Robert "The Grinder" Baker (October 26, 1926 – April 23, 2002) was a
heavyweight
Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling.
Boxing Professional
Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
whose professional career spanned from 1949 until 1960. Baker was born in
Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and originally fought out of
Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania.
Career
Amateur career
Baker had an impressive amateur career. He only lost one amateur fight and won the 1949
Intercity Golden Gloves championship in the heavyweight division.
Professionals
He started his professional career with twenty-six consecutive wins. However, his winning streak came to an end when he was defeated by another leading contender,
Clarence Henry, in 1954. In his previous fight, only days before, he drew with bulky
Kid Riviera
Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to:
Common meanings
* Colloquial term for a child or other young person
** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age
* Engage in joking
* Young goats
* The goat meat of young goats
* Kidskin, le ...
. He also lost to
Bob Satterfield,
Archie Moore and other contenders during this era. After his defeat to
Archie Moore in 1954, he never lost by a knockout again. There was talk of Baker facing heavyweight champion
Rocky Marciano in early 1956. However, even though Baker defeated
Nino Valdez on December 7, 1955, the championship bout never materialized. The bout against Valdez was a rematch of a bout fought in May 1953 and both were won by Baker by unanimous decisions.
Before losing a
split decision
A split decision (SD) is a winning criterion in boxing, most commonly in full-contact combat sports, in which two of the three judges score one particular competitor as the winner, while the third judge scores for the other competitor.
A split dec ...
to
Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson on February 3, 1956, Baker won thirteen straight bouts and was ranked as a top contender for Marciano's heavyweight title. After defeating another leading contender,
John Holman, in Miami Beach Auditorium, Florida, on May 9, 1956, he lost a rematch with Jackson on September 26, 1956. Again it was a split decision. A majority of the ringside press felt Baker won, although the
Associated Press scored it for Jackson.
After 1957, his fighting skills diminished, although Baker defeated
George Chuvalo, a future Canadian champion and multiple world heavyweight title contender in the 1960s and 1970s, by unanimous decision, on September 9, 1957 in Canada.
Personal life
Baker served in the Navy prior to becoming a boxer. He was an only child and had only one child himself, Robert Baker, Jr.
After his boxing career, Baker was a foreman for a
PennDOT road crew in
Penn Hills in the 1980s. He was well regarded for his honesty, humility and fair treatment of his crew. He never spoke of his fame or accomplishments.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Bob
1926 births
2002 deaths
People from Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
Heavyweight boxers
Boxers from Pennsylvania
African-American boxers
American male boxers
Boxers from Pittsburgh
20th-century African-American sportspeople
21st-century African-American people
United States Navy sailors
African-American United States Navy personnel