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." In the nebulous category of history's best "pound for pound" boxer, there's no stronger candidate than Sugar Ray Robinson. Lamotta, Graziano, Fullmer--Robinson pummeled them all, but his career has been neglected in print. In this first serious biography of the original Sugar, Boyd (with Robinson's son, Ray II) charts Robinson's ascension to world champion and Harlem business tycoon. But, like so many boxers, Robinson couldn't stay on top: as he aged, his solid marriage to Ray II's mother fell apart, his businesses failed, and his legendary ring speed abandoned him. Boyd nicely ties Robinson's story to the larger history of Harlem: when Robinson was at his peak in the 1940s, so, too, was Harlem, and they both slid precipitously into poverty and despair. But Boyd never delves very deeply into Robinson or his times. Rather than describing fights, for instance, Boyd too often merely writes who won. Fans will wish for more about Sugar Ray's elegance and speed in the ring (which, Boyd points out, Ali would one day emulate), but this is a serviceable introduction to a great fighter. John Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “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 “Boyd is particularly strong in placing [Robinson’s] life in a social context...and he captures the vagaries of this mercurial character.” - Los Angeles Times “A rich history of the athlete, the man, the sport and a fascinating time in African American history.” - Ebony “An informative account of the life of Hollywood-handsome middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robison.” - Essence “Admiring biography that neither glosses over nor dwells on [Ray’s] not-always-great behavior outside the ring.” - Kirkus Reviews 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