Ray Robinson traveled to the Boston Garden on January 22, 1960 to defend his middleweight crown against a local boxer named Paul Pender. The bout was an evenly matched fight, which saw Pender win a split-decision 15 round victory. Looking back, I don’t know why they would give the nod to an unknown, and take Ray’s belt away. Even at 39 years of age, Robinson was still a huge name, and without him the sport suffered.
Sugar Ray returned to action three months later to score a first round knockout of Tony Baldoni in Baltimore, Maryland. That set up a rematch with Pender back at the Garden in Boston on June 10. Another 15 round split-decision went to Pender, and from I’ve read about the bout, Ray got hosed for a second time. Beltless, Ray took the next six months off, and at 39, had to wonder how much he had left in the tank.
The problem for Ray was money. All of his Harlem businesses had failed, he had lived an extravagant lifestyle, and by late 1960, most of it was gone. He was fighting for the wrong reason, simply for a paycheck. In his defense, what else could he do? Fighting was all he knew, and his only means to provide for himself and his family.
On December 3, 1960, Ray met Gene Fullmer for the third time at the Sports Arena in Los Angeles. A lot of observers gave Robinson the nod that night, but the official decision was all that mattered, and he lost another bid for a championship via a split-decision. The public cried for a rematch, and three months later it took place at the brand new Las Vegas Convention Center. This time Fullmer was a clear cut winner, and won a unanimous decision. It would be the last time Sugar Ray Robinson would fight for a world title, and at closing in on 40, who couldn’t question how much he had left.
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