Buster Mathis (June 11, 1943 – September 6, 1995) was an American boxer who competed from 1965 to 1972. He was a top contender throughout his career, beating other top contenders including George Chuvalo and Chuck Wepner. He fought Heavyweight greats such as

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. Nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", he is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time. He was known for ...

, Jerry Quarry and Ron Lyle; he also notably beat Joe Frazier as an amateur to qualify for the Olympics but was later replaced due to a hand injury.

Career

Mathis had a successful career as an amateur

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Male boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 2 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation an ...

boxer. He qualified for a spot in the 1964 Tokyo Olympics but had to withdraw due to an injury. He was replaced in the tournament by

, who went on to win the gold medal. Mathis turned professional in June 1965 with a second round

knockout A knockout (abbreviated to KO or K.O.) is a fight-ending, winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts, karate, some forms of taekwondo and other sports involving striking, ...

victory over Bob Maynard. He 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

was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. The title fight was held on March 4, 1968, in New York's

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

against "Smoking"

, his old rival. Frazier won by an 11th-round knockout. Mathis continued to fight in the following years, outpointing George Chuvalo, but losing on points to Jerry Quarry - a fight Mathis was favored to win. Mathis retired after losing to Quarry in 1969, but he returned in 1971 to box

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 just two rounds in September 1972 by Ron Lyle, he retired for good.

Retirement

A 1980 ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' 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. Mathis had various health problems in later years, including two strokes, a heart attack, and kidney failure. He died of heart failure at age 52. His son Buster Mathis Jr. became a professional boxer and fought Mike Tyson in 1995.

Professional boxing record

, - , align="center" colspan=8, 30 Wins (21 knockouts, 9 decisions), 4 Losses (2 knockouts, 2 decisions) , - , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Result , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Record , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Opponent , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Type , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Round , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Date , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Location , align="center" style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3", Notes , -align=center , Loss , 30–4 , align=left, Ron Lyle , KO , 2 , 29 Sep 1972 , align=left, Denver Coliseum,

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

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Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

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, UD , 12 , 17 Nov 1971 , align=left,

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, formerly and also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, was the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas, United States. It seated around 50,000 fans, with a record atte ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , 29–1 , align=left, George Chuvalo , UD , 12 , 3 Feb 1969 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 28–1 , align=left, J.J. Woody , TKO , 6 , 26 Sep 1968 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 27–1 , align=left, Dick Wipperman , UD , 10 , 16 Sep 1968 , align=left, County Stadium,

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, align=left, , - , Win , 26–1 , align=left, Amos Lincoln , SD , 10 , 5 Sep 1968 , align=left, Olympic Auditorium,

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, align=left, , - , Win , 25–1 , align=left, J.J. Beattie , TKO , 7 , 25 Jul 1968 , align=left, Met Center, Bloomington, Minnesota , align=left, , - , Win , 24–1 , align=left, M.J. Turnbow , TKO , 7 , 30 Apr 1968 , align=left, Miami Beach Auditorium,

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , 23–1 , align=left,

, TKO , 11 , 4 Mar 1968 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 23–0 , align=left, Gerry de Bruyn , KO , 1 , 26 Dec 1967 , align=left, Frolundaborg,

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 22–0 , align=left, Roberto Davila , TKO , 7 , 18 Nov 1967 , align=left, Johanneshov,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 21–0 , align=left, Ron Marsh , TKO , 4 , 18 Sep 1967 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 20–0 , align=left, Wayne Heath , KO , 5 , 2 Aug 1967 , align=left, Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena,

, align=left, , - , Win , 19–0 , align=left, Sonny S.D. Moore , TKO , 5 , 23 May 1967 , align=left, Saint Louis, Missouri , align=left, , - , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Ed "Baker Boy" Hurley , KO , 1 , 12 May 1967 , align=left,

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, align=left, , - , Win , 17–0 , align=left, Waban Thomas , KO , 1 , 6 Feb 1967 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 16–0 , align=left, E.S. Andrews , KO , 2 , 17 Nov 1966 , align=left, Portland Exposition Building,

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, align=left, , - , Win , 15–0 , align=left, Johnny Barazza , KO , 1 , 2 Nov 1966 , align=left,

Civic Center A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Earl Averette , TKO , 3 , 28 Sep 1966 , align=left, Cambria County War Memorial Arena,

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is the largest city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, it is the principal city of the Metropolitan statistical area ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 13–0 , align=left, Bob Stallings , SD , 10 , 15 Sep 1966 , align=left, Armory,

Akron, Ohio Akron () is a city in Summit County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, fifth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 190,469 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Akron metr ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 12–0 , align=left, Mert Brownfield , KO , 1 , 29 Aug 1966 , align=left, Cobo Arena,

, align=left, , - , Win , 11–0 , align=left, Charley E. Chase , UD , 6 , 28 Jul 1966 , align=left, Portland Exposition Building,

, align=left, , - , Win , 10–0 , align=left, Everett Copeland , KO , 2 , 23 Jun 1966 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 9–0 , align=left, Tom Swift , KO , 1 , 16 Jun 1966 , align=left, Portland Exposition Building,

, align=left, , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Charley Polite , PTS , 6 , 16 Feb 1966 , align=left, Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York , align=left, , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Mike Bruce , TKO , 5 , 19 Jan 1966 , align=left, Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York , align=left, , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left, Chuck Wepner , TKO , 3 , 7 Jan 1966 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 5–0 , align=left, Charlie Lee , PTS , 6 , 15 Dec 1965 , align=left, Westchester County Center, White Plains, New York , align=left, , - , Win , 4–0 , align=left, Bob Stallings , UD , 6 , 23 Sep 1965 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , 3–0 , align=left, Bob Maynard , PTS , 4 , 30 Aug 1965 , align=left, Paul Sauve Arena,

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

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, align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Johnny Shore , TKO , 2 , 28 Aug 1965 , align=left,

Rock Island, Quebec Rock Island is an unincorporated community in Stanstead, Quebec, Canada. It is recognized as a designated place by Statistics Canada. Demographics In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatC ...

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References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Buster 1943 births 1995 deaths Boxers from Mississippi Heavyweight boxers Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers People from Sledge, Mississippi American male boxers 20th-century American sportsmen