Maybe it was when he was
five years old and his father threw him down the steps, breaking both of his
legs. Or perhaps when he was living in a shelter and his mother was trying to
kick drug addiction. Or how about when his mother and seven siblings all lived
in a one-room apartment.
Or maybe when he was
nearly paralyzed during sparring as a 13-year-old when an undiagnosed neck
injury from that fall down the stairs reared its ugly head. A loose bone from
his neck had broken off and he couldn't move his head. Or maybe it was
when he had to live in a chair for weeks at a time during his recovery because
his family couldn't afford a medical bed. Or perhaps it was just after he
received the call that he had been waiting for all his life, to fight on HBO
Boxing, only to be rear-ended in a car accident, keeping him out of the ring
for another 15 months.
Ray Robinson isn't
supposed to still be here.
Despite having myriad
reasons for self-pity and the justification many times over to quit, Robinson
perseveres, and with a smile on his face, refusing to let a bad hand, or in his
case, several bad decks, define him. Through it all, the glories and the
down times, hope has sustained him, with boxing his salvation.
After a year of
convalescence following his neck surgeries, he begged his mother and his
amateur coach, Howard "Moses" Mosley, to let him go back to the gym.
Despite their initial skepticism, his undying passion for the sport convinced
them to give him another chance. At first Moses insisted that Ray use the ring
and avoid mixing it up in the trenches. Moses had made a promise to Ray's
mother that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her son. But after some
amateur losses on the comeback trail, Ray's competitiveness took over. He knew
that he needed to stand his ground and fight.
Within two years of his
comeback he was winning national tournaments. He was invited to Northern
Michigan University to train with the best amateurs in the country and
qualified for Team USA. From barely leaving Philadelphia growing up to fighting
in Turkey, Italy and Russia with notables like Tim Bradley and Adrien Broner,
it was almost out of a dream. Yes, the lows had been terrible, but the highs were
beyond what he could even imagine.
![]() |
Photo Courtesy of Chris Farina/Mayweather Promotions |
Robinson (24-3, 12 KOs)
fights welterweight contender Egidijus "Mean Machine" Kavaliauskas
(21-0, 17 KOs) at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia on March 30th. The fight is
the co-feature to the Oleksandr Gvozdyk-Doudou Ngumbu matchup and will be
televised by ESPN. Robinson knows that he will be the underdog in the bout, but
fighting at home and finally having a full training camp, he feels 100%
confident.
When Robinson last
fought in February of 2017, he lost to Yordenis Ugas via seventh-round
knockout. It was perhaps the only time in his career when he didn't listen to
his trainer, Derrick "Bozy" Ennis. They didn't have a full camp and
Ennis didn't think that the moment was right. Robinson, who was still upset
about missing that date on HBO against Dmitry Mikhaylenko, jumped at the
chance.
"My last
fight," said Robinson, "Bozy kind of didn’t want me to take it, but I
didn’t agree with him. I said, 'Let’s do it.' Sometimes trainers are right.
Sometimes they see things they don’t like. With me and Bozy, it’s about trust.
Bozy’s been in the game for a long time, way longer than me...He knows what’s
best for his fighters. It’s important that I put trust and confidence in what
he says. I felt like I had my back against the wall because of the HBO
fight that didn’t happen...everything with the car accident. So this
opportunity came and I think that I jumped at it too quick. I think I didn’t
have time to prepare properly."
Robinson, a 5'10"
southpaw with a slick boxing style, has always struggled to get big fights as a
professional. His favorite fighter is Pernell Whitaker, and like Whitaker, very
few want to deal with him unless they have to. Even after losing to Ugas, a
scenario when the phone often rings because a fighter now looks vulnerable, the
calls didn't come. Robinson's manager, David McWater, who has represented him
the past three years, is amazed at how challenging it's been to get Robinson
fights.
"Ray's a wonderful person," said McWater, "but it's hard because nobody wants to fight a slick southpaw. It's hard to get a break for this kid...Ray is a number-one guy. I love him to death. I would do anything for him, but it's hard. I thought after he lost to Ugas we would get offers right and left. Not true."
"Ray's a wonderful person," said McWater, "but it's hard because nobody wants to fight a slick southpaw. It's hard to get a break for this kid...Ray is a number-one guy. I love him to death. I would do anything for him, but it's hard. I thought after he lost to Ugas we would get offers right and left. Not true."
But the lack of
opportunities or fights on short notice has been a theme throughout his career.
Despite his amateur pedigree, he wasn't signed by any of the major powerhouse
promoters in boxing. As a young fighter, he faced three undefeated boxers in a
four-fight span – Darnell Jiles Jr., Brad Solomon and Shawn Porter – and he
dropped decisions to the last two. After the defeat to Porter, he was fed up.
