Buster Mathis

Buster Mathis
Statistics
Real name	Buster Mathis
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Reach	76 in (193 cm)
Nationality	American
Born	(1943-06-11)June 11, 1943 Sledge, Mississippi
Died	September 6, 1995(1995-09-06) (aged 52) Grand Rapids, Michigan
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	34
Wins	30
Wins by KO	21
Losses	4
Draws	0

Buster Mathis (June 11, 1943 – September 6, 1995) was a boxer who had a very successful career as an amateur heavyweight boxer. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. However, he was injured and was unable to compete there. Instead of him, the fighter Mathis beat in the Olympic Trials went to the Olympics. This fighter was the legendary Joe Frazier, who went on to win the gold medal.

Mathis was an impressive hulking figure who often fought at around 245lbs. He was surprisingly agile, with good boxing skill and respected power. His combination punches were fast and accurate too.

Professional career

Mathis turned professional in June 1965 with a second round knockout victory over Bob Maynard. Buster Mathis went on to win his next 22 contests as well and qualified for a shot at the New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Title, which had become vacant after Muhammad Ali was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted into the United States army.

The Title fight was to be held March 4, 1968 in New York's Madison Square Garden against 'smoking' Joe Frazier, his old rival. Both boxers were unbeaten as professionals, so tension was high. Ring magazine noted that Mathis had built up useful experience on a range of mostly competent but non ranked opponents, whilst Frazier had been thrown in the deep end early and by now had battled several top names. This may have had a telling outcome in the contest.

Mathis made a promising start in the fight. He was ahead at midpoint, but the gap narrowed a lot with the sheer pressure from a determined Frazier in the later rounds. The end came suddenly when a single short thudding left hook landed as Mathis advanced. It won the fight by 11th-round knockout for Frazier.

Buster Mathis continued to fight in the following years, outpointing highly regarded ironman George Chuvalo, but losing on points to Jerry Quarry - a fight Mathis was favoured to win. Mathis retired after losing to Quarry in 1969, but returned in 1971 to box Muhammad Ali for the NABF belt, losing on points over 12 rounds. Ali was later criticized for not finishing Mathis in the final rounds of the fight.^[1]

After Mathis was knocked out in just three rounds in August 1972 by fast-rising puncher Ron Lyle, he decided to retire for good from boxing.

Retirement

Mathis suffered from various health problems in later years, such as diabetes and kidney problems. A 1980 Sports Illustrated article featured interviews with Mathis and many of Muhammad Ali's other opponents. It reported Mathis worked in the trucking business after he retired from the ring. The former pugilist later suffered a heart attack and two strokes. His compulsive eating had ballooned his weight to 550 pounds and, in 1995, he died of a heart attack at age of 52. A Ring magazine tribute noted he was really an easy going guy and perhaps too nice for the boxing game.

He won 30 fights (21 by KO) and lost 4 with his only professional losses coming against Joe Frazier, Jerry Quarry, Muhammad Ali and Ron Lyle.

Professional boxing record

30 Wins (21 knockouts, 9 decisions), 4 Losses (2 knockouts, 2 decisions)[2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	30–4	Ron Lyle	KO	2	29 Sep 1972	Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado	Mathis knocked out at 2:58 of the second round.
Win	30–3	Humphrey McBride	TKO	3	5 Sep 1972	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	World Super Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 1:34 of the third round.
Loss	29–3	Muhammad Ali	UD	12	17 Nov 1971	Astrodome, Houston, Texas	WBC NABF Heavyweight Title. 105-118, 104-118, 108-119.
Loss	29–2	Jerry Quarry	UD	12	24 Mar 1969	Madison Square Garden, New York City	2-9, 1-10, 1-10.
Win	29–1	George Chuvalo	UD	12	3 Feb 1969	Madison Square Garden, New York City	10-2, 9-3, 8-3.
Win	28–1	J.J. Woody	TKO	6	26 Sep 1968	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the sixth round.
Win	27–1	Dick Wipperman	UD	10	16 Sep 1968	County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Win	26–1	Amos Lincoln	SD	10	5 Sep 1968	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California	9-1, 11-0, 4-5.
Win	25–1	J.J. Beattie	TKO	7	25 Jul 1968	Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota
Win	24–1	M.J. Turnbow	TKO	7	30 Apr 1968	Miami Beach Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida	Referee stopped the bout at 2:44 of the seventh round.
Loss	23–1	Joe Frazier	TKO	11	4 Mar 1968	Madison Square Garden, New York City	NYSAC World Heavyweight Title. Referee stopped the bout at 2:33 of the 11th round.
Win	23–0	Gerry de Bruyn	KO	1	26 Dec 1967	Frolundaborg, Gothenburg	Bruyn knocked out at 0:36 of the first round.
Win	22–0	Roberto Davila	TKO	7	18 Nov 1967	Johanneshov, Stockholm
Win	21–0	Ron Marsh	TKO	4	18 Sep 1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Referee stopped the bout at 1:13 of the fourth round.
Win	20–0	Wayne Heath	KO	5	2 Aug 1967	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, California	Heath knocked out at 1:16 of the fifth round.
Win	19–0	Sonny S.D. Moore	TKO	5	23 May 1967	Saint Louis, Missouri	Referee stopped the bout at 2:09 of the fifth round.
Win	18–0	Ed "Baker Boy" Hurley	KO	1	12 May 1967	Detroit, Michigan
Win	17–0	Waban Thomas	KO	1	6 Feb 1967	Astrodome, Houston, Texas	Thomas knocked out at 2:23 of the first round.
Win	16–0	E.S. Andrews	KO	2	17 Nov 1966	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine	Andrews knocked out at 2:10 of the second round.
Win	15–0	Johnny Barazza	KO	1	2 Nov 1966	Civic Center, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Win	14–0	Earl Averette	TKO	3	28 Sep 1966	Cambria County War Memorial Arena, Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Win	13–0	Bob Stallings	SD	10	15 Sep 1966	Armory, Akron, Ohio
Win	12–0	Mert Brownfield	KO	1	29 Aug 1966	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	11–0	Charley E. Chase	UD	6	28 Jul 1966	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
Win	10–0	Everett Copeland	KO	2	23 Jun 1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Copeland knocked out at 2:27 of the second round.
Win	9–0	Tom Swift	KO	1	16 Jun 1966	Portland Exposition Building, Portland, Maine
Win	8–0	Charley Polite	PTS	6	16 Feb 1966	Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win	7–0	Mike Bruce	TKO	5	19 Jan 1966	Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win	6–0	Chuck Wepner	TKO	3	7 Jan 1966	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Referee stopped the bout at 1:58 of the third round.
Win	5–0	Charlie Lee	PTS	6	15 Dec 1965	Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York
Win	4–0	Bob Stallings	UD	6	23 Sep 1965	Grand Rapids, Michigan
Win	3–0	Bob Maynard	PTS	4	30 Aug 1965	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec
Win	2–0	Johnny Shore	TKO	2	28 Aug 1965	Rock Island, Quebec	Referee stopped the bout at 2:45 of the second round.
Win	1–0	Bob Maynard	TKO	2	28 Jun 1965	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec

Personal life

His son Buster Mathis Jr. was to later become a successful fighter, and was to take on Mike Tyson in 1995.

Notes

External links

• Professional boxing record for Buster Mathis from BoxRec