Aug. 17, 1938 – Henry Armstrong is the first boxer to hold titles in three weight classes at the same time

A world boxing champion, Henry Armstrong is universally regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time by many boxing critics and fellow professionals. In 2007, The Ring ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of the last 80 years. Bert Sugar also ranked Armstrong as the second-greatest fighter of all time.

He was a boxer who not only was a member of the exclusive group of fighters that have won boxing championships in three or more different divisions (at a time when there were only 8 universally recognized World Titles), but also has the distinction of being the only boxer to hold three world championships (lightweight, welterweight and featherweight) at the same time. He also defended the Welterweight Championship more times than any other fighter.

“Boxing is the ultimate challenge. There’s nothing that can compare to testing yourself the way you do every time you step in the ring.” – Sugar Ray Leonard

Mar. 25, 1958 – Sugar Ray Robinson defeats Carmen Basilio to regain 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 has 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.”

In 1957 Robinson lost the title to Carmen Basilio, a steady puncher whose claim to fame was that he had never been knocked down. Going into their championship rematch, held March 25 in 1958, the once-indomitable Sugar Ray was a 2-to-1 underdog.

Robinson and Basilio traded punches for the majority of the match, with Robinson closing Basilio’s left eye completely by the seventh round. (Basilio later said that he could not see after the fourth round.) In the ninth round, Basilio came out attacking, and Robinson stopped slugging and started to box, dancing and jabbing at Basilio. This was the last great fight of Robinson’s career, and he showcased all of his veteran skills, avoiding Basilio’s punches and delivering a stunner in the 15th that nearly knocked Basilio down. In the end, the three judges awarded Robinson the victory and his fifth middleweight title, a record for any men’s division.

Video of Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio II:
Part 1/2
Part 2/2

About Sugar Ray Robinson:
Robinson began began boxing after three years of high school in New York City. He was 85-0 as an amateur with 69 of those victories coming by way of knockout, 40 in the first round. Robinson won the Golden Gloves featherweight title and turned professional in 1940. He won the welterweight championship in 1946 by defeating Tommy Bell and the middleweight championship for the first time in 1951 by knocking out Jake La Motta. When Robinson retired from boxing as middleweight champion in 1952 he had lost only three times in 137 bouts.

Returning to boxing in 1955, he was the first boxer ever to regain a title after retiring. Robinson became the first man in boxing history to win a divisional (weight class) world championship five times when he regained the middleweight title in 1958 by defeating Carmen Basilio; he lost the title in 1960 to Paul Pender. In his prime, the swift, hard-punching Robinson was rated the best boxer, pound for pound, of his time.