If boxing brothers Gene, Jay and Don Fullmer could see the brand-new Fullmer Legacy Center, Larry Fullmer thinks they’d be proud — and that he’s a little crazy.
After bouncing around over the years from an old elementary school, sugar plant, church, fire department and most recently, equestrian center, the Fullmer brothers’ legacy has a new permanent home.
The Fullmer Legacy Foundation opened the doors of its 16,500-square-foot center and gym in South Jordan to the public on May 2.
This new chapter comes a decade after Gene (April 27) and Jay (April 22) Fullmer’s deaths, and 13 years since Don’s death.
“Having this facility will help keep their name going and that legacy going, and that’s why we came to the (name), Fullmer Legacy Center,” said Larry Fullmer, son of Don Fullmer and the chair of the board of directors for the Fullmer Legacy Foundation.
The center will ensure local youth have a place to learn boxing and the discipline that comes with it at no cost to them for decades to come.
Like their old coach, Marv Jenson, the Fullmers have never charged any kid a dime to learn to box. Boxers don’t have to pay for equipment, the coaches — they’re all volunteers — or travel costs for tournaments. The only thing they have to pay is an insurance fee from USA Boxing, and sometimes the Fullmer family covers that, too.
“It will also be a place for young people to be able to come and hopefully help channel some of their energy into more constructive ways, rather than being in gangs or on the streets doing things that they shouldn’t do,” Fullmer said. “That’s what we hope ... to change people — change people’s lives, young people’s lives, make better citizens and better and more responsible, productive people.”
In addition to a ring and a museum with memorabilia from the Fullmer brothers’ careers, the center includes a doctor’s office for physicals, a speed bag room, a virtual reality training room, an indoor track, a conference room, locker rooms and an outdoor concrete pad for a ring — all of which the previous gym didn’t have.
The Fullmer legacy of giving back
When young boxers walked into the new center for the first time earlier this month, some shed tears, said coach Ted Gurule.
In disbelief, they asked Gurule, “Is this ours, coach? ... Can we really come here? ... How much is it going to cost?”
“They’re baffled when we say it’s not going to cost you anything,” Gurule said. “The parents are probably the No. 1 cheerleaders (of the center). I’ve had some parents cry and thank us because of what we’ve done for them.”
The Fullmer Foundation cares about more than the kids’ boxing careers. It’s also invested in their education. Gurule said the kids pay him in good grades.
If their grades aren’t up to standard, they have to study before they can box, which is a lot easier now thanks to the donated computers in the computer room.
“I tell the kids, ‘If you’re a B student, you be a B student or better,’” Gurule said.
But according to Gurule, the boxers often exceed those expectations.
“I’m seeing a C student being a B student with the self-discipline that this sport teaches them,” he said. “I’ve rarely seen the decrease in grades. It’s always an increase due to the self-discipline.”
In addition to encouraging the boxers to do well in school, the foundation’s work doesn’t end there.
“We give three scholarships to boxers every year,” Fullmer said. “They help with their education, whether it’s in college or whether it’s trade schools or anything like that, just so we can help them get their foot up and become better people, better citizens.”
Nearly 15 years ago, Gurule met the Fullmers for the first time when he was looking for a boxing gym for his son, Tanner, who was in the fifth grade at the time and being picked on.
Gurule said he felt so much love at the gym as the Fullmers took his son in and helped him grow. Tanner went on to be ranked third in the National Golden Gloves in 2021.
Tanner isn’t the gym’s only success story. Three former boxers, including two women, went on to open their own gyms in Oregon, Park City and Bluffdale. Another graduated from college this year with a degree in engineering.
With a larger facility, the foundation will be able to help more kids than ever before.
Despite the previous gym’s limited size, the Fullmers still managed to train 200 kids at a time. Gurule expects that number to double in the larger facility.
Why the Fullmers still need your help
The Fullmer Legacy Foundation raised $6 million for the center’s construction.
Donors include The Kahlert Foundation, The Daniels Fund, The George S. and Dolores Eccles Foundation, Woolley Family Foundation, Marc C. and Deborah H. Bingham Foundation, Zions Bank, Mountain America Credit Union, Goldenwest Credit Union and America First Credit Union, among many others.
The state Legislature also appropriated $2 million in funds.
“It’s been quite a feat. People are tired of me knocking on doors and begging for money,” Fullmer joked.
He is grateful for all the donors and support from the community. But the Fullmer Legacy Foundation is still $1 million shy of the $7 million it cost to build the center.
Interested community members can donate to the foundation on its website. Another donation option is to purchase an engraved donor tile for $100.
The fundraising won’t end once the construction costs are paid. The foundation must still find ways to pay for utilities to keep the center running as well as the expenses to cover the kids’ boxing.
Adult fitness memberships and the potential renting out of the building for corporate events or the second-floor dance studio will serve as revenue sources as well.
“It’ll always be a constant process of raising money. That’s the nature of a nonprofit entity,” Fullmer said.
While some may have taken the easy way out and given up when forced to find a new home, that’s not what Larry Fullmer and the Fullmer Foundation wanted to do.
They knew it and the fundraising would all be worth it.
“I’ll tell you what really makes a difference is when you see somebody’s life change a little bit, and you see it improve their life,” Fullmer said. “Then they come and thank you for it. Then that makes it all worthwhile.”
