Best Boxing Blog - This Week in Boxing History

TWIBH: August 10, 1963 - Tiger vs. Fullmer III

It is often the case with dynamic brawlers who rely on physical strength, constant aggression and a seemingly inhuman ability to absorb punishment that, like an engine habitually pushed beyond the red line, their bodies abruptly give out. A slugger who just short years previous possessed the vigour and clout to defeat great champions like Sugar Ray Robinson and Carmen Basilio, suddenly slows, weakens, becomes vulnerable. So it was for Gene Fullmer, who at only 31 years of age, unexpectedly lost his middleweight championship to challenger Dick Tiger in San Francisco and in the process appeared to be a greatly diminished fighter.

That's not to say a warrior as rugged and powerful as Tiger couldn't have competed with a prime Fullmer. Tiger - a two-time middleweight champion who defeated a long list of terrific fighters including Joey Giardello, Rubin Carter, Joey Archer, José Torres and Nino Benvenuti - had the goods to hold his own with virtually any middleweight in history. But it was obvious that the Fullmer who lost to the Nigerian after fifteen one-sided rounds was not the same Fullmer who had recently scored big wins over Robinson and Benny Paret.

He looked a bit better in the rematch four months later in Las Vegas, or at least good enough to salvage a draw, though yet another grueling, 15 round battle did little good for the worn down springs in Fullmer's legs or the fading sharpness of his reflexes. But the draw nicely set up a third bout which became an historic event, the first ever world title match in Africa, more than a decade before the famous "Rumble in the Jungle" between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. Nigeria, a nation reeling from various political upheavals and internal strife, came together as one to cheer on their champion, warring factions, temporarily at least, burying the hatchet.

The only real surprise of the night for American audiences was the enthusiastic reception given the former champion. "Fool-mah! Fool-mah!" chanted the massive throng as the "The Utah Cyclone" made his way to the ring. Evidently, Fullmer's gallant stands against their countryman had made him the second most popular boxer in Nigeria.

The bout itself lacked surprises, though not bruising action, albeit one-way, as Tiger's advantages in strength, power and quickness were immediately apparent. The other non-surprise was to see blood pouring down the side of Fullmer's face. By the end of a brutal fourth round which saw Fullmer's tenderized mug take a sustained beating, the former champion had cuts above and below both eyes, the gash above the right particularly nasty. Tiger pursued his advantage, stalking his man, while Fullmer tried unsuccessfully to box from a distance, forced to adopt a style clearly unnatural to him. By the sixth the match had become a rout. Fullmer had no options; on the outside, jabbing and trying to protect the cuts around his eyes, he kept getting nailed by powerful right hands thanks to Tiger's longer arms. On the inside, the champion pummeled Gene with heavy left hooks.

Spurred on by his countrymen, Tiger dished out a beating in round seven, hammering Fullmer from corner to corner. The challenger never stopped trying, never stopped fighting back, but all could see the contest had been decided. At the bell Gene walked haltingly back to his corner, as if uncertain of the floor beneath him, his expression one of weary resignation. Seconds later his manager signaled surrender. As the referee raised Tiger's hand, joyous pandemonium erupted in Liberty Stadium and fans flooded through the ropes. It took half an hour for police to clear the ring.

"If you have to lose, it's a pleasure to lose to a great fighter, sportsman, and gentleman like Dick Tiger," declared the gracious Fullmer, who was astonished by the tributes and adulation the Nigerian fans bestowed upon him. "There were at least a thousand fans waiting outside to cheer goodbye," he marveled after his return to the United States. The poignant farewell could have been on behalf of the entire sport for Fullmer, clearly one of the best middleweights of his time, never fought again. - Michael Carbert

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TWIBH: August 18, 1979 - Muhammad vs. Conteh I

Does Matthew Saad Muhammad qualify as a truly "great" fighter? Perhaps not, but strictly in terms of heart, courage and ability to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, not to mention sheer excitement, few warriors in boxing's history surpass him. His prime was relatively short, but what thrills he gave fight fans while it lasted.

In April of 1979, Muhammad had wrested the WBC light-heavyweight championship from Marvin Johnson in as gutsy and gory a championship fight as boxing had ever seen. He was known then as Matthew Franklin, and his title-winning performance further established his growing reputation as a courageous slugger with an almost super-human ability to absorb punishment before coming back to overwhelm his opponent. He eventually came to be known as "Miracle Matthew."

