How good was this former middleight champion? He had a series of bouts against Robinson, I think he beat him twice, flooring him also, he seemed like an excellent fighter. Good skills, power, strong, could both box and brawl. How good was Gene? Any info is much appreciated.
On a seroius note, Richard your a bit of a boxing historian. Anything on Gene Fullmer, one of so many forgotten champions that never seem to get discussed on this forum?
Gene Fullmer was a rough and tough fighter from Utah, in his Jan 2 1957 title bout with defending World Middleweight champion Sugar Ray Robinson, he even decked Robinson during the fight in winning the title. But in the rematch on May 1 1957, he got tagged by a left hook by Robinson in round 5 which ended the night for Gene. His bouts later against Carmine Basilio and D. Tiger were priceless.
Well he could be a vicious body puncher, he had that Marciano type relentless style about him and a solid chin. But he did kind of change his style as he aged and got him good win s over Basilio. Anyone who got a win over SRR ain't bad!
Gene was a master at winning ugly. He would maul, brawl and mug his way to a win. And he was relentless. There was no respite with Gene. If you tried to take a breather, you'd get pounded the same way as if you were trying. And if you clinched, you'd better make sure you held onto both those arms very tight. Because if he had a free hand it would be banging you on the top of the head, the back of the head, into the kidneys. He was not a banger by any means, but again, he was relentless and had no issue pounding his opponent for 15 full rounds with no let up.
I find myself not liking him these days. He was tough, absolutely, and fought in a golden era which saw him on this fledgling thing they call TV quite often, so he was part of that whole time and place but he's just so irrepressibly awful to watch.
The man was an absolute brute at 160 pounds. He'd take down a lot of middleweights in history. I'd like to see Fulmer vs Bernard Hopkins, the infighting, grappling, holding would be epic.