Born Herbert Randolph Sugar on June 7, 1936, in Washington, D.C., he developed an early fascination with sports history, statistics, and old newspaper clippings. Even as a boy he was drawn to the mythology of athletes from earlier generations. Boxing, in particular, appealed to him because it combined drama, characters, and history. Each fight seemed to be another chapter in a story stretching across decades.

Sugar’s formal education followed a conventional route. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1957 with a degree in business administration, then attended the University of Michigan, where he earned both a Master of Business Administration and a law degree. While at Michigan he played rugby and wrote for The Michigan Daily, revealing the two sides of his personality: part competitor, part storyteller.

He passed the Washington, D.C., bar exam in 1961 but never practiced law. With typical humor he later explained his decision: “It was the only bar I ever passed.”

Instead, Sugar moved to New York City and entered the advertising world. During the 1960s he worked in the fast-paced Madison Avenue environment later popularized by Mad Men. The experience sharpened his ear for language and rhythm, qualities that later shaped his distinctive writing style. During this time he also helped create the well-known advertising jingle for Nestlé chocolate: “N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestlé’s makes the very best.”

Sugar’s real ambition, however, was sports writing. In 1962 he became publisher and editor of Baseball Monthly, an early publishing venture that reflected his love of statistics and sports history. He also wrote about sports collectibles and produced one of the earliest comprehensive guides to sports cards, helping legitimize a growing memorabilia market.

His breakthrough in boxing journalism came in 1969 when he purchased Boxing Illustrated with his own money and ran the magazine as editor until 1973. There he began developing the style that would define his career: part historian, part storyteller, mixing meticulous research with colorful anecdotes and sharp humor.

Sugar’s reputation grew steadily within the sport. In 1979 he became editor and publisher of The Ring, widely known as the “Bible of Boxing,” and remained in that position until 1983. At the magazine’s helm he blended historical scholarship with conversational writing that made boxing’s past feel vivid and alive.

Rather than presenting fighters as statistics on a page, Sugar treated them as characters in a continuing drama. He delighted in revisiting legendary bouts, ranking fighters across eras, and reminding readers that the sport’s present could only be understood through its past.

Later in his career he returned to Boxing Illustrated and in 1998 launched his own magazine, Bert Sugar’s Fight Game.

Over his lifetime Sugar wrote or co-wrote more than eighty books, many devoted to boxing history. Among the best known were Great Fights, Bert Sugar on Boxing, 100 Years of Boxing, and Boxing’s Greatest Fighters.

One notable collaboration was Sting Like a Bee, written with former light heavyweight champion José Torres, which examined the career and cultural impact of Muhammad Ali.

Sugar had a particular gift for ranking fighters and comparing champions from different eras. His opinions often sparked debate, but they were always grounded in a deep knowledge of the sport’s history.

Sugar’s encyclopedic memory made him a natural television presence. Networks such as ESPN and HBO regularly invited him to appear as a commentator and boxing historian. With his fedora, cigar, and booming delivery, he looked and sounded like a character from another era.

Broadcaster Bob Costas once described him as “Runyonesque,” comparing him to the colorful New York figures created by writer Damon Runyon.

The persona carried into popular culture. Sugar appeared as himself in films including Night and the City, The Great White Hype, and Rocky Balboa, reinforcing his image as one of boxing’s permanent ringside characters.

Bert Randolph Sugar died on March 25, 2012, in Mount Kisco, New York, from complications of lung cancer. He was seventy-five.

In the decades since, his fedora-and-cigar image has remained one of the most recognizable symbols in boxing journalism. More importantly, his work preserved the stories that define the sport: the champions, the underdogs, and the unforgettable nights when boxing’s drama rose above the ropes.

In many ways Sugar became what he admired most about boxing itself: a larger-than-life character whose storytelling kept the past alive. For generations of fans, understanding the history of the “sweet science” often meant listening to Bert Sugar tell the story.