There Really Was one: 1959

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Basilio beat Arley Seifer by a third round knockout in Augusta on April 1st to keep busy while trying to arrange a third fight with Sugar Ray Robinson. The bout was arranged as a favor to Carmen’s friend, Earl Crangle, who hunted and fished with him and who raised dogs in Georgia. I couldn’t even find much about the bout itself except that Seifer, who supposedly had a record of 30 wins and 6 losses, (actually he was 15-8, per boxrec.com), was “totally outclassed”. Arlie’s claim to fame was that his last fight in 1961 was against a young fighter named Jimmy Ellis, who was making his pro debut. Arlie went down in three rounds in that one, too.

Robinson thwarted Basilio’s attempt to get him the ring a third time by making impossible demands that gave Ray most of the money that would be generated by such a fight, (he would get 45%, Carmen 20% and the promoters would keep the rest).It didn’t help when Ray accused Carmen of being “yellow” and suggested that the second fight had “finished him” and that he ought to retire. Basilio would only fight Robinson on equal terms and so there were no terms and no fight. When the WBA declared the title vacant, Carmen was matched with Gene Fullmer for the crown. Both men saw it as a chance to grab the title and then negotiate with Robinson on equal terms.

 

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THE IMMOVEABLE OBJECTS

Carmen’s wife, Kay, had wanted him to retire. She didn’t even make the cross-country trip to San Francisco to watch him fight Fullmer. Many people thought Carmen would retire after the second Robinson fight because of his eye injury. It was speculated that he would retire if Fullmer beat him but that if Carmen won, he’d stay in the game to get another shot at Robinson.
Another thing weighing on Carmen’s mind was the trouble his managers, John DeJohn and Joe Netro, had gotten into. They had been seen talking with Frankie Carbo and admitted they cut Gabe Genovese in on their share of Carmen’s earnings. Genovese had been suspended for managing without a license. Both managers had testified that Carmen had no dealings with Genovese or Carbo. This controversy prevented them from getting licensed to manage in California. It meant that Carmen could keep 100% of the money he made on the bout and that they couldn’t be in his corner. Angelo Dundee was still there, however, as he had been for most of Carmen’s main fights. It was reported that there was a commotion in Carmen’s dressing room before the fight when it was decided that DeJohn and Netro could not be in his corner. DeJohn was heard shouting instructions to Dundee from the stands, although it’s not known if Dundee heard him, (or chose to listen).

Carmen told Barney Nagler “I cried before the fight. Look, there was Joe Netro, a big, fat happy go lucky man barred from working with me and there he is crying. Ever see a grown man cry? It ain’t nice. I just broke down. I cried. Then I realized I was going in to fight a tough guy like Fullmer. I just didn’t have it.”

Fullmer, a natural middleweight, came in at 159 while Carmen was 154 pounds. Fullmer was also the younger man, 28 years old to 32. Both had plenty of experience. Fullmer had a record of 49-4 with 21 knockouts. He’d kept busy fighting other contenders during the two years since his own two bout series with Robinson, beating Tiger Jones, Chico Vejar, Spider Webb and Joe Miceli among other 50’s favorites. Carmen was 54-13-7 with 27 KO’s. Fullmer’s one punch defeat to Robinson in their rematch was the only time either fighter had even been knocked out or even down.

The fight was dubbed “The battle of the immovable objects”. It was thought that Fullmer possessed more strength and power but that Carmen was the quicker and more accurate puncher. Perhaps because he had had the more prominent recent victories, Basilio was the slight favorite. (I have always thought that Carmen and Gene looked very much like each other and it’s hard to tell which is which in pictures of the fight. But I guess if you get punched in the face enough, you are liable to start looking like other guys who do the same thing for a living.)

The bout took place in the “Cow Palace” where many various events, including political conventions, have been scheduled over the years. Nat Fleischer of “Ring Magazine” declared he’d never seen a boxer look as sharp as Basilio did in his work-outs. Fullmer, meanwhile, was using a Willie Mays bat to swing at the heavy bag. His manager insisted it was a serious part of his training. The theory was that “it builds up power by getting the fighter’s hips to swivel with each punch. You know fighters used to train by chopping wood. It built up the strength in their arms. But the stroke was all wrong. After all, fighters don’t punch down the way they swing an axe. The bat-swinging idea is supposed to help a fighter punch more naturally.” And if you are in San Francisco, it helps if it’s a Willie Mays bat….

 

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FULLMER I







“Fullmer won it after the most exciting series of thunderous punches that any ring has seen. Throughout the early rounds, they had the crowd screaming at their exchanges. Gradually, however, Fullmer's four year advantage in youth, his greater weight and his ability to counter-punch effectively wore down Basilio, whose punches lost their steam in the late going….Basilio was far behind in points when the end came…The end of the bout and possibly of Carmen’s career, came at 39 seconds of the 14th round. When referee Jack Downey stopped it to ‘save Basilio from further punishment’. The decision was unpopular with the crowd at the Cow Palace because Carmen had fought back repeatedly from deep trouble. However, by the time Fullmer staggered Basilio flat-footed with a thunderous right, it was obvious that the lion-hearted Chittenango battler could only win by a knockout and he didn’t have a bit of power left for such an achievement.”