He felt mistreated by the industry.
"I was
confused," he said. “I wasn’t sure. I was ticked off by managers and my
promoters [he was promoted by Star Boxing at the time]. I was a fighter that
spoke well in front of the cameras. I wore a suit. I thought they would have
taken care of me better, that they wouldn’t have rushed me in there like that.
I was irritated and ticked off. After the Porter fight, I found out that
certain people were stealing from me. I didn’t understand that side of boxing.
"[Former champion]
David Reid was out there with us in Michigan [where Robinson trained for Team
USA]. He used to tell me about that side of boxing, that it can be a dirty game
if you end up in the wrong hands. I had never really seen that side – basically
using you up like a workhorse until they tossed you to the side. That’s how I
felt. I was being used for their benefit. So I took some time off."
Robinson got a
nine-to-five job working in the auto body industry. He thought he might be done. But as
he had more time to reflect, the sport that he fell in love with as an
eight-year-old kept calling him back. After a year out of boxing he returned
with a renewed commitment to the sport, and he won 13 fights in a row.
Throughout it all, despite
tragedies and setbacks that would have made many lesser men quit, Robinson
never relinquished his hope, that good things would be in store for him. He
still believes that the best years of his boxing career are ahead of him.
"If you don’t have
hope in life" he said, "you’re going nowhere. Because the moment when
you’re stuck, the only thing you do have is hope...Never give up. If you have a
dream, just go get it.
"Anything in life –
it doesn’t have to be in sports – you have to appreciate your ups and your
downs. I had a lot of downs growing up and that gave me my tough
skin...With me having a couple of roadblocks in life in general, the shelter,
getting thrown down the steps, whatever it may be, it gave me my tough skin.
Seeing my mom going through the hell that she went through, I got to have that
tough skin.
"Any day you could
always get that phone call. Boxing could be that lottery ticket. And I’m not
talking about money. But any day you could get that dream call, that dream
opportunity that could change your life."
The phone did ring for the Kavaliauskas fight. Robinson and McWater both loved the matchup. "We jumped at the opportunity," said McWater. "Ray thinks it's the perfect opportunity for him now, and so do I. I more than jumped at it. I basically begged [Top Rank matchmaker] Brad Goodman for it. We're excited."
The phone did ring for the Kavaliauskas fight. Robinson and McWater both loved the matchup. "We jumped at the opportunity," said McWater. "Ray thinks it's the perfect opportunity for him now, and so do I. I more than jumped at it. I basically begged [Top Rank matchmaker] Brad Goodman for it. We're excited."
And Ray has never had an
opportunity of this magnitude where he can fight in front of his hometown fans.
He thinks it will help propel him in the fight. Even though he might be the
"opponent," he's going to be the opponent with a lot of crowd
support.
"This is
amazing," he said. "I’m so excited. It’s so weird how the boxing game
is. You can be up, but once you get down, you feel like nobody gives you a shot
to win the fight. And I’m OK with that. 1000%. I took that one setback and
everyone makes it out like I lost nine straight. But things happen for a
reason. You can’t stop God’s plans. Maybe if I didn’t fight Ugas I never would
have gotten this fight. Maybe these guys think they see something that they can
take advantage of, and this is why I got this opportunity. This is the reason
why I’m training so much harder."
At 33, there might not be
many more chances to get to the big time. Although he is now a veteran fighter,
with over 12 years of experience as a pro, his passion for the sport still
burns brightly. The science of it keeps him hooked. Hit and not be hit. All
those fantastic Philly gym sayings – “swim without getting wet" or
"playing in the mud without getting dirty" – continue to speak to him.
Ray has raved about his
camp at the Harrowgate Boxing Club. Sparring with his good friend,
uber-prospect Jaron "Boots" Ennis, who is also Bozy's son, Ray feels
ready for this opportunity. He has no excuses. The problems the plagued
him earlier in his professional career – the short camps, the inactivity, the
people who weren't looking out for him – that’s all in the past. Yes, his tragedies
have helped form who he is, but they don't possess him. He seems to have made
peace with his past. He's just looking for that one performance, that one night
to put it all together.
"In boxing,"
he said, "nothing is guaranteed. Nothing is stamped. Sometimes the fight
gods won’t always go your way. What's perfect about boxing is that any given
night, anyone could have that big uh-oh, that big moment or that big upset."
He believes that it's
his time. "My mindset is perfect. I’m a little bit hungrier. And hopefully
I’m a little bit smarter. When you take some downs in your career, or in life
in general, you make sure that you make the right choices to be
successful. You've also got to love what you do. And I absolutely love this
shit."
As harrowing as Robinson's
misfortunes have been, he has bigger things on his mind now. In another
month, his career, his life, could look completely different. He has a big
fight coming up. And he is ready.
Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.
snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.
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