Would it have raised fan outrage, if the ref ruled a TKO against SRR for taking hellacious, unrelenting, unanswered punishment against the ropes from Gene Fullmer in their first fight?
Fullmer fought so dirty he would have been DQd today. Tripping, headbutting, elbows. Even the ref said he didnt penalize Fullmer because "thats the only way he knows how to fight."
I'd be outraged. SRR isn't the 'stoppable' type, and it makes him even greater, more appealing. If he had all of the same abilities and attributes, but possessed meager punch resistance it just wouldn't exude the same type of aura. He's that guy who had the greatest combination of power-speed-chin of anybody, ever.
Your point's well-taken, N, but thinking back to SRR defenseless against the ropes, with Fullmer's relentless haymakers pounding his head, would you not've had any concern that Sugar could've been a fatality?
Look again, LR, Fullmer was hittin' Sugar, pinned on the ropes, with a fusillade of home runs right on the button that made his head look like a Pinata.
SRR was slipping for sure by post '55 due to age, but he was still a viable force at 160 pounds for sure....... I think Ray was right there with the much younger Fullmer all the way by 1957, but was slightly out-hustled in fight # 1..... Infact, Ray was again being bullied by Fullmer in the rematch of May '57 too, but landed a much needed hook to Gene's chops in round 5 to end matters...... By 1960 / '61, SRR was still able to beat some good guys out there, but he was clearly faded and slowed.... MR.BILL
Fullmer was an arm puncher at best and Robinson was durable. No, it should not have been stopped based on that. Fullmer had never knocked out a contender in any weight class in his career at that point and Robinson was a beloved, defending champ. He rightly got the benefit of the doubt. He illustrated that the ref made the right call when over four years later Robinson stood up to an even worse shellacking along the ropes after the bell in their final fight and kept on going.
Who was favored going into the fight? I don't see anyone on Fullmer's resume going in that says he should win. Robinson may not have been at his peak, but he was comming off two wins over Olsen. Both by stoppage. It's pretty clear that he was still really good.
Got to be honest, I've read a lot but haven't seen much of Fullmer apart from the Robinson knockout and the Laussa fight. How do you's guys rate him? How do you see a fight against Mustafa Hamsho for example?
