Paul Pender (June 20, 1930 – January 12, 2003), was an American boxer and firefighter from Massachusetts who held the World Middleweight Championship.
Early life
Pender was born in the
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
suburb of
Brookline, Massachusetts, the son of William and Anna (Lyster) Pender. A 1949 graduate of
Brookline High School
Brookline High School is a four-year public high school in the town of Brookline, Massachusetts. It is a part of Public Schools of Brookline. The Headmaster is Anthony Meyer who holds a Master of Education in Teaching and Curriculum from Harvard ...
, 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
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
.
Professional career
In 1959, the
National Boxing Association
The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...
withdrew its recognition of
Sugar Ray Robinson
Walker Smith Jr. (May 3, 1921 – April 12, 1989), better known as Sugar Ray Robinson, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1940 to 1965. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990. He is often regard ...
as middleweight champion.
Gene Fullmer
Lawrence Gene Fullmer (July 21, 1931 – April 27, 2015) was an American professional boxer and World Middleweight champion.
Professional career
Fullmer began his professional career in 1951 and won his first 29 fights, 19 by knockout. His mana ...
and
Carmen Basilio
Carmen Basilio (born Carmine Basilio, April 2, 1927 – November 7, 2012) was an American professional boxer who was the world champion in both the welterweight and middleweight divisions, beating Sugar Ray Robinson for the latter title. An ir ...
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
Terry Downes, BEM (9 May 1936 – 6 October 2017) was a British middleweight boxer, occasional film actor, and businessman. He was nicknamed the "Paddington Express" for his aggressive fighting style.
At the time of his death, Downes was Brita ...
, 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
Dick Tiger (born Richard Ihetu; August 14, 1929 – December 14, 1971) was a Nigerian-born professional boxer who held the undisputed middleweight and light-heavyweight championships.
Tiger emigrated to Liverpool, England to pursue his box ...
. 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
Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census.
History
''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...
on January 12, 2003, at the
Veterans Administration
The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers a ...
Hospital.
Professional boxing record
See also
*
List of middleweight boxing champions Championship recognition
1884–1910
Champions were recognized by public acclamation. A champion in that era was a fighter who had a notable win over another fighter and kept winning afterward. Retirements or disputed results could lead to a cha ...
References
External links
*
*
1930 births
2003 deaths
American firefighters
American male boxers
Boxers from Massachusetts
Brookline High School alumni
Sportspeople from Brookline, Massachusetts
United States Marines
Middleweight boxers
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