Henry Armstrong was an absolute beast of past boxing eras being the only man of his time to capture three champion titles at once.
With a stature of 5"5, Armstrong had practically no reach but was a calculated warrior in how he got inside and initiated the brawl. Crafty head movement and quick in and out movement made Henry a true enigma to any fighter not of his caliber.
The over 180 fight veteran secured over 150 victories in his 14 years as a pro-boxer, and he had only taken bad losses towards the end of his career. When he fought the arguable greatest of all time in Sugar Ray Robinson, it was 1943 and he was well past his prime along with being less than 2 years off from retirement. Sugar Ray was a very long and lanky welterweight who also fought at 160 pounds (which is still the standard middleweight limit).
Sugar Ray was so good that he breached the 160 weight class after dominating the 145 pound ranks, and in turn critics had to create a 'pound for pound' list as Ray was in a class of his own!
The beatdown of Armstrong began in round 1 and ended in round 10, but anyone can tell that Sugar Ray took moments of mercy on the legend as it wasn't in his nature to truly maim or torture... fighting was simply his job.
Armstrong had problems with the swelling of his eyes late in his career (as 180 bouts will do that to you), and sadly from the first jab Ray landed the eyes started swelling.
One really has to give credit to Armstrong for lasting in there with the greatest for 10 rounds all the while swinging and never giving up to the pressure.
Armstrong had retired after this fight due to injury and simply not being able to keep up with the young guns, but he still came back to the sport less than 5 months later and fought 22 more times until mid 1945 in which a loss to a supremely average fighter in Chester Slider made him truly hang up the gloves.
Although '43 was a bit early for televised bouts, I've left a case study of Armstrong and how effective he was as a boxer. This video is from a master analyst in Lee Wylie, enjoy:
A interesting note on these two men at the end of their lives: ..their deaths were six months apart. Armstrong battled alcoholism before becoming a baptist minister and turning his life around. Armstrong lived until 78 years old, and his passing was six months before Ray Robinson whom passed at 68.
Both men were legends, and nobody can really measure how much of that era they truly encompassed... but we knew they were skilled as they come.
This win truly secured Ray Robinson as the greatest of his era, and in a league of his own. Have you seen the real 'Sugar' fight?
Is he the greatest to ever do it?
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