“Fullmer adopted a back-pedaling style which made Basilio force the fight much of the way. In addition, Carmen seldom employed the bob-and-weave tactics which had been so effective for him in other fights….As expected, it was a bloody battle of rugged wallopers….Basilio was cut above the left eye in the first round and was gashed on the cheekbone later but Fullmer came out of the third with a split lip and was also bleeding from the cheekbone in the late rounds….Basilio, who had fought only a tune-up bout since beating Art Aragon in Los Angeles last September, wasn’t his usual self except in his ability to come back after taking punishment. In his own words, Carmen said he ‘just didn’t have it’, and those who rooted for him strongly though the fight just had to agree. In contrast to the ring-rusty Chittenango battler, Fullmer was putting together combinations decisively and even when Basilio chased Gene to the ropes the Utah strong boy was able to outpunch Carmen more often than not.”

Downey scored the fight 128-119 for Fullmer, (10-2-1 in completed rounds). The two judges were 129-121, (9-1-3), and 125-121, (8-5). Reddy had it 127-120, (7-4-2), on his own card.

“The first round started at a furious pace, with Fullmer landing a pair of stiff lefts to open the bout and then nailing Carmen with a good right hand before Basilio fought back explosively. They punched away so violently that the crowd shouted its approval. The second round brought more of the same with neither fighter apparently capable of hurting the other. Basilio, staggered by a hard right early in the third round, blazed back with such a withering fire that he had Fullmer covering up at the finish. Basilio, crouching for the first time, matched Fullmer’s fire through the fourth round in a slower but punch filled session.”

“The pattern started to show in the fifth. When Fullmer staggered Basilio with two thunderous rights, Carmen continued to chase Gene but Fullmer was starting to look stronger. Basilio won a furious exchange of head-to-head slugging in the sixth round. But after landing more punches than Gene, Basilio seemed more tired than his foe as the bell rang. Basilio came back strong in the seventh, making Gene miss repeatedly but Carmen’s punches seemed to be losing their force. After catching a few in the eighth, Fullmer unleashed a bombardment which crumpled Carmen’s knees and Basilio was hanging on but seemed to be sliding toward the floor when the bell rang.”

“In the ninth, Fullmer doubled up Basilio with a wicked left to the body. Carmen protected himself well and was firing away well the rest of the way. Good in flurries in the 10th, forcing Fullmer to back off, Carmen still seemed to be tiring. He seemed to have Fullmer in trouble but was unable to follow up on his temporary advantage and Gene finished the round strongly.”

“The 12th round seemed slow by comparison, with little to choose as Basilio kept stalking Fullmer. The greater power of Gene’s punches was evident in the 13th. A right to the head, which seemed to daze Basilio, apparently was the signal for the end. Basilio covered up. Fullmer was unable to land another telling blow as he held Basilio on the ropes and it was at that point, with Carmen apparently unable to shake off this blow as he had done repeatedly, that Downey stopped it.”

“The referee, although he could hardly have been called a decisive factor, let Fullmer lay on Basilio repeatedly, and even failed to interfere when he pushed Carmen’s shoulders through the ropes. Downey seemed to want to talk the fighters out of close quarters when they were tied up but when they were slow to follow his instructions he failed to caution them. Occasionally, when he told them to break, the fighters ignored him and Downey didn’t insist.” Downey said he stopped the fight because Carmen’s corner asked him to do so “But I should have done it anyway.”

Fullmer credited his managers with the strategy that won the fight. The plan was to use the jab to keep Carmen off balance and then “stiff him with a right hand”. Fullmer said “I was reluctant at first but I went along. It proves that managers are smarter than fighters.” Carmen insisted, “I was hurt but not as bad as it looked. I was exaggerating to try to lure Fullmer in but he wouldn’t come. Then they stopped it. Fullmer is the strongest guy I ever fought.” Finally he admitted, “He really whipped me I was lousy and he was great.” Gene, for his part, said, “If you don’t believe I got punched, look at my face.” This was Ring Magazine’s “Fight of the Year” for 1959, the fifth straight year that honor went to a Carmen Basilio fight.

Unlike Carmen’s relationship with Robinson, his relationship with Fullmer was characterized by mutual respect and friendship, despite the blows they traded in two action-filled fights. Gene was invited by Carmen to show up and the New York State Fair that year for an event celebrating boxing champions and they appeared together in the paper signing autographs for youngsters. One can hardly picture Sugar Ray Robinson in such a picture unless he was being paid a small fortune for being there, although I’m sure Fullmer received some compensation. Among other famous fighters to appear were Jack Dempsey, Rocky Marciano and Mickey Walker. One wonders if the germ of an idea for a Hall of Fame formed in Carmen’s mind at this time.

You-Tube has the original broadcast of the entire fight:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQwQkAu4UUk

Many have remarked on a resemblance between Basilio and Fullmer. Here are a couple of pictures of them, on in the ring and the other at a banquet:
http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/thumb/7/71/F16473e.jpg/400px-F16473e.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/34xmk4h.jpg
But Fullmer in the U-Tube clip looks more like a Neanderthal with his prominent brow. But like Carmen, he was under-rated for his boxing ability. He moves and jabs and counter-punches. When Carmen is able to get inside, Fullmer, a much bigger man, just sort of leans on him, making Carmen hold him up for 14 rounds. Carmen was never much more than a welterweight fighting middleweights and Fullmer here looks more like a light-heavyweight. When the end comes, the stoppage seems abrupt and premature. Carmen is already counter-attacking. But he’s clearly hopelessly behind on points and a knock-out seems out of the question so I don’t think there would have been a different winner had the referee allowed the fight to continue. Both men were fierce fighters in the ring but quality gentlemen once the fight was over, as exemplified by the gracious interview Gene Fullmer gives after the bout. No Neanderthal he.