Randolph Turpin vs Sugar Ray Robinson 2

Randolph Turpin’s reign as world middleweight champion ended after 64 days when Sugar Ray Robinson stopped him in the tenth round of their return contest at the Polo Grounds in New York. A crowd of 61,370 saw Robinson regain the championship he had lost to the Englishman at Earls Court two months earlier. Robinson weighed 157 pounds and Turpin 159. The challenger entered the ring with greater purpose than he had shown in London, but for nine rounds the match remained close, strenuous and frequently untidy.

Turpin’s victory in the first contest had been founded upon strength, awkwardness and an ability to prevent Robinson from settling into his accustomed rhythm. Robinson made the necessary alteration in New York. Instead of waiting for clear openings, he worked with both hands and struck whenever Turpin advanced. He was particularly effective with his right hand in the second and third rounds, catching the champion as he came forward. Turpin absorbed the blows without losing his balance and continued to crowd Robinson, using his shoulders and forearms at close quarters and making the exchanges physically demanding.

Robinson found room for several uppercuts in the fourth round, but Turpin was not discouraged. The champion remained strongest when he could close the distance, lean upon his opponent and punch during the short intervals between clinches. Robinson attempted to keep him at the end of the jab, though his more ambitious attacks occasionally carried him too close. There was considerable holding and wrestling, with neither man yielding ground willingly. Referee Ruby Goldstein repeatedly had to separate them.

The middle rounds followed the same pattern. Robinson produced the cleaner combinations, particularly when he moved first and attacked the body before bringing his right hand upstairs. Turpin’s work was less polished but persistent. He forced Robinson backwards, smothered some of the challenger’s punches and made effective use of his greater physical strength. Robinson began missing with several wide blows, and Turpin gained confidence as the pace and roughness of the contest increased.

Turpin had his best sustained period in the eighth and ninth rounds, both of which were awarded to him by all three officials. He pressed Robinson closely, disturbed his balance in the clinches and prevented him from completing combinations. The champion’s methods were not graceful, but they were effective against a boxer accustomed to controlling the distance. At the end of nine rounds, judges Harold Barnes and Joe Agnello had Robinson ahead by margins of 5-3-1 and 5-4 respectively, while Goldstein’s card stood level at four rounds each with one even. The decision, had the contest continued for its scheduled 15 rounds, would still have been very much in dispute.

The position changed sharply in the tenth. A cut over Robinson’s left eye, apparently reopened during a clash of heads, began bleeding heavily. The injury was sufficiently serious to place him in danger of a stoppage, and Robinson abandoned any thought of husbanding his strength. He attacked with urgency, driving Turpin backwards with right hands and quick punches from both sides. Turpin attempted to hold and smother the attack, but after Goldstein separated the fighters he came forward without his guard properly set.

Robinson met him with a hard right hand to the head. Turpin fell heavily and remained down until late in the count. He rose unsteadily but was permitted to continue. Robinson followed immediately, forcing him against the ropes and delivering a succession of punches to the head. Turpin moved his upper body and attempted to ride the blows, but he did not answer with punches of his own. With eight seconds remaining in the round, Goldstein intervened and stopped the contest at 2 minutes 52 seconds.

Turpin protested that he remained capable of defending himself and maintained that he could have reached the bell. The ending was disputed, principally because so little time remained in the round, but Goldstein was required to judge Turpin’s condition rather than the clock. The champion had been knocked down, was confined against the ropes and was taking unanswered blows. Robinson’s damaged eye made his final assault necessary, and the attack secured the result before the injury could decide the matter against him. Turpin had again proved an exacting opponent, but Robinson’s greater variety and his decisive response to danger restored the championship to him.

I’ve often wondered, as a Brit, what might have happened had Randolph Turpin survived that tenth round. He had already beaten Sugar Ray Robinson properly in London, not nicked it, and became Britain’s first world middleweight champion since Bob Fitzsimmons. That made him a national hero overnight. Beating Robinson again in New York would have made him a global superstar.

Turpin had won the eighth and ninth rounds on every official card, and Robinson was tiring under his strength and awkward pressure. Then Robinson’s left eye opened badly in the tenth. If Turpin had reached the bell, he could have worked on that cut and dragged Robinson into another ugly, physical contest. The fight was turning his way, despite Robinson holding a narrow overall lead.

But this is where greatness shows itself. Robinson saw the blood, understood the danger and attacked without hesitation. He dropped Turpin with a right hand, trapped him on the ropes and forced the stoppage with eight seconds left. Turpin believed he could have continued, but he was not answering back.

Had Turpin survived and won, British boxing history would have changed enormously. Instead, Robinson produced one of the finest crisis finishes the sport has seen.