By David Martinez / Boxing Historian / dmboxing.com
I will always remember October 23, 1986, when I was scheduled to referee and judge several amateur bouts on a huge local boxing show in Santa Barbara, California. The bouts were matched and supervised by Art Carbajal in conjunction with our local boxing club, La Casa De La Raza.
The absolute highlight of the evening was the attendance of Sugar Ray Robinson, rated by 98% of all boxing experts and historians world-wide as the greatest boxer “pound for pound” of all time. I was fortunate to personally meet him, obtain his autograph, shake his hand, and take several photos, which are simply priceless.
In the dressing room area after the bouts, I spent some quiet time with him and his wife, discussing various historic moments in his brilliant career. We addressed the topic of who exactly was Sugar Ray’s toughest opponent, which I said was Jake La Motta. However, I was nicely corrected, as they confirmed it was Fritzie Zivic.
After that evening we would go on to exchange letters and Christmas cards; this lasted until Millie’s death in November 1995.
In this article, I share a copy of the first letter that I wrote to Sugar Ray and Millie regarding our meeting together on that memorable night in October 1986.
I have met many boxing champions through my many years (close to seven decades) in boxing and, honestly, meeting Sugar Ray Robinson was the most honorable and tops the list … definitely a “time capsule” memory for me!