Sugar Ray Robinson vs Bobo Olsen IV 18.5.1956 - World Middleweight Championship

The fourth and final encounter between "Sugar" Ray Robinson and Carl "Bobo" Olsen from 1956. Just 6 months earlier Robinson had beaten Olsen to win the World Middleweight title for a then unprecedented third time. Olsen was looking to gain it back. More info below...

Robinson had initially retired from the sport following a TKO loss to Joey Maxim in 1952 however financial issues forced his return to the ring in January 1955. Over the course of the next 7 months, Robinson would rack up 6 fights and 5 wins to earn himself a shot at his old title... In December 1955 Sugar Ray Robinson won the World Middleweight title for a third time by knocking out then Champion Bobo Olsen in the second round.

Following Sugar Ray's retirement from the ring, Olsen was able to win the vacant World Middleweight title when he beat Randolph Turpin over 15 rounds in 1953. He defended the title successfully three times against Kid Gavilan, Rocky Castellani and Pierre Langlois before losing it to Sugar Ray. Olsen had been a good champion in Sugar Ray's absence so seemingly out of respect he was offered another rematch with him and a chance to win back the World title.

The fight started with Olsen slightly cautious and Robinson being the more aggressive. Unlike the previous encounter Olsen was cagey and very aware of the knockout power Robinson bested him with to win the World title. In round 4 Olsen was caught with a fast accurate left hook out of seemingly nowhere which snapped his head sideways and sent him the canvas. Olsen had been knocked clean of his senses and although he did try get to his feet he just couldn't do it in time. Sugar Ray had successfully defended the World Middleweight title.

Bobo Olsen would take a 1 year hiatus from the ring to recover and plan the rest of his career. He returned in June of 1957 as a light heavyweight and picked up a split decision win over former World Light Heavyweight Champion, Joey Maxim. He would continue boxing as a light heavyweight for the rest of his career however failed to achieve the same success he had as a middleweight. His final fight was a majority decision loss to future World Junior Light Heavyweight champion, Don Fullmer, brother of Gene Fullmer. He retired with a 97-16-2 record.

The following year was a strange one for Sugar Ray Robinson. He would lose his World Middleweight title to Gene Fullmer, win it back from him 4 months later, only to lose it to Carmen Basilio before the year was out. In 1958 he won the World Middleweight title back from Basilio only to have it partially stripped from him for inactivity by the NBA. Robinson was still recognized by The Ring Magazine and New York boxing commissions as Middleweight World Champion however in early 1960, Paul Pender, put an end to that by beating Robinson over 12 rounds, twice. In 1960 and 1961 Robinson got the chance to challenge Gene Fullmer again for the World Middleweight title however he came up short on both occasions, earning a draw in 1960 and losing by unanimous decision in 1961. Robinson's best years were far behind him now, and although he continued to box for another 4 years in the hope he would get another shot at a World Title, he was unable to replicate any previous success. After suffering a lop-sided loss to Joey Archer in 1965, he retired from the sport with a legendary 173-19-6 record. Robinson was a former World Welterweight champion, however he was more well known for being a 5x World Middleweight champion spanning from his first reign in 1951 through to his last which ended in 1960. In his prime, Ray Robinson was without a doubt one of the best pound for pound boxers of all time and arguable the best middleweight EVER.