Gene Fullmer is a former American middleweight

Middleweight

Middleweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have begun in the 1840s. In the bare-knuckle era, the first middleweight championship fight was between Tom Chandler and Dooney Harris in 1897...

 boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

 and world champion.

Professional career

Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. His manager during many years of his career was his mentor, Marv Jenson, who encouraged many youth in West Jordan, Utah

West Jordan, Utah

West Jordan is a city in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. West Jordan is a rapidly growing suburb of Salt Lake City and has a mixed economy. According to the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 103,712, placing it as the fourth most populated in the state. The city occupies the...

, to enter boxing as amateurs.

Middleweight champion

Fullmer won the world middleweight championship on January 2 1957, when he upset the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

 by soundly winning a unanimous 15-round decision. On May 1 1957 they fought a rematch. The fight began as expected, with Fullmer using his strength and awkwardness to bull into Robinson and really force him onto his heels. In the fifth round Robinson, while backing up, lashed out with what has been called the perfect left hook. It caught Fullmer flush on the chin and knocked him out.

In 1959, the National Boxing Association withdrew its recognition of Robinson as middleweight champion. Fullmer and fellow former middleweight champion Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio

Carmine Basilio better known in the boxing world as Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion...

 fought for the vacant NBA title on August 28, 1959, and Fullmer won the crown when he TKOed Basilio in the 14th round. Meanwhile, Robinson was to lose his version of the middleweight championship to Paul Pender

Paul Pender

Paul Pender was an American middleweight boxer.-Early life:He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna Pender...

.

Fullmer and Pender never met to settle their claims to the middleweight title, and Pender eventually retired. Meanwhile, Fullmer fought and turned back the challenges of many top contenders, such as Basilio, Spider Webb, Florentino Fernández

Florentino Fernández

Florentino Fernández Román, Flo, is a Spanish actor, comedian, conductor and showman.He worked as a security guard before taking part in TV shows like Esta noche cruzamos el Mississippi or La sonrisa del pelícano with Pepe Navarro, where he impersonated Chiquito de la Calzada and created new...

, and welterweight

Welterweight

Welterweight is a weight class division in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like kickboxing, taekwondo and mixed martial arts also began to use it for their own weight division system...

 champion Benny "Kid" Paret. He narrowly escaped being dethroned when he was held to 15-round draws by Robinson and future titleholder Joey Giardello

Joey Giardello

Carmine Orlando Tilelli was an American boxer who was the middleweight champion of the world from 1963 to 1965, and was better known by his professional pseudonym of Joey Giardello.-Early life:...

. In their final meeting, a title bout in 1961, Fullmer beat Robinson by unanimous decision.

Losing the title

Fullmer finally lost the middleweight title to Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group...

 on October 23, 1962 in a unanimous decision. They fought a rematch on February 23, 1963, which resulted in a draw. Fullmer's attempts to regain the middleweight crown finally ended when he was TKOed in seven rounds by Tiger on August 10, 1963.

Fullmer's final record included 55 wins (24 by KO), 6 losses, and 3 draws.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|55 Wins (24 Knockouts), 6 Defeats (2 Knockouts), 3 Draws
|- style="text-align:center; background:#e3e3e3;"
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Res.
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Record
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Opponent
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Type
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Rd., Time
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Date
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Location
| style="border-style:none none solid solid; "|Notes
|- align=center
|Loss
|55-6-3
|align=left| Nigeria Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|55-5-3
|align=left| Nigeria Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|55-5-2
|align=left| Nigeria Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger

Dick Tiger CBE was a boxer from Ubahu village, Amaigbo, Nigeria, who emigrated to Liverpool and later to the United States of America. Tiger was a member of the Igbo ethnic group...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|55-4-2
|align=left| Cuba Benny Paret

Benny Paret

Benny "the Kid" Paret, born Bernardo Paret , born in Santa Clara, Cuba, was a Cuban welterweight boxer. Paret won the world welterweight title twice in the early 1960s and died in 1962 following an unsuccessful attempt to defend the crown in what is considered to be the first ring death witnessed...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|54-4-2
|align=left| Cuba Florentino Fernández
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|53-4-2
|align=left| United States Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|52-4-2
|align=left| United States Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|52-4-1
|align=left| United States Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio

Carmine Basilio better known in the boxing world as Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|style="background:#abcdef;"|Draw
|51-4-1
|align=left| United States Joey Giardello

Joey Giardello

Carmine Orlando Tilelli was an American boxer who was the middleweight champion of the world from 1963 to 1965, and was better known by his professional pseudonym of Joey Giardello.-Early life:...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|51-4
|align=left| United States Spider Webb
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|50-4
|align=left| United States Carmen Basilio

Carmen Basilio

Carmine Basilio better known in the boxing world as Carmen Basilio, is an American former professional boxer who was a two weight world boxing champion...

