ray Robison II, and thoroughly researched by Amsterdam News reporter Herb Boyd, Pound for Pound, is not only a definitive portrait of an emotionally complex man and his family, it is a portrait of Harlem in the acme of its creativity.

“"A rich history of the athlete, the man, the sport and a fascinating time in African American history."”

"Admiring biography that neither glosses over nor dwells on [Ray's] not-always-great behavior outside the ring." -- Kirkus Reviews -- Ebony "An informative account of the life of Hollywood-handsome middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robison." -- Essence "A nuanced, sensitive, critical, and definitive biography of arguably the greatest boxer of all time." -- --Kevin Powell, author of Who's Gonna Take the Weight? Manhood, Race, and Power in America

Herb Boyd is a journalist, activist, teacher, and author or editor of twenty-three books, including his latest, The Diary of Malcolm X, edited with Ilyasah Al-Shabazz, Malcolm X's daughter. His articles have been published in the Black Scholar, Final Call, the Amsterdam News, Cineaste, Downbeat, the Network Journal, and the Daily Beast. A scholar for more than forty years, he teaches African American history and culture at the City College of New York in Harlem, where he lives. Ray Robinson II is an independent producer who is currently in the process of establishing a museum in honor of his mother and father.

Hailed by Muhammad Ali as "the king, the master, my idol," Sugar Ray Robinson was the greatest boxer America had seen since Joe Louis and is considered by many today to be, pound for pound, the best boxer the sport has ever known. A world welterweight and five-time middleweight champion, he had a career that spanned three decades. With his graceful yet powerful style and Hollywood looks - which he would use to his advantage upon his final retirement from boxing - he embodied the very essence of the "sweet science." Before he finally hung up his boxing gloves in 1965, at the age of forty-four, Sugar Ray Robinson won 125 consecutive fights, including victories over Henry Armstrong, Kid Gavilan, Carmen Basilio, Jake LaMotta, Rocky Graziano, Gene Fullmer, and Randy Turpin. His successes were not his alone, however. They belonged to his family as well, though those relationships would be marked by neglect and abuse. At a time still characterized by discrimination, his victories, like those of Jackie Robinson, represented victories for all black America. And they were all the more symbolic because of the place he chose to call home -- Harlem. Co-written with Robinson's son, Ray Robinson II, and thoroughly researched by Amsterdam News reporter Herb Boyd, Pound for Pound is not only a definitive portrait of an emotionally complex man and his family, it is also a portrait of Harlem at the apex of its creativity, a time when Miles Davis was playing at Minton's, Langston Hughes was writing his divine poetry, and a boy from Georgia originally named Walker Smith Jr. would take on the moniker "Sugar."

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