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February 14th 1951 at Chicago Stadium, Chicago Illinois, USA, Sugar Ray Robinson challenged Jake LaMotta for the World Middleweight Championship.
The day before the fight LaMotta was six pounds over the weight limit. Knowing this, Robinson’s strategy was to make LaMotta work hard in the early rounds, then take advantage as he tired. Robinson played the part of the matador against the Raging Bull.
The pairs most famous fight ended in the 13th round when Robinson unleashed a punishing, merciless assault. In between the punches, LaMotta said, ‘you can’t put me down.’ Robinson backed up LaMotta against the ropes and threw a series of punches which jolted LaMotta’s head in all directions. The referee Frank Sikora stepped in and stopped the fight. As LaMotta watched Robinson celebrate his win, he spoke through his swollen and bloodied lips, ‘you never put me down Ray, you never put me down.’
Because of the severe beating LaMotta endured in the later rounds this fight became known as “The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre” after the 1929 shootout involving gangster Al Capone’s hitmen leaving a car mechanic and seven of Bugs Moran’s men in a pool of blood.
