Robert "The Grinder" Baker (October 26, 1926 – April 23, 2002) was a heavyweight boxer whose professional career spanned from 1949 until 1960.
In Baker's amateur career he only lost one fight and won the 1949 Intercity Golden Gloves championship in the heavyweight division.
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.
After 1957, his fighting skills diminished, although Baker defeated George Chuvalo, a future Canadian champion and multiple world heavyweight title contender in the 1960s and 1970s, by unanimous decision, on September 9, 1957, in Canada.