SALT LAKE CITY -- A Utah man with a family legacy of boxing returned to the ring on Saturday 10 years after he lost his right hand in an accident.
Kade Fullmer was riding in a tube towed by a boat in St. George when the rope became entangled around his wrist and ripped his right hand completely off.
Fullmer has been boxing since a very young age. His father was boxing legend Don Fullmer.
“I was four years old when I first started boxing,” Fullmer said. “My first match was down in St. George. I kind of grew up with the boxing gloves with my family, and dad and uncles who kind of paved the way for us."
Fullmer said the loss of his hand was difficult, and he almost gave up boxing for good.
"I went through my own challenges and trials in the past years that you face when you lose a hand,” he said. “There's depression and everything sets in. You just gotta pick yourself up."
Boxer Matt Arnold said Fullmer isn’t one to give up.
"No matter what happens, he gets knocked down, he gets back up,” Arnold said. “That's the great thing about Kade. I can't even tell you how proud I am of him and the sacrifices he makes to do this."
Kade decided to fight again after his father died. He said it’s a way to honor his memory.
"My dad passed away about a year and three months ago, and so working with the kids, and helping out with the boxing program down at XSI... Some friends down there and coaches down there said, ‘You can Do this! You can get into this again,’” he said.
Arnold said Fullmer’s fight was an impressive feat.
“Being able to come back and fight like a lot of people didn't want him to, and he did,” Arnold said. “He did it to honor his dad, and he did it to honor himself. And for that, I can't even say enough good about Kade Fullmer."
Win or lose, Fullmer knows that giving boxing one more go is what his father would have wanted.
"Going through some of the things I went through after I lost my hand and challenges and things... You can do anything as long as you put your mind to it,” he said.
