Fullmer still packs punch at age 70

Dean Juipe

Thursday, March 7, 2002 | 10:11 a.m.

It's a trick question when someone comes across Gene Fullmer's name and musingly applies the "Where are they now?" query that all aging sports heroes encounter.

Fullmer, you see, is right where he has always been. Born 70 years ago in West Jordan, Utah, the former middleweight boxing champion still lives in the same house in which he was raised.

Only the mink ranch that once surrounded it has failed the test of time, as Fullmer demonstrated Sunday at the Castaways hotel-casino during an autograph session sponsored by Power Play Sportscards.

Witty, charming and self-effacing to an extreme, Fullmer is an accommodating man with a lively sense of humor who frequently uses himself as a target.

For instance: "I still do a few of these shows, but you know they're desperate when they're calling on me."

Or, when asked if he still enjoys an occasional round of golf, he says "Yes, but it's 'goof' with me."

Or, while reminiscing yet being uncertain of a specific date, he volunteers that "I don't have Alzheimer's, but I do have 'half-heimer's.' I'm halfway there."

In truth, little has slipped past him since he gave up on the mink ranch and drifted into retirement some 20 years ago. He makes an annual appearance at the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Canastota, N.Y., every June and sporadically attends autograph shows in the West.

Fullmer, who retired as a prizefighter in 1964 at the age of 33 with a record of 55-6-3 and 24 knockouts, was twice the middleweight champion and is best known for having taken part in four grueling bouts with Sugar Ray Robinson. He finished that series with a record of 2-1-1 against Robinson, and he also owns victories over luminaries such as Carmen Basilio, Dick Tiger and Benny "Kid" Paret.

"I beat Basilio after Robinson said he had retired, but when he saw that I was the champion he said 'Fullmer was easy last time, so I'll fight him again' and he came out of retirement," Fullmer said, even though he had defeated Robinson in their first fight (in 1957 at New York's Madison Square Garden).

Robinson won the rematch by fifth-round knockout with a right hand that historians still say may have been the "best punch ever thrown." Fullmer said at the time that he never saw the punch and says now that "all I remember was somebody turning the lights out, and it was him."

Their third fight, in 1960 at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, was scored a draw and Fullmer won their fourth fight, March 4, 1961 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, by decision in a bout partially recalled for the 20-punch flurry he threw in the third round.

In all, Fullmer successfully defended his 160-pound title seven times before losing to Tiger on Oct. 23, 1962 in Ibadan, Nigeria. Some 35,000 fans packed Liberty Stadium to see that fight, which Tiger won when a cut on Fullmer's right brow limited his capabilities.

"I got a bug and was sick before the fight," Fullmer said. "Then I got cut and I remember the referee (Jack Hart) coming over after the seventh round and saying 'I'm going to have to stop it.' I said, 'That's fine, because I can't whip this guy with both eyes, let alone one.' "

Actually, he went 1-1-1 in three fights with Tiger but the end of his career was near, which he readily acknowledged.

"I wanted to fight again," he said of what prompted him to retire from the sport. "But I didn't want people to see how bad I was, so it was time to quit."

Some, however, would say he's still going strong.