Four months later, having converted to the Muslim faith and changed his name, Matthew Saad Muhammad set to defend his title against former champion John Conteh of England. If Muhammad had a reputation for durability and excitement, Conteh had one too, both for possessing one of the best left jabs in the division, and for frequent illegal use of his skull. Prior to the match, Muhammad referred with some displeasure to the challenger's tendency to imitate an angry "billy goat," while Conteh pleaded innocence to these charges, claiming he didn't so much intentionally butt people as use what he referred to as "advantageous head placement."

The bout, broadcast live on ABC's Wide World of Sports, only reinforced the public perceptions of both men. The early rounds clearly belonged to the more experienced challenger who started the contest boxing beautifully, snapping in his potent left hand, often doubling and tripling up on it, while deftly avoiding the champion's power punches. Conteh set the terms: a fast-paced and long-range fight, both men throwing plenty of jabs, Muhammad's largely ineffective. At times the champion looked nothing short of amateurish as he missed by two or more feet with wide punches which Conteh easily anticipated and countered. In the third round Conteh started to land right hands and the British fans in Atlantic City's Resorts International cheered and chanted their man on.

But as was often the case with Saad Muhammad, whose ring style involved an unmistakable streak of masochism, some clean shots to his handsome visage were usually required to get him going. In the fourth his advantages in strength and power began to surface and in the fifth he threatened to take control of the fight. His left hook had established itself and now the champion began to shoot the right hand in behind it. Conteh had no choice but to give ground, until the very end of the round when he abruptly charged forward. With his head down.

"Oh, come on!" shouted Muhammad as he recoiled from the clash of craniums and brought an open glove to his left eye, an eye whose brow quickly puffed up and in the next round began to leak blood. Conteh wasted no time seizing his opportunity. With renewed zeal he snapped in his stinging jab, targeting his opponent's wounded eye and battering a stunned champion about the ring. Rounds six and seven were huge for the challenger and it appeared he not only had regained control of the contest but was building up an insurmountable lead on the scorecards.

If appearances were anything to go by as round eight began, Conteh was about to regain the championship. He appeared fresh and confident and was clearly ahead on points, while Muhammad presented a pitiful sight, the left side of his face misshapen, the blood streaming down despite an ugly white glob of petroleum jelly and coagulant on his eyebrow, his once white trunks a butcher's apron. But just when it seemed Muhammad had reached the point of no return proved instead the point when his engine really began to hum. The champion gradually took command as he found the range again for his heavy artillery. Conteh simply lacked the strength to slug it out with the champion.

With the fight deadly close, the last few rounds came down to Conteh's experience vs. Muhammad's power. Round eleven was a toss-up and the twelfth belonged to the challenger, but in the thirteenth Muhammad landed some withering body punches and a huge right hand at its end had Conteh holding on. Since the eighth, the champion had been looking to hit paydirt with the left hook and in the fourteenth, he finally did. Almost two minutes in he missed with a looping right uppercut which effectively acted as a decoy; Conteh never saw the huge hook coming behind it. The punch stunned Conteh and a follow-up left dropped him to his knees. Up at the count of seven, he was battered and sent down a second time. Somehow Conteh beat the count again and, badly dazed, clinched and wrestled his way to the bell.

In the fifteenth and final round of a memorable war, Muhammad maintained his advantage while a desperate Conteh reverted to his "billy goat" self and, perhaps thinking he could somehow force a stoppage if he did more damage with his head, repeatedly attempted to butt the champion. At the final bell Muhammad embraced his opponent somewhat reluctantly. It had been a dramatic, see-saw affair but the knockdowns sealed the unanimous decision for the champion.

However, the end result was undermined by the discovery afterwards that Muhammad's corner had used an illegal coagulant on that wicked cut above his left eye. At different times Conteh had been seen blinking his eyes and he and his corner claimed that the substance in question had impeded the challenger's performance by getting in his eyes and interfering with his vision. The WBC ordered a rematch. Muhammad, enraged by Conteh's illegal tactics and the controversy, met the Britisher again in the exact same location seven months later. The champion dominated this time from the opening bell, knocking Conteh down five times in round four to score a convincing stoppage win, during which he suffered no cuts. - Robert Portis

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