Editing Sugar Ray Robinson (section)

===Comeback===
In 1955 Robinson returned to the ring. Although he had been inactive for two and a half years, his work as a dancer kept him in peak physical condition: in his autobiography, Robinson states that in the weeks leading up to his debut for a dancing engagement in France, he ran five miles every morning, and then danced for five hours each night. Robinson even stated that the training he did in his attempts to establish a career as a dancer were harder than any he undertook during his boxing career.<ref>Robinson and Anderson. p. 227</ref> He won five fights in 1955, before losing a decision to [[Ralph 'Tiger' Jones]]. He bounced back, however, and defeated [[Rocky Castellani]] by a split decision, then challenged Bobo Olson for the world middleweight title. He won the middleweight championship for the third time with a second-round knockout—his third victory over Olson. After his comeback performance in 1955, Robinson expected to be named fighter of the year. However, the title went to welterweight [[Carmen Basilio]]. Basilio's handlers had lobbied heavily for it on the basis that he had never won the award, and Robinson later described this as the biggest disappointment of his professional career. "I haven't forgotten it to this day, and I never will", Robinson wrote in his autobiography.<ref>Robinson and Anderson. p. 266</ref> Robinson and Olson fought for the last time in 1956, and Robinson closed the four-fight series with a fourth-round knockout.

In 1957 Robinson lost his title to [[Gene Fullmer]]. Fullmer used his aggressive, forward moving style to control Robinson, and knocked him down in the fight.<ref>Nichols, Joseph C. (May 1, 1957). [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/01/archives/utah-160pounder-to-defend-crown-fullmers-aggressiveness-to-test.html "Utah 160-Pounder to Defend Crown"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> Robinson, however, noticed that Fullmer was vulnerable to the left hook. Fullmer headed into their May rematch as a 3–1 [[betting odds|favorite]].<ref name="Fullmer"/> In the first two rounds Robinson followed Fullmer around the ring, however in the third round he changed tactics and made Fullmer come to him.<ref name="Fullmer"/> At the start of the fourth round Robinson came out on the attack and stunned Fullmer, and when Fullmer returned with his own punches, Robinson traded with him, as opposed to clinching as he had done in their earlier fight. The fight was fairly even after four rounds.<ref name="Fullmer"/> But in the fifth, Robinson was able to win the title back for a fourth time by knocking out Fullmer with a lightning fast, powerful left hook.<ref name="Fullmer">Nichols, Joseph C. (May 2, 1957). [https://www.nytimes.com/1957/05/02/archives/robinson-knocks-out-fullmer-in-fifth-round-to-regain-middleweight.html "Robinson Knocks Out Fullmer in Fifth Round to Regain Middleweight Crown"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> Boxing critics have referred to the left-hook which knocked out Fullmer as "the perfect punch".<ref>Fitzgerald and Hudson. p. 40<br />*[http://www.ibhof.com/fullmer.htm Gene Fullmer], ibhof.com. Retrieved June 6, 2007. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230055557/http://www.ibhof.com/fullmer.htm |date=December 30, 2008 }}</ref> It marked the first time in 44 career fights that Fullmer had been knocked out, and when someone asked Robinson after the fight how far the left hook had travelled, Robinson replied: "I can't say. But he got the message."<ref name="Fullmer"/>

Later that year, he lost his title to Basilio in a rugged 15 round fight in front of 38,000 at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]],<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/1957/09/24/archives/basilio-takes-title-by-beating-robinson.html "Basilio Takes Title By Beating Robinson"]. ''The New York Times''. September 24, 1957. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> but regained it for a record fifth time when he beat Basilio in the rematch. Robinson struggled to make weight, and had to go without food for nearly 20 hours leading up to the bout. He badly damaged Basilio's eye early in the fight, and by the seventh round it was swollen shut.<ref name="eye">Nichols, Joseph C. (March 26, 1958). [https://www.nytimes.com/1958/03/26/archives/robinson-outpoints-basilio-and-wins-world-middleweight-title-fifth.html "Robinson Outpoints Basilio and Wins World Middleweight Title Fifth Time"]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved June 6, 2007.</ref> The two judges gave the fight to Robinson by wide margins: 72–64 and 71–64. The referee scored the fight for Basilio 69–64, and was booed loudly by the crowd of 19,000 when his decision was announced.<ref name="eye"/> The first fight won the "Fight of the Year" award from ''The Ring'' magazine for 1957 and the second fight won the "Fight of the Year" award for 1958.