Fight:91813

Fred Fulton beat Tom Cowler by KO in round 5 of 8

• Date: 1918-03-11
• Location: Coliseum, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
• Referee: Tommy Sullivan

A decade before the famous Jack Dempsey-Gene Tunney "long count" by Referee Dave Barry, Referee Tommy Sullivan (former Featherweight World Champion) created a similar controversy here. Cowler, after taking a beating for two rounds, slapped a long lefthander that landed squarely on Fulton's jaw and floored him. Sullivan counted to "nine" when, with the assistance of a cup of water slung from his corner, Fulton clumsily gained his feet. Then the bell rang. Fulton then finished Cowley in the fifth, but this "long count" remained the biggest controversy of the decade for St. Louis fans. In late May, Fulton broke a bone in a finger while appearing in a vaudeville act in Seattle, Washington.