# In the 1950s, Miles Davis spent 12 days locked in his bedroom to get off heroin. Sugar Ray Robinson helped him fight

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/in-the-1950s-miles-davis-spent-12-days-locked-in-his-bedroom-to-get-off-heroin-sugar-ray-robinson-helped-him-fight/
- Published: 2026-10-27T22:00:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T22:38:44+00:00
- Original publisher: Far Out
- Original article: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/boxing-legend-helped-miles-davis-beat-heroin/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Davis spent 12 days in withdrawal in his childhood bedroom.
- His father told him he had to overcome addiction himself.
- Boxing and Sugar Ray Robinson helped inspire his fight.

## Summary

In 1953, Miles Davis returned to his family home in Illinois after recognising that heroin addiction had left him adrift and creatively lost. With his father urging him to handle withdrawal himself, Davis locked himself in his childhood bedroom and endured 12 days of cold turkey; the article presents this as a turning point in his life and career.

Davis said he began using heroin because he believed it could enhance creativity, and many musicians around him, including Charlie Parker, were also addicted. The article says he drew strength from boxing and from the example of champion Sugar Ray Robinson, whose discipline helped Davis fight his way through withdrawal. Davis later described boxing as a source of strength and stamina that also helped his playing.

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