Don Fullmer

Don Fullmer
Fullmer (left) with Nino Benvenuti in 1968
Statistics
Rated at	Middleweight
Nationality	American
Born	(1939-02-21)February 21, 1939 West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
Died	January 28, 2012(2012-01-28) (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.

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.

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 middlweight 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 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
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	23-1	Richie Kates	UD	10	24/09/1973	The Spectrum, Philadelphia
Win	41-9-8	Andy Kendall	SD	10	21/04/1973	Capitol Plaza, Louisville, Kentucky
Win	6-4	Billy Freeman	MD	10	13/01/1973	Williamsport, Pennsylvania
Win	19-17-2	Lino Rendon	UD	10	14/10/1972	Saint George, Utah
Win	19-13-3	Amado Vasquez	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	"Irish" Kelly Wagner	PTS	10	19/10/1971	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	11-2-1	Dave Thach	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	Skojtehal, Gladsaxe	4-4.
Loss	27-2-1	Doyle Baird	SD	10	29/10/1969	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio	44-46, 43-47, 47-46.
Win	33-6-5	Juarez De Lima	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	Polo Corona	UD	10	18/09/1968	Star Theater, Phoenix, Arizona	99-94, 99-92, 99-95.
Win	35-16-6	Gene Bryant	UD	10	29/05/1968	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	42-33-11	Billy Marsh	UD	10	25/04/1968	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	17-20-5	Carl Moore	PTS	10	20/02/1968	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	46-16-10	Ted "Farmer" Wright	UD	10	22/09/1967	Weber State University, Ogden, Utah	98-94, 100-90, 99-92.
Win	16-15-3	Luis Garduno	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	Tony Montano	UD	10	17/10/1966	Sportatorium, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	61-16-2	Stan Harrington	UD	10	25/04/1966	Hawaii International Center, Honolulu, Hawaii	49-45, 49-47, 48-46.
Loss	30-10-1	Jose "Monon" Gonzalez	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	Gene Bryant	UD	10	21/06/1965	West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah	98-92, 98-93, 97-93.
Draw	16-1-1	Andy Kendall	PTS	10	27/04/1965	Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	10-2-2	Ferd Hernandez	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	Ron Thompson	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	Fred Roots	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	Bobby Horn	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	Eddie Andrews	PTS	10	18/04/1963	Reno, Nevada
Win	38-15-3	Eddie Andrews	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	Juan Carlos Rivero	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	Ted "Farmer" Wright	TKO	7	12/08/1961	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	26-1	Rocky Fumerelle	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	Buck Bellamy	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	Stefan Redl	UD	10	11/05/1960	Jenson's Gym, West Jordan, Utah	97-94, 100-94, 99-92.
Win	12-7	JC Johnson	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	James Shorty	KO	5	20/02/1960	Jenson's Gym, West Jordan, Utah
Win	51-23-1	Virgil Akins	UD	10	28/01/1960	Kiel Auditorium, Saint Louis, Missouri
Win	7-16-4	Doug Garrett	PTS	6	04/12/1959	George Nelson Fieldhouse, Logan, Utah
Loss	16-2-1	Phil Moyer	UD	10	18/08/1959	Auditorium, Portland, Oregon	93-98, 94-100, 93-99.
Loss	30-10-2	Eddie Andrews	SD	10	06/07/1959	Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	19-8-4	Orlando DiPietro	PTS	10	04/04/1959	Palm Springs Stadium, Palm Springs, California
Win	1-4	Cornell Olds	KO	3	09/02/1959	Eldred Recreation Center, Provo, Utah	Olds knocked out at 1:07 of the third round.
Win	1-3	Cornell Olds	KO	4	16/01/1959	Uintah High School Gym, Vernal, Utah
Win	2-0-1	Roscoe Shamblin	UD	6	15/12/1958	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	--	Willie Fuller	KO	1	29/11/1958	Kanab, Utah
Win	3-1	Dick Bankhead	KO	1	10/11/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	--	Curtis Barker	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	Andy Maes	PTS	6	11/09/1958	Derks Field, Salt Lake City, Utah
Win	--	Chico Cirini	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	Cornell Olds	KO	2	04/06/1958	West Jordan Park, West Jordan, Utah
Win	--	Frank Fellsen	PTS	6	19/04/1958	Springville, Utah
Win	0-1	Cornell Olds	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	Billy O'Neill	UD	6	10/02/1958	Utah State Fair, Salt Lake City, Utah	30-23, 30-23, 30-22.
Win	--	Amond Cadoll	PTS	6	01/02/1958	Cedar City, Utah
Win	--	Cornell Olds	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	Johnny Hudson	KO	1	04/09/1957	Arena, West Jordan, Utah	Hudson knocked out at 2:47 of the first round.
Win	1-3	Joe Mortenson	TKO	3	02/08/1957	West Jordan, Utah	Referee stopped the bout at 2:40 of the third round.

References

1. 1 2 "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. 

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Don Fullmer.

• Professional boxing record for Don Fullmer from BoxRec
• Fullmer Brothers Boxing website