Gene Fullmer vs Dick Tiger 3

Dick Tiger retained his World Boxing Association middleweight championship and became the first World Boxing Council champion at the weight when Gene Fullmer’s manager withdrew the former champion after seven rounds at Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Nigeria, on August 10, 1963. The WBC championship was vacant, the organisation having been established only six months earlier, while Tiger was making the second defence of the WBA title he had won from Fullmer the previous year. Fullmer was cut around both eyes and had absorbed a steady beating before his manager, Merv Jensen, refused to allow him to answer the bell for the eighth round. Referee Jack Hart recorded the result as a retirement after the completion of the seventh. Both men weighed exactly 160 pounds.

The contest was the third meeting between two middleweights whose methods had already produced 30 hard rounds. Tiger had taken Fullmer’s WBA championship by unanimous decision at Candlestick Park in San Francisco on October 23, 1962. Their return contest in Las Vegas on February 23, 1963, ended in a draw, allowing Tiger to retain the title. The match in Ibadan therefore gave Fullmer another opportunity to regain the WBA championship and offered both men the vacant WBC crown. Tiger entered as the established champion under WBA recognition, but the WBC title could not be defended because it had never previously been held.

The occasion was among the largest sporting events staged in Nigeria during that period. Tiger, born Richard Ihetu in Amaigbo, was appearing in his home country for the first time as a world champion. Reports placed the attendance at more than 35,000, with receipts of approximately $250,000. Tiger was guaranteed $100,000 and Fullmer $60,000. The crowd naturally favoured Tiger, but Fullmer was treated with respect. His performances in the first two contests, and his reputation for durability, had earned recognition even among those who had come to see him defeated.

Tiger took command during the opening rounds. Fullmer advanced in his customary fashion, moving forward with his head low and trying to force close exchanges, but the champion met him without giving ground. Tiger’s punches were shorter and straighter, and he appeared both quicker and physically stronger. He used the jab and right hand at distance, then brought the left hook into play when Fullmer attempted to crowd him. The American tried at times to box from farther away than was natural to him, but he lacked the foot speed to keep Tiger at the end of his punches for long.

In the first two meetings, Fullmer had been able to compete through pressure, awkward movement and a willingness to work continuously at close quarters. In Ibadan those methods failed him. Tiger remained balanced as Fullmer rushed forward and punched effectively even when their shoulders came together. Fullmer frequently became squared after missing, leaving him open to the champion’s right hand. When he attempted to smother Tiger’s attack, he was caught by compact hooks to the body and head.

The early rounds were forceful without being reckless. Fullmer continued to press and tried to work beneath Tiger’s elbows, but the champion was landing the cleaner and heavier blows. Tiger did not waste punches. He allowed Fullmer to approach, struck in short combinations and then restored the distance before the challenger could reply properly. Fullmer remained active, but much of his work was taken on Tiger’s gloves and arms. The champion was controlling both the pace and the position of the exchanges.

By the fourth round, the punishment was visible on Fullmer’s face. He was cut around both eyes, with the damage over the right eye causing particular concern. Tiger directed his punches towards the injured areas, following the jab with the right hand and then closing with the left hook. Fullmer held his gloves higher to protect the cuts, but this reduced his opportunities to attack the body. He was forced backwards more frequently and was no longer able to maintain the pressure upon which his best work depended.

The fifth and sixth rounds confirmed Tiger’s superiority. Fullmer continued advancing whenever he could, but his attacks had lost their weight and continuity. At long range he was caught by Tiger’s right hand; at close quarters the champion proved the stronger and more accurate fighter. There was no knockdown, but that absence did not disguise the increasing severity of the punishment. Tiger drove Fullmer towards the ropes and landed with both hands before stepping back into position. The challenger tried to roughen the exchanges and work from a crouch, but Tiger was neither unsettled nor moved from his ground.

By the sixth round the contest had become one-sided. Fullmer’s courage kept him moving forward, but he had found no tactical answer. His face was badly marked, his vision was impaired, and his reactions were slowing. Tiger remained composed, punching with economy and rarely allowing the challenger to land more than one blow at a time. Fullmer’s chief success lay in remaining upright against an opponent who was beating him in every department.

Tiger increased the pressure in the seventh. Encouraged by the crowd, he pursued Fullmer across the ring and landed repeatedly to the head. The challenger continued trying to punch with him, but his defence was no longer adequate. His eyes were damaged, his face was bloodied, and his legs appeared uncertain as he returned to his corner at the bell. He had not been floored, but he had taken enough punishment to make further resistance both unlikely and unnecessary.

Jensen examined Fullmer during the interval and informed the officials that his fighter would not continue. It was a proper decision. Fullmer had shown no sign of reversing the course of the contest, and another round would merely have exposed him to further punishment. Tiger was declared the winner after seven completed rounds, retaining his WBA championship and securing the vacant WBC title. He thereby became the inaugural WBC world middleweight champion.

The announcement caused considerable excitement inside Liberty Stadium, with spectators moving towards the ring as officials attempted to maintain order. Tiger had produced the most decisive performance of the trilogy. Their first meeting had been a hard 15-round decision and their second an unresolved draw. The third left no argument. Tiger had beaten Fullmer at long range, outpunched him inside and forced a man renowned for endurance to retire on his stool.

Fullmer never fought again. He retired with 55 victories, six defeats and three draws, having held recognised versions of the middleweight championship and faced Sugar Ray Robinson, Carmen Basilio, Benny Paret, Joey Giardello and Tiger. His final contest ended not with a single decisive punch but through the accumulated authority of a champion operating at full strength.

For Tiger, the victory had a double significance. He remained WBA champion and added the new WBC championship, uniting the two principal forms of recognition then available at middleweight. The WBC belt had been vacant before the contest and was won, not defended, at Ibadan. Tiger left the ring as the established WBA title-holder and the first man recognised by the WBC as world middleweight champion.

By the third fight, Dick Tiger had worked Gene Fullmer out completely. Tiger had taken the WBA title from him in 1962, drawn the rematch and now met him in Ibadan with his championship and the vacant inaugural WBC belt at stake. Fullmer remained popular because he was tough, awkward and incapable of giving anyone an easy night, but the mileage was showing.

Tiger beat him wherever the fight went. At range, the longer right hand kept splitting Fullmer’s guard. Inside, Tiger’s short left hooks were stronger and cleaner. Fullmer tried boxing from distance, which was never his game, but by the fourth he was cut around both eyes, and by the sixth it had become one-sided. His corner stopped it after seven.

There was no shame in that finish. Fullmer had been a fine champion, but Tiger was sharper, stronger and technically superior. The stoppage was correct, and Fullmer wisely never fought again.