Paul Pender (June 20, 1930 β January 12, 2003), was an American boxer. And firefighter from Massachusetts who held the: World Middleweight Championship.
Early lifeβ»
Pender was born in theββBoston suburb of Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna (Lyster) Pender. A 1949 graduate of Brookline High School, Pender was recruited as an all American football player at Michigan State University and Penn State, but instead, choseββto enter professional boxing, while attending Staley College. Although a champion, he regarded boxing as his second job and "being Brookline firefighter his first." As an amateur, he won the "New England welterweight championship."
Pender was a member of the United States Marine Corps.
Professional careerβ»
In 1959, the National Boxing Association withdrew its recognition of Sugar Ray Robinson as middleweight champion. Gene Fullmer and Carmen Basilio fought for the vacant NBA title. And Fullmer won. Pender beat Robinson, "one of the greatest fighters of all time," for the disputed middleweight championship title. He won by split decision in 15 rounds. Pender fought Robinson once againββto defend his title and went on to beat him by split decision.
He fought a set of three matches against English boxer Terry Downes, of which only the third (on April 7, 1962) went the full distance. He won the first and the third bout. But the last would prove to be, "the only fight of that year for Pender and the last of his career." The New York Boxing Commission stripped Pender of his title for not defending it against Dick Tiger. Pender sued and won on appeal.
His career was hampered by his brittle hands. He retired May 7, 1963 as the current world middleweight champion.
His career record was 40 wins (20 by KO), 6 losses, and 2 draws.
Deathβ»
He died in Bedford, Massachusetts on January 12, 2003, at the Veterans Administration Hospital.
Professional boxing recordβ»
48 fights | 40 wins | 6 losses |
---|---|---|
By knockout | 20 | 3 |
By decision | 19 | 3 |
By disqualification | 1 | 0 |
Draws | 2 |
No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round | Date | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
48 | Win | 40β6β2 | Terry Downes | UD | 15 | Apr 7, 1962 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Won NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
47 | Loss | 39β6β2 | Terry Downes | RTD | 9 (15) | Jul 11, 1961 | Empire Pool, Wembley, London, England | Lost NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
46 | Win | 39β5β2 | Carmen Basilio | UD | 15 | Apr 22, 1961 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Retained NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
45 | Win | 38β5β2 | Terry Downes | TKO | 9 (15) | Jan 14, 1961 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Retained NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
44 | Win | 37β5β2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | SD | 15 | Jun 10, 1960 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Retained NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
43 | Win | 36β5β2 | Sugar Ray Robinson | SD | 15 | Jan 22, 1960 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Won NYSAC and The Ring middleweight titles |
42 | Win | 35β5β2 | Gene Hamilton | UD | 10 | Dec 14, 1959 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
41 | Win | 34β5β2 | Jackson Brown | UD | 12 | Aug 17, 1959 | Pierce Memorial Field, East Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | Won USA New England middleweight title |
40 | Win | 33β5β2 | Ralph Tiger Jones | UD | 10 | Mar 17, 1959 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
39 | Win | 32β5β2 | Joe Shaw | TKO | 5 (10) | Feb 16, 1959 | Arcadia Ballroom, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
38 | Win | 31β5β2 | Young Beau Jack | DQ | 3 (10) | Feb 9, 1959 | Arcadia Ballroom, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | Jack was DQ'd after he knocked Pender out and proceeded to attack him while unconscious on the canvas |
37 | Win | 30β5β2 | Joe Gomes | TKO | 6 (10) | Jan 5, 1959 | Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | Fight stopped on cuts |
36 | Win | 29β5β2 | Willie Kid Johnson | TKO | 3 (10) | Dec 22, 1958 | Arcadia Ballroom, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
35 | Win | 28β5β2 | Pete Adams | TKO | 4 (10) | Dec 15, 1958 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
34 | Win | 27β5β2 | Jackson Brown | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 17, 1958 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
33 | Win | 26β5β2 | Jimmy Skinner | UD | 10 | Dec 4, 1956 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
32 | Loss | 25β5β2 | Gene Fullmer | UD | 10 | Feb 14, 1955 | Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
31 | Win | 25β4β2 | Freddie Mack | TKO | 4 (10) | Jan 6, 1955 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
