On February 14, 1951 welterweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson stepped up in weight against middleweight king Jake LaMotta, a thickly built chopping block with an iron chin fortified by an iron will.

LaMotta fought the great Sugar Ray Robinson six times, handing Robinson the first defeat of his career in 1943 and losing the middleweight title to him in a storied match on Feb. 14, 1951, at ...