Gene Fullmer

Titles: middleweight champion 1957, 1959-1962

Record: 55-6-3

Born: July 21, 1931 in West Jordan, Utah (USA)

Years active: 1961-1963 

Nickname: None  


Simply put Fullmer was a face first slugger who gladly took 3 punches to 
get one of his own of and came from a family of boxers. His skills were 
raw but focused, aggression was his main asset and he used it during every 
second he was in the ring. In 1951 Fullmer a devout Mormon began his career 
and rattled of 11 wins including 6 by knockout in the first round. A win 
over Garth Panter to cap off his first year as a pro made him a legitimate 
threat to any middleweight. Getting title shots in those days was not easy 
however, especially if you came from Utah and were not connected in the 
big cities of America. Thus Fullmer labored for 6 years winning 37 of 40 
fights. His victims included Paul Pender and Gil Turner in 1955, in 1956 
top contenders Tiger Jones and Rocky Castellani were defeated. Now Fullmer 
was given a title shot against the seemingly unbeatable Sugar Ray Robinson. 
The win was not expected but well deserved. On this night Fullmer was the 
better conditioned man who took the late rounds to earn a deserved victory. 
The rematch was another case altogether. A picture perfect left hook by
Robinson left Fullmer separated from his sense and title. Fullmer was not 
a quitter and 2 years later he was again a champion when he defeated Carmen 
Basilio to win the middleweight title again. The title was won in typical
Fullmer fashion....he out slugged a slugger. A 3 year tour as champion saw 
Fuller turn back the challenges of Spider Webb, Florentino Fernandez, and 
Benny Paret. Two draws against Robinson, Giardello were also part of his 
title reign. It came to a end when Dick Tiger took the title from Fullmer 
in a grueling fight. A rematch ended in a draw and Tiger proved his 
superiority in the rubber match when he knocked the aging Fullmer out in 
Nigeria. Fullmer a smart man retired and established a Mink Farm in which 
he made a small fortune.


Gene Fullmer

Career record: 55 W, 6 L, 3 D (24 K.O's)


     1951

     Jun 9   Glen Peck               Logan, UT               KO 1
     Jun 23  Gary Carr               Midvale, UT             KO 3
     Jul 2   Eddie Duffy             Vernal, UT              KO 1
     Jul 9   Eddie Duffy             Salt Lake City          KO 2
     Jul 16  Lamar Peterson          West Jordan, UT         KO 1
     Aug 1   Carlos Martinez         San Francisco           KO 1
     Aug 24  Sam Healy               Hurricane, UT           KO 1
     Aug 25  Buddy Sloane            Hurricane, UT           KO 2
     Sep 7   Charley Cato            West Jordan, UT         KO 4
     Sep 14  Sam Healy               Vernal, UT              KO 4
     Sep 25  Garth Panter            Salt Lake City          W 10
     Oct 3   Gary Hanley             West Jordan, UT         KO 1
     Oct 10  Rudy Zadell             Pittsburgh              W 6
     Oct 17  Ray Jones               Vernal, UT              KO 1

     1952

     Aug 8   Mickey Rhodes           Ogden, UT               KO 6
     Sep 20  Armando Cotero          Hollywood, CA           W 6

     1954

     Feb 6   Kid Leon                West Jordan, UT         KO 1
     Apr 26  Charley Cato            Salt Lake City          KO 1
     May 17  Andy Anderson           Salt Lake City          KO 7
     Jun 5   Kid Rico                Salt Lake City          KO 1
     Jul 12  Govan Small             Salt Lake City          W 10
     Jul 29  Reno Abellira           West Jordan, UT         W 10
     Aug 16  Dick Wolfe              West Jordan, UT         KO 4
     Nov 8   Jackie LaBua            Brooklyn                W 10
     Nov 15  Peter Muller            Brooklyn                W 10

     1955
 
     Jan 31  Marcel Assire           Brooklyn                W 10
     Feb 14  Paul Pender             Brooklyn                W 10
     Mar 21  Govan Small             Salt Lake City          W 10
     Apr 4   Gil Turner              Brooklyn                L 10
     Jun 20  Gil Turner              Salt Lake City          W 10
     Jul 26  Del Flanagan            Butte, MT               W 10
     Sep 12  Al Andrews              Ogden, UT               W 10
     Sep 28  Bobby Boyd              Chicago                 L 10
     Nov 25  Eduardo Lausse          New York                L 10

     1956

     Jan 4   Rocky Castellani        Cleveland               W 10
     Feb 17  Gil Turner              New York                W 10
     Apr 20  Ralph "Tiger" Jones     Cleveland               W 10
     May 25  Charley Humez           New York                W 10
     Sep 22  Moses Ward              West Jordan, UT         KO 3

     1957

     Jan 22  Ray Robinson            New York                W 15
             (Wins World Middleweight Title)
     Jan 28  Wilf Greaves            Salt Lake City          W 10
     Feb 18  Ernie Durando           Denver                  W 10
     May 1   Ray Robinson            Chicago                 KO by 5
             (Loses World Middleweight Title)
     Jun 7   Ralph "Tiger" Jones     Chicago                 W 10
     Sep 4   Chico Vejar             West Jordan, UT         W 10
     Nov 15  Neal Rivers             New York                W 10

     1958

     Mar 3   Milo Savage             Salt Lake City          W 10
     Jul 7   Jimmy Hegerle           West Jordan, UT         W 10
     Sep 11  Spider Webb             Salt Lake City          W 10
     Nov 10  Joe Miceli              Salt Lake City          KO 2

     1959

     Jan 9   Milo Savage             San Antonio             W 10
     Feb 20  Wilf Greaves            New York                W 10
     Aug 28  Carmen Basilio          San Francisco           KO 14
             (Wins Vacant NBA Middleweight Title)
     Dec 4   Spider Webb             Logan, UT               W 15
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)

     1960

     Apr 20  Joey Giardello          Bozeman, UT             D 15
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)
     Jun 29  Carmen Basilio          Salt Lake City          KO 12
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)
     Dec 3   Ray Robinson            Los Angeles             D 15
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)

     1961

     Mar 4   Ray Robinson            Las Vegas               W 15
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)
     Aug 5   Florentino Fernandez    Ogden, UT               W 15
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)
     Dec 9   Benny "Kid" Paret       Las Vegas               KO 10   
             (Retains NBA Middleweight Title)

     1962

     Oct 23  Dick Tiger              San Francisco           L 15
             (Loses WBA Middleweight Title)

     1963

     Feb 23  Dick Tiger              Las Vegas               D 15
             (For WBA Middleweight Title)
     Aug 28  Dick Tiger              Ibadan, Nigeria         KO by 7
             (For World Middleweight Title)