Paul Pender

Paul Pender (June 20, 1930 – January 12, 2003), was an American professional boxer and firefighter from Massachusetts who was a two-time World Middleweight Champion between 1960 and 1962.

Early life Pender was born in the Boston 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, chose to enter professional boxing, while attending Staley College. Although a champion, he regarded boxing as his second job and being a 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 career 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 again to 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.

Death He died in Bedford, Massachusetts on January 12, 2003, at the Veterans Administration Hospital.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRoundDateLocationNotes48Win Terry DownesUD15Apr 7, 1962 47Loss39–6–2 Terry DownesRTD9 (15)Jul 11, 1961 46Win39–5–2 Carmen BasilioUD15Apr 22, 1961 45Win38–5–2 Terry DownesTKO9 (15)Jan 14, 1961 44Win37–5–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonSD15Jun 10, 1960 43Win36–5–2 Sugar Ray RobinsonSD15Jan 22, 1960 42Win35–5–2 Gene HamiltonUD10Dec 14, 1959 41Win34–5–2 Jackson BrownUD12Aug 17, 1959 40Win33–5–2 Ralph Tiger JonesUD10Mar 17, 1959 39Win32–5–2 Joe ShawTKO5 (10)Feb 16, 1959 38Win31–5–2 Young Beau JackDQ3 (10)Feb 9, 1959 37Win30–5–2 Joe GomesTKO6 (10)Jan 5, 1959 36Win29–5–2 Willie Kid JohnsonTKO3 (10)Dec 22, 1958 35Win28–5–2 Pete AdamsTKO4 (10)Dec 15, 1958 34Win27–5–2 Jackson BrownTKO3 (10)Nov 17, 1958 33Win26–5–2 Jimmy SkinnerUD10Dec 4, 1956 32Loss25–5–2 Gene FullmerUD10Feb 14, 1955 31Win25–4–2 Freddie MackTKO4 (10)Jan 6, 1955 30Win24–4–2 Ted OllaSD10Dec 20, 1954 29Win23–4–2 Larry VilleneuveUD10Aug 3, 1954 28Loss22–4–2 Jimmy BeauTKO5 (10)Mar 31, 1952 27Win22–3–2 Otis GrahamUD10Oct 1, 1951 26Loss21–3–2 Gene HairstonKO3 (10)Apr 30, 1951 25Draw21–2–2 Joe RindonePTS10Mar 12, 1951 24Loss21–2–1 Joe RindoneUD10Jan 22, 1951 23Win21–1–1 Norman HayesKO7 (10)Jan 8, 1951 22Loss20–1–1 Norman HayesUD10Dec 11, 1950 21Win20–0–1 Harold SampsonTKO3 (10)Nov 27, 1950 20Win19–0–1 Norman HortonKO2 (10)Nov 13, 1950 19Win18–0–1 Ernie DurandoUD10Oct 23, 1950 18Win17–0–1 Roy WoutersUD10Oct 9, 1950 17Win16–0–1 Bobby JamesUD10Sep 25, 1950 16Win15–0–1 Al CoutureTKO7 (10)Jun 22, 1950 15Win14–0–1 Charley DodsonUD10May 3, 1950 14Win13–0–1 Leon BrownTKO5 (8)Mar 27, 1950 13Win12–0–1 Sonny HorneUD10Jan 23, 1950 12Draw11–0–1 Bill DaleyPTS10Dec 19, 1949 11Win11–0 Bill DaleyUD8Oct 21, 1949 10Win10–0 Jose ContrerasKO2 (6)Oct 5, 1949 9Win9–0 Mike GilloPTS6Sep 26, 1949 8Win8–0 Ted BrassleyTKO3 (6)Sep 12, 1949 7Win7–0 Eddie RichardsonKO1 (?)Jun 9, 1949 6Win6–0 Mike SaadUD6May 2, 1949 5Win5–0 Johnny RiceKO1 (6)Apr 11, 1949 4Win4–0 George MeyersKO3 (6)Mar 28, 1949 3Win3–0 Frank TheodoreKO2 (4)Mar 3, 1949 2Win2–0 Mickey LaneKO2 (6)Feb 17, 1949 1Win1–0 Paul WilliamsKO1 (4)Jan 28, 1949

Paul Pender

Bron en licentie