|
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|49-4
|align=left| Canada Wilf Greaves
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|48-4
|align=left| United States Milo Savage
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|47-4
|align=left| United States Joe Miceli
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|46-4
|align=left| United States Spider Webb
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|45-4
|align=left| United States Jim Hegerle

Jim Hegerle

Jim Hegerle, alias Jimmy was a light heavyweight professional boxer from Saint Paul, Minnesota.-Professional career:...

|
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|44-4
|align=left| United States Milo Savage
|
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|43-4
|align=left| United States Neal Rivers
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|42-4
|align=left| United States Chico Vejar
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|41-4
|align=left| United States Ralph Jones
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|40-4
|align=left| United States Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|40-3
|align=left| United States Ernie Durando
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|39-3
|align=left| Canada Wilf Greaves
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|38-3
|align=left| United States Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson

Sugar Ray Robinson was an African-American professional boxer. Frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time, Robinson's performances in the welterweight and middleweight divisions prompted sportswriters to create "pound for pound" rankings, where they compared fighters regardless of weight...

|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|37-3
|align=left| United States Moses Ward
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|36-3
|align=left| Early Modern France Charles Humez
|
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|35-3
|align=left| United States Ralph Jones
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|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|34-3
|align=left| United States Gil Turner
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|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|33-3
|align=left| United States Rocky Castellani

Rocky Castellani

Attilio N. "Rocky" Castellani was an American boxer. He was born in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, to Attilio Castellani and Rose Isopi Castellani , who later moved to Margate City, formerly South Atlantic City, in Atlantic County in eastern New Jersey...

|
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|32-3
|align=left| Argentina Eduardo Lausse

Eduardo Lausse

Eduardo Jorge Lausse was an Argentinian middleweight contender, known for his knockout punch, who boxed from 1947 to 1960. He was a southpaw who fought mainly in South America...

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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|32-2
|align=left| United States Bobby Boyd
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|32-1
|align=left| United States Al Andrews
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|31-1
|align=left| United States Del Flanagan

Del Flanagan

Del Flanagan was a middleweight professional boxer from Minnesota.-Personal life:Flanagan was a native of St Paul, Minnesota. Del Flanagan and his brother Glen were known as the Fighting Flanagan Brothers...

|
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|30-1
|align=left| United States Gil Turner
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|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Loss
|29-1
|align=left| United States Gil Turner
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|29-0
|align=left| United States Govan Small
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|28-0
|align=left| United States Paul Pender

Paul Pender

Paul Pender was an American middleweight boxer.-Early life:He was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna Pender...

|
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|27-0
|align=left| Early Modern France Marcel Assire
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|26-0
|align=left| Germany Peter Mueller
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|25-0
|align=left| United States Jackie LaBua
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|24-0
|align=left| United States Dick Wolfe
|
|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|23-0
|align=left| United States Reno Abellira
|
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|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|22-0
|align=left| United States Govan Small
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|21-0
|align=left| United States Rio Rico
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|
|
|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|20-0
|align=left| United States Andy Anderson
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|19-0
|align=left| United States Charley Cato
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|align=left|
|align=left|
|- align=center
|Win
|18-0
|align=left| United States Kid Leon
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|align=left|
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|- align=center
|Win
|17-0
|align=left| Mexico Armando Cotero
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|- align=center
|Win
|16-0
|align=left| United States Mickey Rhodes
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|align=left|
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|- align=center
|Win
|15-0
|align=left| United States Baby Ray
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|- align=center
|Win
|14-0
|align=left| United States Rudy Zadell
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|- align=center
|Win
|13-0
|align=left| United States Gary Hanley
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|- align=center
|Win
|12-0
|align=left| United States Garth Panter
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|- align=center
|Win
|11-0
|align=left| United States Sam Healy
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|align=left|
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|- align=center
|Win
|10-0
|align=left| United States Charley Cato
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|align=left|
|align=left|

Personal

Fullmer had two brothers who boxed: Don Fullmer

Don Fullmer

Don Fullmer is a former boxer and brother of former world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer.Eight years younger than his more famous brother, Don followed Gene into the gym in West Jordan, Utah, to learn how to box. He fought as an amateur for four years and did not lose in sixty-five fights...

, who twice challenged for the World Middleweight Title, and Jay Fullmer, who boxed as a lightweight.

Fullmer appeared in a cameo role in the 1968 film The Devil's Brigade

The Devil's Brigade (film)

The Devil's Brigade is a 1968 American war film based on the 1966 book of the same name co-written by American novelist and historian Robert H. Adleman and Col...

as a Montana bartender.

External links

• History of Gene Fullmer and Marvin Jensen, West Jordan History Pages
• Biography and Fight-by-Fight Record, International Boxing Hall of Fame
• Fullmer Brothers Boxing website
• Photograph of Fullmer