Famed Boxer's Son Visits SUGAR RAY at New Harlem Besame Restaurant

"Sugar Ray," the new bioplay by Laurence Holder about Sugar Ray Robinson, was visited Sunday, March 27 by the son of the famed boxing champion, Ray Robinson II. The younger Robinson, who was enthusiastic about the play on his father, is co-author, with Herb Boyd, of the book "Pound for Pound," a biography of Sugar Ray Robinson, which was published by Harper Collins in 2006.

Now age 61, Ray Robinson II resides in Bayonne, NJ. He grew up in Riverdale and is the only surviving child of the boxing champ. He has been music director of WBLS radio and was manager of NYC's famed Cheetah Club (located at 53rd Street and Broadway, opposite the Ed Sullivan Theater). He is father of five children (three girls, two boys), none of whom has gone into boxing. "They are all intellectual athletes," he quips.

The performance was also attended by Jimmy Hayes, a member of the vocal group The Persuasions.

This production of "Sugar Ray" is a site-specific dinner theater presentation at New Harlem Besame Restaurant, 2070 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. That location is the original home of Sugar Ray's bar/restaurant and business offices during the 50's and 60's. AUDELCO winner Reginald L. Wilson plays the boxer. Director is Woodie King Jr., the much-honored Artistic Director of New Federal Theatre. The run, originally scheduled to conclude on March 28, has been extended through April 26 by popular demand.

Sugar Ray Robinson was, pound for pound, the greatest boxer of all time. In his 25-year professional career, from 1940 to 1965, he was boxing history's first winner of five divisional championships (in the middle weight and welterweight divisions). This "King of Harlem" was renowned for his litheness, his power and his flamboyant lifestyle outside the ring. His career peaked between 1947 and 1950, before the era of TV boxing, so his style and legacy are less preserved today that those of other boxers, including his admirer, Muhammed Ali. This play recaptures Robinson's life and boxing legacy in a biographical solo show that is exciting to those who idolized him and illuminating to those who grew up after his era.