# Gene Fullmer

Lawrence Gene Fullmer (July 21, 1931 – April 27, 2015) was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion. He was known as The Utah Cyclone, The Mormon Mauler, and as "Cyclone" Gene 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 (24 by KO), 6 losses, and 3 draws.

## Professional boxing record

| 64 fights | 55 wins | 6 losses |
| By knockout | 24 | 2 |
| By decision | 31 | 4 |
| Draws | 3 | 3 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 64 | Loss | 55–6–3 | Dick Tiger | RTD | 7 (15), 3:00 | Aug 10, 1963 | Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria | For WBA and The Ring middleweight titles; For inaugural WBC middleweight title |
| 63 | Draw | 55–5–3 | Dick Tiger | SD | 15 | Feb 23, 1963 | Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, US | For WBA and NSYAC middleweight titles |
| 62 | Loss | 55–5–2 | Dick Tiger | UD | 15 | Oct 23, 1962 | Candlestick Park, San Francisco, California, US | Lost WBA middleweight title |
| 61 | Win | 55–4–2 | Benny Paret | KO | 10 (15), 2:30 | Dec 9, 1961 | Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 60 | Win | 54–4–2 | Florentino Fernández | SD | 15 | Aug 5, 1961 | Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 59 | Win | 53–4–2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | UD | 15 | Mar 4, 1961 | Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 58 | Draw | 52–4–2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | SD | 15 | Dec 3, 1960 | Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 57 | Win | 52–4–1 | Carmen Basilio | TKO | 12 (15) | Jun 29, 1960 | Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 56 | Draw | 51–4–1 | Joey Giardello | SD | 15 | Apr 20, 1960 | Montana St. College Fieldhouse, Bozeman, Montana, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 55 | Win | 51–4 | Ellsworth Webb | UD | 15 | Dec 4, 1959 | George Nelson Field House, Logan, Utah, US | Retained NBA middleweight title |
| 54 | Win | 50–4 | Carmen Basilio | TKO | 14 (15), 0:39 | Aug 28, 1959 | Cow Palace, Daly City, California, US | Won vacant NBA middleweight title |
| 53 | Win | 49–4 | Wilf Greaves | MD | 10 | Feb 20, 1959 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | |
| 52 | Win | 48–4 | Milo Savage | UD | 10 | Jan 9, 1959 | Freeman Coliseum, San Antonio, Texas, US | |
| 51 | Win | 47–4 | Joe Miceli | KO | 2 (10), 0:38 | Nov 10, 1958 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 50 | Win | 46–4 | Ellsworth Webb | UD | 10 | Sep 11, 1958 | Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 49 | Win | 45–4 | Jim Hegerle | UD | 10 | Jul 7, 1958 | Arena, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 48 | Win | 44–4 | Milo Savage | UD | 10 | Mar 3, 1958 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 47 | Win | 43–4 | Neal Rivers | MD | 10 | Nov 15, 1957 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | |
| 46 | Win | 42–4 | Chico Vejar | UD | 10 | Sep 4, 1957 | Arena, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 45 | Win | 41–4 | Ralph 'Tiger' Jones | UD | 10 | Jun 7, 1957 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, US | |
| 44 | Loss | 40–4 | Sugar Ray Robinson | KO | 5 (15), 1:27 | May 1, 1957 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, US | Lost NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring middleweight titles |
| 43 | Win | 40–3 | Wilf Greaves | UD | 10 | Feb 18, 1957 | City Auditorium, Denver, Colorado, US | |
| 42 | Win | 39–3 | Wilf Greaves | UD | 10 | Jan 28, 1957 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 41 | Win | 38–3 | Sugar Ray Robinson | UD | 15 | Jan 2, 1957 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | Won NYSAC, NBA, and The Ring middleweight titles |
| 40 | Win | 37–3 | Moses Ward | KO | 3 (10) | Sep 22, 1956 | Arena, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 39 | Win | 36–3 | Charles Humez | UD | 10 | May 25, 1956 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | |
| 38 | Win | 35–3 | Ralph 'Tiger' Jones | UD | 10 | Apr 20, 1956 | Public Hall, Cleveland, Ohio, US | |
| 37 | Win | 34–3 | Gil Turner | SD | 10 | Feb 17, 1956 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | |
| 36 | Win | 33–3 | Rocky Castellani | SD | 10 | Jan 4, 1956 | Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, US | |
| 35 | Loss | 32–3 | Eduardo Lausse | UD | 10 | Nov 25, 1955 | Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, US | |
| 34 | Loss | 32–2 | Bobby Boyd | UD | 10 | Sep 28, 1955 | Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, US | |
| 33 | Win | 32–1 | Al Andrews | UD | 10 | Sep 12, 1955 | Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, US | |
| 32 | Win | 31–1 | Del Flanagan | UD | 10 | Jul 26, 1955 | Civic Center, Butte, Montana, US | |
| 31 | Win | 30–1 | Gil Turner | PTS | 10 | Jun 20, 1955 | West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 30 | Loss | 29–1 | Gil Turner | UD | 10 | Apr 4, 1955 | Eastern Parkway Arena, New York, New York, US | |
| 29 | Win | 29–0 | Govan Small | UD | 10 | Mar 21, 1955 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 28 | Win | 28–0 | Paul Pender | UD | 10 | Feb 14, 1955 | Eastern Parkway Arena, New York, New York, US | |
| 27 | Win | 27–0 | Marcel Assire | UD | 10 | Jan 31, 1955 | Eastern Parkway Arena, New York, New York, US | |
| 26 | Win | 26–0 | Peter Müller | UD | 10 | Nov 15, 1954 | Eastern Parkway Arena, New York, New York, US | |
| 25 | Win | 25–0 | Jackie LaBua | UD | 10 | Nov 8, 1954 | Eastern Parkway Arena, New York, New York, US | |
| 24 | Win | 24–0 | Dick Wolfe | KO | 4 (10), 1:27 | Aug 16, 1954 | West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 23 | Win | 23–0 | Reno Abellira | UD | 10 | Jul 29, 1954 | Arena, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Govan Small | PTS | 10 | Jul 12, 1954 | West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Rio Rico | TKO | 1 (10) | Jun 5, 1954 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Andy Anderson | RTD | 7 (10) | May 17, 1954 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Charley Cato | KO | 1 (10), 1:43 | Apr 26, 1954 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Kid Leon | KO | 1 (10) | Feb 6, 1954 | West Jordan Junior High, West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Armando Cotero | UD | 6 | Sep 20, 1952 | Legion Stadium, Hollywood, California, US | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Mickey Rhodes | KO | 6 (?) | Aug 8, 1952 | Ogden Stadium, Ogden, Utah, US | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Baby Ray | KO | 1 (?) | Oct 17, 1951 | Vernal, Utah, US | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Rudy Zadell | PTS | 6 | Oct 10, 1951 | Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Gary Hanley | KO | 1 (?) | Oct 3, 1951 | West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Garth Panther | MD | 10 | Sep 25, 1951 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Sam Healy | TKO | 4 (6) | Sep 14, 1951 | Uintah High School Gym, Vernal, Utah, US | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Charley Cato | KO | 4 (10) | Sep 7, 1951 | West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Buddy Sloan | KO | 2 (?) | Aug 25, 1951 | Hurricane, Utah, US | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Sam Healy | KO | 1 (?) | Aug 24, 1951 | Hurricane, Utah, US | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Carlos Martinez | TKO | 1 (4) | Aug 1, 1951 | Cow Palace, Daly City, California, US | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Lamar Peterson | KO | 1 (?) | Jul 16, 1951 | West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Eddie Duffy | KO | 2 (4) | Jul 9, 1951 | Fairgrounds Coliseum, Salt Lake City, Utah, US | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Eddie Duffy | KO | 1 (?) | Jul 2, 1951 | Vernal, Utah, US | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Gary Carr | KO | 3 (?) | Jun 23, 1951 | Midvale, Utah, US | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Andy Jackson | KO | 1 (?) | Jun 16, 1951 | West Jordan, Utah, US | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Glen Peck | KO | 1 (4), 1:52 | Jun 9, 1951 | George Nelson Field House, Logan, Utah, US | |

