The very first death of American professional boxing could have been avoided if Sugar Ray Robinson trusted his dream. In the summer of June 26, 1947 the fight was set between the two middleweight athletes, Jimmy Doyle and Sugar Ray Robinson. Robinson was arranged to defend his title for the very first time against Doyle, though he backed out due to a premonition he had the night before.
In his dream he spoke about knocking out Doyle for the win followed by the the crowd yelling, ‘he’s dead, ‘he’s dead‘. The vivid nightmare convinced him to call off the fight the very next day.
Confronted by his promoter Larry Atkins, followed by a priest and a pastor ensuring him that everything was going to be fine as it was only a dream. Ignoring his intuition he was convinced to step in the ring to fight Doyle.
In his autobiography, Robinson (1921–1989) spoke about his heart-wrenching story about the death of Jimmy Doyle.
Sugar Rays Premonition Dream
“It was there, the very night before the fight, that I had a dream, a premonition, jumping out of my bed” Robinson wrote.
“In my vivid dream, Jimmy Doyle was beside me in the ring. I remember giving him a few good punches, and he was on his back, his blank dead eyes staring up at me, and I was staring down at him, not knowing what should I do, and the referee was moving slowly in to count to ten, and Doyle still wasn’t moving a muscle. The noise of the crowd yelling, ‘He’s dead, he’s dead,’ and I didn’t know what to do. Then snapped out of my dream”.
On June 25, 1947 Robinson defeated Doyle and scored a decisive knockout in the 8th round that knocked Doyle unconscious and resulting in Doyle’s death later that evening.
When Robinson knocked Doyle out he recalled, “I stood over him, transfixed, seeing my dream come true, horribly true.” Robinson also stated that the impact of Doyle’s death affected him mentally and was “very trying”.
Sugar Ray Dream: Avoiding Death?
Could his death have been avoided? Maybe it was Jimmy Doyle fate he was going to die that night. Dreams often throw us through loops, as death might be a symbol of rebirth.
This is not the first time a recorded well known dream has predicted death. The former 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln had a prophetic dream 10 days before his assassination predicting his death.
Dream often speak to us in a language using abstract symbols and metaphors, rarely are dreams pick up the exact event from occurring.
Symbolically speaking death in dreams usually represent some sort of a transformation or a rebirth so to speak. Though dreams are unique to the dreamer as every symbol has a specific meaning as no two people share the same experiences.
If dreams come true does it really mean we have free will? Have you ever had a dream that came true? Find out what it means: Dreams that come true.