Don Fullmer

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 Fullmer
Fullmer (left) with Nino Benvenuti in 1968
Statistics
Weight(s)Middleweight
NationalityAmerican
Born(1939-02-21)February 21, 1939
West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
DiedJanuary 28, 2012(2012-01-28) (aged 72)
West Jordan, Utah, U.S.
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights79
Wins54
Wins by KO14
Losses20
Draws5
No contests0

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.

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

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 -- Armand Cadol 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. "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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