On This Day In Boxing History!

1931: Gene Fullmer Was Born!

Gene Fullmer was born in 1931 in West Jordan, Utah, and was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (commonly known as the Mormon Church).

Fullmer, known for his heavy use of the reverse cross-arm guard fought as an aggressive and relentless pressure brawler behind an active and effective jab setting up wide powerful hooks and overhand rights began his professional boxing career in 1951 and quickly made a name for himself by winning his first 29 fights, 19 of them by knockout.

On January 2nd, 1957, Fullmer captured the world middleweight championship by defeating the legendary Sugar Ray Robinson in a 15-round decision. In their rematch on May 1, 1957, Fullmer continued to apply pressure using his strength and unorthodox style. However, in the fifth round, Robinson—while retreating—unleashed what has been called "the perfect left hook," knocking Fullmer out and reclaiming the title.

In 1959, the National Boxing Association (NBA) withdrew its recognition of Robinson as middleweight champion. That same year, on August 28, Fullmer fought fellow former champion Carmen Basilio for the vacant NBA title, earning a 14th-round TKO victory. Around that time, Robinson also lost his version of the title to Paul Pender. However, a unification bout between Fullmer and Pender never took place, and Pender eventually retired.

During his reign as champion, Fullmer successfully defended his title against several top contenders, including Basilio, Spider Webb, Florentino Fernández, and welterweight champion Benny "Kid" Paret. He was held to 15-round draws by both Robinson and future champion Joey Giardello but retained the title. In his final bout with Robinson, a championship match in 1961, Fullmer won by unanimous decision.

Fullmer’s reign came to an end on October 23, 1962, when he lost the middleweight title to Dick Tiger by unanimous decision. They faced off again on February 23, 1963, with the bout ending in a draw. Fullmer's final attempt to regain the crown occurred on August 10, 1963, when he was stopped by Tiger in the seventh round via TKO.

He retired with an impressive professional record of 55 wins (24 by knockout), 6 losses, and 3 draws.

Outside the ring, Fullmer appeared in a cameo role as a Montana bartender in the 1968 war film The Devil’s Brigade. He came from a boxing family that included two brothers: Don Fullmer, who twice challenged for the world middleweight title, and Jay Fullmer, who fought as a lightweight.

On January 21, 1962, Fullmer appeared on What's My Line? but not as a mystery guest. His line was that he was a mink rancher. Fullmer also appeared in a cameo role in the 1968 film The Devil's Brigade as a Montana bartender.

2001, Fullmer was featured on the cover of the album Greatest Hits by Alice in Chains.

On April 27, 2015, five days after younger brother Jay's death, Gene died at the age of 83 in his home surrounded by friends and family.

2016 Gene’s fight with Dick Tiger appeared prominently in the music video for the Iggy Pop song 'American Valhalla'.

Gene Fullmer   

Born: July 21st, 1931

Birth Name: Lawrence Gene Fullmer

Birth Place: West Jordan, Utah

Residence: West Jordan, Utah

Pro-Debut: June 9th, 1951

Alias: Cyclone

Division: Middleweight

Stance: Orthodox

Height: 5′ 8″  

Reach: 69″  

Record: 55-6-3, 24Ko’s

Bouts: 64

Rounds: 508

Ko’s: 38%

Died: Age 83, April 27th, 2015

Career

World Middleweight Champion

2 Jan 1957– 1 May 1957   

NBA World Middleweight Champion

Later WBA Title

28 Aug 1959– 23 Oct 1962

July 21st

1905: Jimmy Britt W20 Kid Sullivan

1927: Jack Dempsey KO7 Jack Sharkey

1930: Tony Canzoneri W10 Benny Bass

1931: Gene Fullmer born in West Jordan, Utah

1936: Petey Sarron W15 Baby Manuel

1937: Sixto Escobar TKO3 Georgie Holmes

1941: Sugar Ray Robinson W10 Sammy Angott

1949: Ike Williams KO4 Enrique Bolanos

1964: Steve Collins was born in Cabra, Ireland

1968: Kenny Keene was born Emmett, Idaho

1973: Éder Jofre KO4 Godfrey Stevens

1979: Eusebio Pedroza KO12 Ruben Olivares

1982: Salvador Sanchez KO15 Azumah Nelson

1985: Ubaldo Sacco KO9 Gene Hatcher

1989: Mike Tyson KO1 Carl Williams

1990: Gianfranco Rosi W12 Darrin Van Horn

1991: John David Jackson W12 Tyrone Trice

2000: Paul Williams age 19 debuts W4 Jeremy Mickelson

Francisco Castillejo W12 Tony

2001: Sugar Shane Mosley KO3 Adrian Stone

Harry Simon W12 Hacine Cherifi

Daniel Santos No Contest Antonio Margarito was cut by an accidental headbutt and the bout was stopped at 2:11 of the first round.

Johnny Nelson W12 Fabian Dominguez

2007: Bernard Hopkins W12 Winky Wright

Gavin Rees W12 Souleymane M’baye

Jorge Linares KO10 Oscar Larios

Enzo Maccarinelli W12 Wayne Braithwaite

Michael Katsidis W12 Czar Amonsot

Alex Arthur TKO10 Koba Gogoladze

2010: Danny Green KO1 Paul Briggs

2012: Diego Gabriel Chaves KO2 Ismael El Massoudi

Adrien Broner TKO5 Vicente Escobedo

Bryan Vasquez TKO9 Jorge Lacierva

Joan Guzmán KO1 Jorge Pimentel

Pablo Cesar Cano WTD7 Johan Perez  

2017: Dayana Cordero W10Julieta Andrea Ines Cardozo

Amanda Serrano TKO3 Edina Kiss

2018: Cecilia Brækhus W10 Inna Sagaydakovskaya

Jaime Munguía W12 Liam Smith

John Riel Casimero TKO2 Jose Pech

Oleksandr Usyk W12 Murat Gassiev

Srisaket Sor Rungvisai TKO1 Young Gil Bae

Óscar Valdez Jr. TKO10 Jayson Vélez