Jimmy Doyle vs. Sugar Ray Robinson: The Tragic 1947 Fight

[00:00:00] On June 25, 1947, in Cleveland, Ohio, there was a welterweight title boxing match between Jimmy Doyle and Sugar Ray Robinson that ended in technical knockout and sadly ended it up Jimmy Doyle passing away. Here's the story behind this tragic event in sports today on Daily Sports History.

[00:00:26] Welcome to Daily Sports History. I'm Ethan Reese, your guide to a rapid deep dive into sports history every day and today's trivia question is how much money the Sugar Ray Robinson donate to Jimmy Doyle's

[00:00:39] mother. Now boxing is one of the most dangerous sports out there. It's literally fighting. It's a sport where your goal is to beat up your opponent and tragically sometimes that end in death. Since they started keeping track of this back in their late 1800s, there have been over 500

[00:01:00] boxers to die in the professional boxing ring. And you may think yes it was back in the day but it's gotten safer in recent years with the more focus on safety in all of sports. But despite that

[00:01:13] there's still been two professional deaths in the year 2024. So despite the advancements we have, boxing is not inherently safe. That doesn't mean it can't be done safe but the rules have to be followed and we have to continue to monitor these fighters and make decisions for them

[00:01:32] that's not something they focused on in the 1940s. As there was over 12 professional boxing deaths related to injuries from the ring, and most notably of all of these was when Jimmy Doyle took on Sugar Ray Robinson for the Walter Weight title in Cleveland, Ohio.

[00:01:49] And sadly this is one of those events that it's today. May have not happened in May have saved his life. See back in the 1940s, boxers weren't given adequate time to recover from fights.

[00:02:03] This was Jimmy Doyle's fifth fight in 1947 and it was only June. He fought in January, February, March, May, and June all in 1947. But he had a reason he was having success in the ring

[00:02:19] with a record of 43 wins, seven losses in three draws. He was a successful fighter and he began fighting in 1941 and had success immediately and continued to have success as entering the fight versus Sugar Ray. He was 43, 6 in 3. And obviously this was for the Walter Weight title. Even

[00:02:41] though he was only 22 years old, the problem was though almost a year earlier, he had a fight also in Cleveland and he lost to Arty Living. And the problem was that he also had to be taken

[00:02:57] to the hospital after this due to a severe head injury after the eighth round. And doctors told him he had a severe concussion and brain damage and should never fight again. And even his family

[00:03:10] noticed that he was more the thargic and didn't even want to be active. But the problem was he didn't have any other skills boxing was all he knew. So just nine months later,

[00:03:22] he jumped back into the ring, fighting five more fights to lead up to a Walter Weight title belt versus the great the best fighter in the 1940s Sugar Ray Robinson. And Sugar Ray Robinson deserves his own entire episode. But just a brief history, he began boxing in 1940

[00:03:42] and he went on a winning streak starting in 1941, winning over 90 matches in a row, going into the 1950s. He could not be beat in the 40s, despite a one blip where he lost by a controversial

[00:03:55] decision. But leading up to this fight with Jimmy Doyle, he didn't know that a year earlier that Jimmy had had this previous head injury. He mainly just knew that a few days before the fight,

[00:04:06] he had a dream where he woke up yelling, get up Jimmy, get up and it was so vivid that he woke himself up. And it made him nervous. And even when to go speak to a priest after this,

[00:04:18] as he was so worried about this fight. And everyone assert him, it was just a dream. Sadly, that dream came true. On June 25th, 1947, the fight began against Jimmy Doyle in Sugar Ray for the world weltered weight title. And Robinson really came out dominating and

[00:04:35] had the advantage in every round, except for the sixth round where Jimmy was able to get him with some jabs and even got him a cut over his eye. But in the eighth round, Robinson attempted

[00:04:47] Doyle attempted a right hook as Robinson was doing the same as Robinson was sending a left hook and it struck Doyle on the head as he fell onto his back. Or there had for him started to count.

[00:04:59] Doyle raised himself on his elbows and tried to use the ropes to get back on the feet to get back on his feet. But couldn't find his footing again. The belt ended the round as

[00:05:09] referee got to the 9th count of his 10 count. So Doyle was saved from a knockout for his handlers ended the match. And Doyle was quickly taken to St. Vincent's charity hospital, including that he was unconscious and died. He was later with family and even Robinson at the hospital.

[00:05:30] And after the fight, local authorities threatened to bring criminal charges against Robinson of charges that included manslaughter but luckily those never came to be. Because he was just in a fight. And the reason why Doyle passed away was due to previous injuries. He had actually been

[00:05:48] knocked out so hard in California that the California State Boxing Commission would not sanction him to fight again, which is why most of his fights towards the end of his career. Even though

[00:05:58] he was only 22, we're held in Cleveland and on East Coast even though he was known as a West Coast fighter. But Robinson built so much guilt about this fight. He had that dream. He saw even though it

[00:06:11] wasn't his fault there was a lot of guilt. And he actually donated the earnings from his next four fights to Doyle's mother. As Doyle was fighting to buy his mama house with those next four earnings, Robinson was able to buy that house for Doyle's mother. Over the years,

[00:06:27] boxing commissions have gotten better at sanctioning and absynxialing fighters as there's more communication between states. And so if you are not sanctioned in one state, the likelihood to be not sanctioned in another is very high. But in the 1940s,

[00:06:41] communication like that was done as well as it is today. And despite this emotional challenge for Robinson to deal with Waky caused Doyle, he continued to have a great career. Arguably the best non-heavy weight fighter there ever was. For your senior with the career of 174 wins, 19 losses and 6

[00:07:03] he broke rounds as being one of the first African Americans to establish himself as a star even outside of the sport. This is a sad moment and it shows you how violent boxing can be.

[00:07:16] It is so sad that this had to happen because it could have been preventable in today's boxing world probably wouldn't have. As Jimmy Doyle probably wouldn't have been a lot of fight. With the 1940s was a different world, a different era and sadly it led to the death

[00:07:30] of a young fighter. But we can always remember him. I see him is fighting for not only himself but his family, because it's all he knew how to do. And if you like this story, please let us know

[00:07:41] leave us a review wherever you're listening. We'd love to know how you're enjoying the show. And if there's any topics you want us to cover and come back tomorrow for more daily sports history.

[00:07:52] And then you catch the answer to the day's trivia question. How much money to sugary Robinson donate to Jimmy Doyle's mother. He gave her his earnings for the next four fights which was enough for her to buy the house that Jimmy had picked out for her.