Don Fullmer

Don Fullmer
Don Fullmer
	Fullmer (left) with Nino Benvenuti in 1968
Statistics
Weight(s)	Middleweight
Nationality	American
Born	February 21, 1939; West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
Died	January 28, 2012 (aged 72); West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	79
Wins	54
Wins by KO	14
Losses	20
Draws	5
No contests	0

Don Fullmer (February 21, 1939 – January 28, 2012) was an American professional boxer and a brother of the former world middleweight champion Gene Fullmer.^[1] 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. Another brother, Jay, was also active in boxing.^{[citation needed]}

Boxing career[]

Don turned professional in 1957 as a middleweight and beat some top contenders during his early career, such as Rocky Fumerelle, Rocky Rivero, and Joe DeNucci. However, he also lost to some good fighters, such as former champions Terry Downes, Dick Tiger, José Torres and Emile Griffith, as well as Joey Archer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1964 he beat Jimmy Ellis, who later went on to win the World Boxing Association version of the heavyweight championship. The win against Ellis began a winning streak for Fullmer and he went on to defeat Griffith and Archer in rematches. This streak ended when he lost to Nino Benvenuti in Rome in 1966. Benvenuti went on to win the middleweight title, and after Fullmer beat Carl "Bobo" Olson he fought a rematch with Benvenuti for the title in 1968. He knocked the Italian down but lost a fifteen-round unanimous decision. While never a recognized world champion, Fullmer did win a bout billed as for the "World Junior Light Heavyweight Championship" when he defeated Joe Hopkins in 1967. This title was the precursor to the current super middleweight championship. Few in the boxing world recognized the legitimacy of that title.^[2]

Fullmer retired from the ring in 1973. In his retirement, he worked for the Salt Lake County Fire Department. Along with his brothers, he ran the Fullmer Brothers boxing gym in West Jordan. The gym provided for kids to work out for free.^[3]

Death[]

Don Fullmer died of leukemia on January 28, 2012, aged 72. He and his wife, Nedra, had five sons.^[1]

Filmography[]

The Devil's Brigade (1968) - The G.I.

Professional boxing record[]

