Gene Fullmer


Lawrence Gene Fullmer was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion. He was known as The 'Utah Cyclone, The Mormon Mauler, and as "Cyclone"' Gene Fullmer.

Early life

Fullmer was born and raised in West Jordan, Utah. Due to his activity in the city, in 2015, the Gene Fullmer Recreation Center in West Jordan was named in his honor. Additionally, South Jordan and West Jordan renamed a five-block stretch of 9400 South after Fullmer.

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, 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 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 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.
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, Ellsworth "Spider" Webb, Florentino Fernández, and welterweight champion Benny "Kid" Paret. He narrowly escaped being dethroned when he was held to 15-round draws by Robinson and future titleholder Joey Giardello. The draw against Robinson was widely criticised by almost every ringside observer, who had Robinson winning 11–4 or 10–5 in rounds. 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 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, 6 losses, and 3 draws.

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
64LossDick TigerRTD7, 3:00Aug 10, 1963Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, NigeriaFor WBA and The Ring middleweight titles;
For inaugural WBC middleweight title
63Draw55–5–3Dick TigerSD15Feb 23, 1963Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.For WBA and NSYAC middleweight titles
62Loss55–5–2Dick TigerUD15Oct 23, 1962Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, U.S.Lost WBA middleweight title
61Win55–4–2Benny ParetKO10, 2:30Dec 9, 1961Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
60Win54–4–2Florentino FernándezSD15Aug 5, 1961Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
59Win53–4–2Sugar Ray RobinsonUD15Mar 4, 1961Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
58Draw52–4–2Sugar Ray RobinsonSD15Dec 3, 1960Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
57Win52–4–1Carmen BasilioTKO12 Jun 29, 1960Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
56Draw51–4–1Joey Giardello15Apr 20, 1960Montana St. College Fieldhouse, Bozeman, Montana, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
55Win51–4Ellsworth WebbUD15Dec 4, 1959George Nelson Field House, Logan, Utah, U.S.Retained NBA middleweight title
54Win50–4Carmen BasilioTKO14, 0:39Aug 28, 1959Cow Palace, Daly City, California, U.S.Won vacant NBA middleweight title
53Win49–4Wilf GreavesMD10Feb 20, 1959Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
52Win48–4Milo SavageUD10Jan 9, 1959Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
51Win47–4Joe MiceliKO2, 0:38Nov 10, 1958Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
50Win46–4Ellsworth WebbUD10Sep 11, 1958Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
49Win45–4Jim HegerleUD10Jul 7, 1958Arena, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
48Win44–4Milo SavageUD10Mar 3, 1958Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
47Win43–4Neal RiversMD10Nov 15, 1957Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
46Win42–4Chico VejarUD10Sep 4, 1957Arena, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
45Win41–4Ralph 'Tiger' JonesUD10Jun 7, 1957Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
44Loss40–4Sugar Ray RobinsonKO5, 1:27May 1, 1957Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.Lost NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring middleweight titles
43Win40–3Wilf GreavesUD10Feb 18, 1957City Auditorium, Denver, Colorado, U.S.
42Win39–3Wilf GreavesUD10Jan 28, 1957Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
41Win38–3Sugar Ray RobinsonUD15Jan 2, 1957Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.Won NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring middleweight titles
40Win37–3Moses WardKO3 Sep 22, 1956Arena, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
39Win36–3Charles HumezUD10May 25, 1956Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38Win35–3Ralph 'Tiger' JonesUD10Apr 20, 1956Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
37Win34–3Gil TurnerSD10Feb 17, 1956Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
36Win33–3Rocky Castellani10Jan 4, 1956Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
35Loss32–3Eduardo LausseUD10Nov 25, 1955Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
34Loss32–2Bobby BoydUD10Sep 28, 1955Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
33Win32–1Al AndrewsUD10Sep 12, 1955Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, U.S.
32Win31–1Del FlanaganUD10Jul 26, 1955Civic Center, Butte, Montana, U.S.
31Win30–1Gil TurnerPTS10Jun 20, 1955West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
30Loss29–1Gil TurnerUD10Apr 4, 1955Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
29Win29–0Govan SmallUD10Mar 21, 1955Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
28Win28–0Paul PenderUD10Feb 14, 1955Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
27Win27–0Marcel AssireUD10Jan 31, 1955Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
26Win26–0Peter MüllerUD10Nov 15, 1954Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
25Win25–0Jackie LaBuaUD10Nov 8, 1954Eastern Parkway Arena, New York City, New York, U.S.
24Win24–0Dick WolfeKO4, 1:27Aug 16, 1954West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
23Win23–0Reno AbelliraUD10Jul 29, 1954Arena, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
22Win22–0Govan SmallPTS10Jul 12, 1954West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
21Win21–0Rio RicoTKO1 Jun 5, 1954Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
20Win20–0Andy Anderson7, 3:00May 17, 1954Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
19Win19–0Charley CatoKO1, 1:43Apr 26, 1954Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
18Win18–0Kid LeonKO1 Feb 6, 1954West Jordan Junior High, West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
17Win17–0Armando Cotero6Sep 20, 1952Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, U.S.
16Win16–0Mickey RhodesKO6 Aug 8, 1952Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, U.S.
15Win15–0Baby RayKO1 Oct 17, 1951Vernal, Utah, U.S.
14Win14–0Rudy Zadell6Oct 10, 1951Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
13Win13–0Gary HanleyKO1 Oct 3, 1951West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
12Win12–0Garth Panther10Sep 25, 1951Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
11Win11–0Sam HealyTKO4 Sep 14, 1951Uintah High School Gym, Vernal, Utah, U.S.
10Win10–0Charley CatoKO4 Sep 7, 1951West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
9Win9–0Buddy SloanKO2 Aug 25, 1951Hurricane, Utah, U.S.
8Win8–0Sam HealyKO1 Aug 24, 1951Hurricane, Utah, U.S.
7Win7–0Carlos Martinez1 Aug 1, 1951Cow Palace, Daly City, California, U.S.
6Win6–0Lamar PetersonKO1 Jul 16, 1951West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
5Win5–0Eddie DuffyKO2 Jul 9, 1951Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
4Win4–0Eddie DuffyKO1 Jul 2, 1951Vernal, Utah, U.S.
3Win3–0Gary CarrKO3 Jun 23, 1951Midvale, Utah, U.S.
2Win2–0Andy JacksonKO1 Jun 16, 1951West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
1Win1–0Glen Peck1, 1:52Jun 9, 1951George Nelson Fieldhouse, Logan, Utah, U.S.