27.04.06 – By James Slater: Gene Fullmer was tough. Prior to his challenge for Sugar Ray Robinson’s world middleweight title he’d only lost three bouts. He was an aggressive, come forward guy who had great stamina and a solid chin. Among his vanquished opponents were Paul Pender, Rocky Castellani and Gil Turner. Gene had fought a trilogy with Turner, losing the first and then winning the following two. Fulmer had never been stopped in a professional contest. Going into the fight with Sugar Ray he was confident he could defeat the man who even almost fifty years ago was being hailed as the greatest boxer of all-time, pound-for-pond.
However, the 1957 version of Ray Robinson had seen a lot of ring action. He had been virtually untouchable as a welterweight, losing only once, to the “Bronx Bull”, Jake LaMotta and being held to a draw by the little known Henry Brimm. But Ray was now fighting as a middleweight and though he was undoubtedly a superb talent at 160 pounds, winning the title from LaMotta in 1951, his absolute prime had been on display down at 147.
And now, eight years after making the move from welterweight to middleweight, Ray had been in a lot of tough fights. He’d lost and then regained his middleweight title in fights with England’s Randy Turpin and then, following a heat exhaustion induced surrender to light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim, Ray had retired from boxing for the best part of three years. He had also been badly beaten over ten rounds in his second comeback fight, against Ralph “Tiger” Jones. So, going into his defence with Fullmer ( Robinson had won the middleweight title for a third time with a quick KO over Carl “Bobo” Olsen in 1955, eleven months into his comeback) he was considered by some to be more than a touch past his best. He was thirty-six compared to Fullmer’s twenty-five after all.
Youth was indeed served as Fullmer pounded out a hard fifteen round decision to take the championship. Gene was awarded a unanimous points verdict and at the end of the fight Ray looked very tired. He was well beaten and no-one questioned the verdict. If Ray had retired afterwards nobody would have held it against him. But no, that just wasn’t Sugar Ray’s style. And of course, he had a rematch clause.
Throwing himself into rigorous training, Robinson was determined to win back his title again. He had done so after losing it to Turpin and saw no reason why he couldn’t repeat the act against the raw Fullmer. No-one had beaten Ray Robinson for a second time – not even the mighty Jake LaMotta. Still, entering the ring for the return bout, some four months later, Ray was the underdog. What followed reaffirmed his greatness to all. In fact, the faultless left hand he was to throw that resulted in a devastating KO over his hard chinned rival is still shown on video tape to young fighters today, as a learning tool on how to punch with perfection with the left hook. Some experts say Robinson’s KO is the finest in boxing history!
The thirty seven year old challenger was under pressure from the first bell as Gene advanced in his usual rough handed manner. The first four rounds saw the younger man working at a very active rate, while the ageing Sugar Ray bided his time and looked for openings. What happened when he found one was something no-one had been expecting.
With Fullmer right on top of him as he had been in the first four rounds, Ray stepped back a step and then flashed out a stunning left hook. The crunching blow landed flush on Fullmer’s exposed jaw and he went down as though shot with a gun. Never has a more exquisite one punch knockout been captured on film. Gene hit the canvas and though instinctively he tried to
rise, he was totally gone. As he tried to climb to his feet his right glove remained stuck to the canvas. It looked to all the world as though there was a hundred pound weight in his mitt, such was the visual effect of him trying to stand. After an agonising looking struggle Fullmer crashed face first back to the canvas. The fight was over.
Ray Robinson had produced the ultimate in highlight reel KO’s. He was also the new, and now four-time, middleweight champion of the world. Only three years shy of his fortieth birthday, Sugar had looked sweeter than ever! For his part, Fullmer had no recollection of either the left hook that flattened him or his incredible struggle to get up. He was to share with us later how, when he’d come to, he had looked across and seen Ray pumping his arms in the air as he celebrated victory. Gene, in his still dazed state, had thought how super fit Sugar must have been, exercising in between rounds as he was! That just goes to show how incredibly groggy a Ray Robinson punch was capable of making a fighter. Gene had been KO’d for the first time in his life and he said the sensation was one he did not relish experiencing again!
The two did meet again though. Twice more. They fought again in December of 1960, with Ray looking unfortunate to have been given only a draw, and in March of the following year, with Fullmer winning his second unanimous decision over Sugar Ray.
Four times they may have met in total, but it is the second fight of the series that is by far the most famous. It is remembered, rightfully, as the finest one punch KO in, if not all of boxing, then certainly middleweight boxing history!