54 Wins (14 knockouts, 40 decisions), 20 Losses (2 knockouts, 18 decisions), 5 Draws [1]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	23-1		UD	10	24/09/1973	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	41-9-8		SD	10	21/04/1973	Capitol Plaza, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	6-4		MD	10	13/01/1973	Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Win	19-17-2		UD	10	14/10/1972	Saint George, Utah
Win	19-13-3		KO	1	22/05/1972	Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah
Loss	33-1-1	Pierre Fourie	PTS	10	19/02/1972	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng
Win	26-3-1		PTS	10	19/10/1971	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	11-2-1		PTS	10	16/09/1971	Read Fieldhouse, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Loss	19-0	Eugene Hart	UD	10	22/06/1971	The Spectrum, Philadelphia	44-47, 44-47, 43-47.
Loss	37-11-2	Bobby Cassidy	SD	10	26/04/1971	Felt Forum, New York City	1-9, 2-8, 5-4.
Loss	55-2-1	Tom Bogs	PTS	10	11/02/1971	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen
Draw	14-4	Billy "Dynamite" Douglas	PTS	10	12/07/1970	Ohio State Fair, Columbus, Ohio
Draw	52-0	Tom Bogs	PTS	10	12/02/1970	, Gladsaxe	4-4.
Loss	27-2-1		SD	10	29/10/1969	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio	44-46, 43-47, 47-46.
Win	33-6-5		SD	10	26/05/1969	Madison Square Garden, New York City	5-4, 6-4, 4-6.
Loss	77-2-1	Nino Benvenuti	UD	15	14/12/1968	Ariston Theatre, Sanremo, Liguria	WBC/WBA World Middleweight Titles. 69-72, 68-73, 65-71.
Win	7-29-3		UD	10	18/09/1968	Star Theater, Phoenix, Arizona	99-94, 99-92, 99-95.
Win	35-16-6		UD	10	29/05/1968	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	42-33-11		UD	10	25/04/1968	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	17-20-5		PTS	10	20/02/1968	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	46-16-10		UD	10	22/09/1967	Weber State University, Ogden, Utah	98-94, 100-90, 99-92.
Win	16-15-3		KO	2	22/06/1967	Adams Field House, Missoula, Montana	Garduno knocked out at 0:54 of the second round.
Win	7-0	Joe Hopkins	TKO	6	03/04/1967	Valley Music Hall, Salt Lake City, Utah	World Junior Light Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:19 of the sixth round.
Win	97-15-2	Bobo Olson	MD	10	28/11/1966	Oakland Arena, Oakland, California	5-2, 4-4, 6-2.
Win	42-22-2		UD	10	17/10/1966	Sportatorium, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	61-16-2		UD	10	25/04/1966	Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii	49-45, 49-47, 48-46.
Loss	30-10-1		UD	12	18/03/1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City	WBA American Middleweight Title. 5-6, 5-7, 4-7.
Loss	62-0	Nino Benvenuti	PTS	12	04/02/1966	Palazzetto dello Sport, Rome
Win	45-1	Joey Archer	SD	12	13/12/1965	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts	WBA American Middleweight Title. 115-117, 119-114, 117-114.
Win	45-6	Emile Griffith	UD	12	19/08/1965	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah	WBA American Middleweight Title. 117-115, 120-112, 118-111.
Win	28-11-6		UD	10	21/06/1965	West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah	98-92, 98-93, 97-93.
Draw	16-1-1		PTS	10	27/04/1965	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	10-2-2		UD	10	24/02/1965	The Hacienda, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	15-3	Jimmy Ellis	SD	10	21/10/1964	Louisville Gardens, Louisville, Kentucky
Loss	48-15-3	Dick Tiger	UD	10	11/09/1964	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	10-1		TKO	1	15/08/1964	Lane County Fair, Eugene, Oregon	Referee stopped the bout at 2:13 of the first round.
Draw	21-16-3		TD	5	14/04/1964	Sacramento, California
Loss	27-0-1	Souleymane Diallo	PTS	10	23/12/1963	Palais des Sports, Paris
Loss	26-1-1	José Torres	PTS	10	09/10/1963	Teaneck Armory, Teaneck, New Jersey	2-5.
Win	15-0-1		UD	10	03/07/1963	Lane County Fair, Eugene, Oregon	98-89, 99-95, 100-92.
Loss	25-1	Sandro Mazzinghi	TKO	8	05/05/1963	Velodromo Vigorelli, Milan, Lombardy	Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the eighth round.
Win	38-16-3		PTS	10	18/04/1963	Reno, Nevada
Win	38-15-3		UD	10	14/02/1963	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah
Loss	31-3	Emile Griffith	UD	10	06/10/1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City	2-6, 2-7, 1-9.
Win	45-6-1		SD	10	21/07/1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City	6-4, 6-4, 5-6.
Loss	28-8	Terry Downes	PTS	10	22/05/1962	Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Win	31-3-2	Joe DeNucci	UD	10	16/03/1962	Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts	97-95, 99-92, 97-96.
Loss	36-7-4		TKO	7	12/08/1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	26-1		UD	10	15/07/1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City	7-2, 8-2, 9-1.
Loss	29-0	Joey Archer	MD	10	04/02/1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City	3-7, 2-8, 5-5.
Win	7-10-1		PTS	10	11/11/1960	George Nelson Fieldhouse, Logan, Utah
Draw	79-1-4	Gustav Scholz	PTS	10	14/09/1960	Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win	25-5-1		UD	10	11/05/1960	, West Jordan, Utah	97-94, 100-94, 99-92.
Win	12-7		UD	8	28/03/1960	West Jordan, Utah
Win	2-0-1	Billy Blair	PTS	8	05/03/1960	Sports Club, West Jordan, Utah
Win	0-1		KO	5	20/02/1960	, West Jordan, Utah
Win	51-23-1	Virgil Akins	UD	10	28/01/1960	Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri
Win	7-16-4		PTS	6	04/12/1959	George Nelson Fieldhouse, Logan, Utah
Loss	16-2-1		UD	10	18/08/1959	Auditorium, Portland, Oregon	93-98, 94-100, 93-99.
Loss	30-10-2		SD	10	06/07/1959	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	19-8-4		PTS	10	04/04/1959	Palm Springs Stadium, Palm Springs, California
Win	1-4		KO	3	09/02/1959	Eldred Recreation Center, Provo, Utah	Olds knocked out at 1:07 of the third round.
Win	1-3		KO	4	16/01/1959	, Vernal, Utah
Win	2-0-1		UD	6	15/12/1958	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	--		KO	1	29/11/1958	Kanab, Utah
Win	3-1		KO	1	10/11/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	--		KO	2	13/10/1958	West Jordan Elementary School, West Jordan, Utah	Barker knocked out at 2:16 of the second round.
Win	17-26-2		PTS	6	11/09/1958	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	--		UD	6	26/07/1958	Arena, West Jordan, Utah
Win	1-2	Elmer Carter	PTS	5	07/07/1958	West Jordan, Utah
Win	0-2		KO	2	04/06/1958	West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah
Win	--		PTS	6	19/04/1958	Springville, Utah
Win	0-1		PTS	6	05/04/1958	Cedar City, Utah
Win	0-1	Elmer Carter	PTS	5	03/03/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	4-5-2		UD	6	10/02/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah	30-23, 30-23, 30-22.
Win	--		PTS	6	01/02/1958	Cedar City, Utah
Win	--		TKO	2	28/01/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah	Referee stopped the bout at 1:30 of the second round.
Win	0-1		KO	1	04/09/1957	Arena, West Jordan, Utah	Hudson knocked out at 2:47 of the first round.
Win	1-3		TKO	3	02/08/1957	West Jordan, Utah	Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the third round.

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b "Boxing legend Don Fullmer dies at age 72". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2012.
^ Goldman, Herbert (February 2000). "Answerman". Boxing Digest. 42 (2): 62.
^ "Rescue mission begins for Fullmers". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.

External links[]

[DesNews-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b "Boxing legend Don Fullmer dies at age 72". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 29, 2012.

[2] Goldman, Herbert (February 2000). "Answerman". Boxing Digest. 42 (2): 62.

[3] "Rescue mission begins for Fullmers". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. January 4, 2010. Retrieved January 29, 2010.

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