The best punch trackers on the market
27th August 2021
By: Max Taylor
Two historic stars of the sport came to blows on this day 78 years ago. A green Sugar Ray Robinson, who was 3 years into his professional career, took on an over-the-hill Henry Armstrong who had spent a decade longer in the paid ranks than his young opponent. Idols becoming rivals is a pertinent cliche in this fight as Robinson grew up in awe of the simultaneous three-weight champion, but he realized on fight night how far removed that version of Armstrong was to the more fragile one he was tasked with beating.
CHECK OUT THE BEST PUNCH TRACKERS ON THE MARKET
Sugar Ray was 22 and causing a stir when he fought ‘homicide Hank’ while the former champion was not fresh news but still a household name in the game. The bout was shaped with the ‘hungry prospect vs game veteran’ dynamic, however it included two of the best pugilists to ever step foot in a ring.
Sharing a ring with your hero was one incentive for Robinson to take this fight but he was encouraged even more when he learned of Armstrong’s financial struggle and how much this 10-rounder would benefit him. So both fighters were keen and, after watching Sugar Ray beat Armstrong’s nemesis Fritzie Zivic twice, the public were too.
The prospect cruised to a decision win against one of that era’s best ever boxers. Armstrong lacked the wit and agility to utilize his famous infighting and was instead kept on the end of Robinson’s long, stinging shots. Despite this, there never looked to be a moment where the loser was to be finished inside the distance, and Robinson offered insight on that post-retirement as he admitted to carrying his idol whenever his legs buckled and he looked on the way out of the fight.
The former triple champ retired two years after this fight while Sugar Ray molded himself into the ‘greatest of all time’ status contender for 20 more years. It was evident after this event that the torch had been passed from one great to a future one.
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