Robert Baker: American boxer

He was one of the world's leading heavyweight boxers in the 1950s. Bob "The Grinder" Baker was born in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. He started fighting out of Pittsburgh. One of his most notable accomplishments was winning the 1949 Pennsylvania Intercity Golden Gloves championship in the heavyweight division.

Baker died on April 23, 2002, in the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Baker started his professional career with twenty-six straight victories before drawing against Kid Riviera and losing the next fight to another leading boxer, Clarence Henry.

From April 1955 until February 1956, Baker and Archie Moore were both ranked as the leading challengers to Rocky Marciano's heavyweight title. On Wednesday, December 7th, 1955, Baker beat Nino Valdez.

After 13 wins, Baker lost to Tommy Hurricane Jackson on February 3, 1956, in New York's Madison Square Garden. It was a split-decision win for Jackson. In May 1956, Baker easily defeated John Holman. Baker also lost another split decision rematch with Jackson on September 26, 1956. Opinions on both Baker-Jackson fights were divided in many publications with most of them giving the fight to Baker. The September match was given to Baker by The United Press. It scored the fight 7-5 for Baker. A poll of 13 ringside writers favored Baker 9-4 and it reported that many fans were very surprised with the split decision.

After 1956, Baker's success was limited. His most notable victory was a sound defeat of Canadian George Chuvalo, the future Canadian heavyweight champion, by unanimous decision on September 9, 1957. Chuvalo was also a multiple-time top contender in the 1960s and 1970s.

• Baker's Boxing Record Archived 2006-05-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Ring Magazine's 1950s heavyweight ratings