On March 25, 1958, Sugar Ray Robinson defeated Carmen
Basilio to regain the middleweight championship. It was the
fifth and final title of his career. Robinson is considered by
many to be the greatest prizefighter in history. No less an
authority than heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali once
said, “My idol will always be Sugar Ray Robinson, who was,
and remains, one of the best pound-for-pound fighters to
have ever lived in this century.”

Sugar Ray Robinson was born Walker Smith, Jr. in Ailey,
Georgia, on May 3, 1921. Smith got his boxing name when
he borrowed his friend Ray Robinson’s Amateur Athletic
Union (AAU) card to enter a boxing tournament at the age
of 16. He won that tournament and, still using the assumed
name, turned professional in 1940, winning his debut bout–
the first of 40 consecutive victories. Robinson won his first championship in 1946 when he defeated Tommy Bell for the
welterweight title.

Young Muhammad Ali (left) then known as Cassius Clay, knocked
out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on
this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964.

Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved the unthinkable by dethroning
Liston, who was then the world heavyweight boxing champion. (History.com.)

Muhammad Ali (Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.)  
(January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016)

Earnie Dee Shaver (August 31, 1944 – September 1, 2022)

(ESPN) – Earnie Shavers, who is often considered the hardest
punching boxer of all time, had a professional record of 74-14-1
with 68 total knockouts during his 26-year-career that spanned
from 1969 to 1995. He died Thursday, September 1 from a short-
illness at his daughter’s home in Virginia. 

Muhammad Ali (left) Vs. Earnie Shavers.

1977

CAMILLE
BOHANNON

Sir George Ivan Morrison is 77 years old today.

Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose
recording career spans six decades. He has
won two Grammy Awards.

DALLAS (AP) — Muhammad Ali’s championship belt from his
1974 "Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight title fight was sold
at auction on Sunday for $6.18 million.

The winner of the competition for the belt was Indianapolis
Colts owner Jim Irsay, according to Heritage Auctions in Dallas.

In a tweet Sunday, Irsay confirmed he acquired the belt for his
collection of rock music, American history and pop culture
memorabilia that is currently touring the country.

The belt will be displayed on Aug. 2 at Chicago’s Navy Pier and
on Sept. 9 in Indianapolis.

Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay.

Referee Zack Clayton, right, steps in after challenger
Muhammad Ali, second from right, knocked down
defending heavyweight champion George Foreman,
bottom, in the eighth round of their championship
bout on Oct. 30, 1974, in Kinshasa, Zaire. (AP Photo/File)