Bob Baker (boxer)

Infobox_Boxer
name = Bob Baker


realname = Robert Baker
nickname = The Grinder
weight = Heavyweight
nationality = United States
birth_date = birth date|1926|10|26|mf=y
birth_place = Canonsburg, Pennsylvania
death_date = death date and age|2002|4|23|1926|10|26|mf=y
home = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
style = Orthodox
total = 68
wins = 51
KO = 20
losses = 16
draws = 1
no contests = 0

Robert "The Grinder" Baker (October 26, 1926 - April 23, 2002) was a heavyweight boxer whose career spanned from 1949 until 1959. Baker was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania and originally fought out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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. [Citation
last = Loubet
first = Nat
title = TV Heroes of the Golden Fifties
journal = The Ring
volume = 57, no.9
page = 8
date = October 1978] 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. 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 January 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 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 a world heavyweight title contender in the 1960s and 1970s, by unanimous decision, on September 9, 1957.

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. [Citation
last = Loubet
first = Nat
journal = The Ring
page = 8
date = October 1978]

External links

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References