Posted on 01/30/2012 9:08:23 AM PST by EveningStar
Utah's gentleman bruiser, Don Fullmer, 72, who fought some of the world's most famous boxers and came within a single fight of a world title himself, died peacefully Saturday morning surrounded by the prize he valued most — his family.
Fullmer and his boxing brothers, Gene, the oldest and a world middle weight champion in 1957, and Jay, second oldest who left the sport with a 20-5-2 record after an eye injury, put Utah on the international boxing stage in the 1950s and '60s.
(Excerpt) Read more at deseretnews.com ...
I remember watching the fights between Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio. They were brawls, to put it mildly.
Fullmer defeated Sugar Ray for the title, then lost it back in a rematch. After the National Boxing Association striped Robinson of the title, Fullmer and Carmine Basilio fought for the vacant crown and Gene won. He finally lost the crown to Dick Tiger.
In contrast today's boxing, there was only one undisputed championship in each weight class back then.
Not exactly true. The National Boxing Assoc. was often in conflict with the New York State Athletic Commission. The state of Nevada often sided with the NYSAC. When the NBA striped Sugar Ray, he was still recognized by the NYSAC and lost that crown to Paul Pender.
Yes they were!!!
I'll never forget the picture on the back page of the NY Daily News showing a bruised, battered and bloody Fullmer with the caption, "THE WINNER!"
Fullmer fought Robinson 4 times.
In January 1957, he defeated Robinson by unanimous decision to win the World Middleweight title.
In May of the same year, he lost the title back to Robinson via a 5th round KO.
Robinson then lost and regained the title in bouts with Carmen Basilio.
The NBA (now WBA) stripped Robinson of the title because he hadn’t defended it. The New York State Athletic Commission continued to recognize Robinson. Robinson subsequently lost the NYSAC version to Paul Pender.
The NBA then had Fullmer and Basilio fight for the vacant title. Fullmer won via TKO in round 14.
In 1960, Fullmer defended the NBA version of the title against Robinson and they fought to a 15 round draw.
In 1961, Fullmer defeated Robinson via unanimous decision in their final fight.
In December 1960, Fullmer defended the NBA (now WBA) portion of the title
I see you know your stuff too. :)
You also type a lot faster than I do. LOL. :)
I have fond memories of listening to the fights from St. Nick’s on Mondays and MSG on Fridays with my Dad. He was a BIG Fullmer fan. He always wanted a Fullmer/Pender title bout but it never came.
I loved watching Gene Fullmer fight. He was a true warrior~
I was a huge Sugar Ray Robinson fan back then, but Gene Fullmer was the real class act outside of the ring.
Fullmer did defeat Pender but it was in 1955 before either had fought for a title.
Lore has it that he loved to play “Fascination” and often did so at the parlor in Times Square. One story says that one evening he stopped the car right in front of the parlor and went in to play. A cop materialized out of nowhere and started directing traffic around the convertible until he came back out to proceed on his way.
RIP.
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