Buster Mathis
Encyclopedia
Buster Mathis was a boxer who had a very successful career as an amateur heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...

 boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics
1964 Summer Olympics
The 1964 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan in 1964. Tokyo had been awarded with the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subsequently passed to Helsinki because of Japan's...

. 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
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....

, who went on to win the gold medal.

Pro career

Mathis turned professional in June 1965 with a second round knockout
Knockout
A knockout is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, Karate and others sports involving striking...

 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
New York State Athletic Commission
The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of New York, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, professional wrestlers, seconds, ring officials,...

 World Heavyweight Title, which had become vacant after Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

 was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted
Conscription
Conscription is the compulsory enlistment of people in some sort of national service, most often military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and continues in some countries to the present day under various names...

 into the United States army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

. The fight was to be held March 4, 1968 in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...

 and the fighter he had to beat for the championship was Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....

, his old nemesis. Mathis made a promising start to the contest but could not keep up with the lighter Frazier and lost the fight by an 11th round knockout.

Buster Mathis continued to fight in the following years, outpointing highly regarded ironman George Chuvalo
George Chuvalo
George Louis Chuvalo, CM is a retired Canadian heavyweight boxer who was never knocked down in ninety-three professional fights between 1956 and 1979. He is often considered to have had the greatest chin in the history of boxing and to be one of its most durable fighters...

, but losing on points to Jerry Quarry
Jerry Quarry
Jerry Quarry , nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an Irish-American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, 1968–1971, and was one of the biggest stars of arguably the greatest era in the history of the heavyweight division.-...

 - a fight Mathis was favoured to win. Mathis retired after losing to Quarry in 1969, but returned in 1971 to box Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...

 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.

After Mathis was knocked out in three rounds in August 1972 by fast-rising puncher Ron Lyle
Ron Lyle
Ron Lyle was an American professional boxer in the heavyweight division. He is considered to have been one of the best contenders of his era. He was a crowd-pleasing power puncher.-Early life:...

, he decided to retire for good from boxing. Mathis suffered from various health problems in later years, such as diabetes and kidney problems. He 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.

He won 30 fights (21 by KO) and lost 4 (with Frazier, Jerry Quarry
Jerry Quarry
Jerry Quarry , nicknamed "Irish" or “The Bellflower Bomber,” was an Irish-American heavyweight boxer. Quarry was rated by Ring Magazine as the most popular fighter in the sport, 1968–1971, and was one of the biggest stars of arguably the greatest era in the history of the heavyweight division.-...

, Ali and Lyle).

Personal

His son Buster Mathis Jr.
Buster Mathis Jr.
Buster Mathis Jr., born March 24, 1970 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, is an American former professional boxer in the heavyweight division.The son of Buster Mathis, a heavyweight boxer from the 1960s, Mathis Jr was a heavy man and took up boxing to lose weight....

 was to later become a successful fighter, and was to take on Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard "Mike" Tyson is a retired American boxer. Tyson is a former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and holds the record as the youngest boxer to win the WBC, WBA and IBF world heavyweight titles, he was 20 years, 4 months and 22 days old...

 in 1995. His son Cole, was born in China in 1992, in Shanghai.

External links

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