Jake LaMotta is one of my personal favorites. He was just a big punch away from being a five star boxer in my book. The man did have a granite chin and was virtually immune to pain. Although he officially lost to the original Sugar Ray 5 out of 6 times, many experts felt he was entitled to definitely one and maybe two more wins. In that infamous title bout on Valentines Day 1951, Jake was weak from having to cut a great deal of weight in a short time frame. If you watch the old films he is more than holding his own, until he just totally runs out of gas late in the fight. Robinson, on the other hand was in his prime and in top flight condition. It was all downhill for Jake after that fight. He had great difficulty making weight and all the old battle wounds were beginning to take their toll. LaMotta was in fact knocked down and knocked out by hard hitting Floridian Danny Nardico in December of 1952. Still, they came no tougher than the Bronx Bull, a true champion in a Golden Era of boxing.