## Titles in boxing
### Major world titles

* NYSAC middleweight champion (160 lbs)
* NBA (WBA) middleweight champion (160 lbs) (2×)

### The Ring magazine titles

* The Ring middleweight champion (160 lbs)

### Undisputed titles

* Undisputed middleweight champion

## Personal life

Fullmer graduated from Jordan High School and worked at Kennecott Copper Mine for several years, he also served in the Korean War. He married Dolores Holt on October 13, 1955, in the Salt Lake Temple. They raised 2 daughters and 2 sons.
Fullmer had two younger brothers who boxed: Don Fullmer (February 21, 1939 - January 28, 2012), who twice challenged for the World Middleweight Title, and Jay Fullmer (March 9, 1937 - April 22, 2015), who boxed as a lightweight.
Fullmer was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church), and his living the tenets of his religion, especially the Word of Wisdom, was heavily covered in the press. It was also frequently mentioned that he was a father and that he paid tithing on his boxing winnings.
Fullmer appeared in a cameo role in the 1968 film The Devil's Brigade as a Montana bartender.
Fullmer is featured on the cover of the album Greatest Hits by Alice in Chains.
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.
His fight with Dick Tiger appears prominently in the music video for the Iggy Pop song 'American Valhalla'.
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.

## Filmography

* The Devil's Brigade (1968) - The Bartender