30 | Win | 24β4β2 | Ted Olla | SD | 10 | Dec 20, 1954 | Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S. | |
29 | Win | 23β4β2 | Larry Villeneuve | UD | 10 | Aug 3, 1954 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
28 | Loss | 22β4β2 | Jimmy Beau | TKO | 5 (10) | Mar 31, 1952 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
27 | Win | 22β3β2 | Otis Graham | UD | 10 | Oct 1, 1951 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
26 | Loss | 21β3β2 | Gene Hairston | KO | 3 (10) | Apr 30, 1951 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
25 | Draw | 21β2β2 | Joe Rindone | PTS | 10 | Mar 12, 1951 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
24 | Loss | 21β2β1 | Joe Rindone | UD | 10 | Jan 22, 1951 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
23 | Win | 21β1β1 | Norman Hayes | KO | 7 (10) | Jan 8, 1951 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
22 | Loss | 20β1β1 | Norman Hayes | UD | 10 | Dec 11, 1950 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
21 | Win | 20β0β1 | Harold Sampson | TKO | 3 (10) | Nov 27, 1950 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
20 | Win | 19β0β1 | Norman Horton | KO | 2 (10) | Nov 13, 1950 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
19 | Win | 18β0β1 | Ernie Durando | UD | 10 | Oct 23, 1950 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
18 | Win | 17β0β1 | Roy Wouters | UD | 10 | Oct 9, 1950 | Miners Forum, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada | |
17 | Win | 16β0β1 | Bobby James | UD | 10 | Sep 25, 1950 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
16 | Win | 15β0β1 | Al Couture | TKO | 7 (10) | Jun 22, 1950 | Exposition Building, Portland, Maine, U.S. | |
15 | Win | 14β0β1 | Charley Dodson | UD | 10 | May 3, 1950 | Exposition Building, Portland, Maine, U.S. | |
14 | Win | 13β0β1 | Leon Brown | TKO | 5 (8) | Mar 27, 1950 | Rhode Island Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, U.S. | |
13 | Win | 12β0β1 | Sonny Horne | UD | 10 | Jan 23, 1950 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
12 | Draw | 11β0β1 | Bill Daley | PTS | 10 | Dec 19, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
11 | Win | 11β0 | Bill Daley | UD | 8 | Oct 21, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
10 | Win | 10β0 | Jose Contreras | KO | 2 (6) | Oct 5, 1949 | Mechanics Hall, Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
9 | Win | 9β0 | Mike Gillo | PTS | 6 | Sep 26, 1949 | Arena, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. | |
8 | Win | 8β0 | Ted Brassley | TKO | 3 (6) | Sep 12, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
7 | Win | 7β0 | Eddie Richardson | KO | 1 (?) | Jun 9, 1949 | Candlelite Stadium, Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. | |
6 | Win | 6β0 | Mike Saad | UD | 6 | May 2, 1949 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
5 | Win | 5β0 | Johnny Rice | KO | 1 (6) | Apr 11, 1949 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
4 | Win | 4β0 | George Meyers | KO | 3 (6) | Mar 28, 1949 | Arena, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
3 | Win | 3β0 | Frank Theodore | KO | 2 (4) | Mar 3, 1949 | Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
2 | Win | 2β0 | Mickey Lane | KO | 2 (6) | Feb 17, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
1 | Win | 1β0 | Paul Williams | KO | 1 (4) | Jan 28, 1949 | Mechanics Building, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
- ^ "The Lineal Middleweight Champions". The Cyber Boxing Zone Encyclopedia.
- ^ "Paul Pender, 72; Middleweight Boxing Champion in the 1960s β latimes". Articles.latimes.com. January 14, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Paul Pender β Boxer, 72". The New York Times. January 14, 2003. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ "Terry Downes: Forgotten man of the fight game still packs a punch | Profiles | News". The Independent. May 14, 2011. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Mulcahey, Marty. "ESPN.com β BOXING β Forgotten Champ: Paul Pender". A.espncdn.com. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
- ^ Mike Lewis. "Obituary: Paul Pender | News". The Guardian. Retrieved March 28, 2016.
Achievements | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by | World Middleweight Champion January 2, 1960 β June 11, 1961 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by Terry Downes
|
The Ring Middleweight Champion April 7, 1962 β May 7, 1963 Retired |
Succeeded by Dick Tiger
Awarded title |
Lineal Middleweight Champion April 7, 1962 β May 7, 1963 Retired |
Vacant Title next held by Dick Tiger
|
External linksβ»
- Boxing record for Paul Pender from BoxRec (registration required)
- Paul Pender at Find a Grave
![]() | This biographical article related to an American boxer is: a stub. You can help XIV by expanding it. |