Buster Mathis (June 11, 1943 – September 6, 1995) was an American boxer.

Career

Mathis had a successful career as an amateur

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

boxer. He qualified for a spot in the

1964 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...

, but had to withdraw due to an injury. He was replaced in the tournament by

Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure ...

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, a ...

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 The New York State Athletic Commission or NYSAC, also known as the New York Athletic Commission, is a division of the New York State Department of State which regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat Hand-to-hand combat (someti ...

World Heavyweight Title, which had become vacant after

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, ...

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

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. The title fight was held on March 4, 1968, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

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 and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsyl ...

against 'Smoking'

, his old rival. Frazier won by 11th-round knockout. Buster Mathis continued to fight in the following years, outpointing

George Chuvalo George Louis Chuvalo, CM (born September 12, 1937 as Jure Čuvalo) is a Canadian former professional boxer who was a five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and two-time world heavyweight title challenger. He is known for having never been kno ...

, but losing on points to

Jerry Quarry Jerry Quarry (May 15, 1945 – January 3, 1999), nicknamed "Irish" or "The Bellflower Bomber", was an American professional boxer. During the peak of his career from 1968 to 1971, Quarry was rated by ''The Ring'' magazine as the most popular ...

- a fight Mathis was favoured to win. Mathis retired after losing to Quarry in 1969, but 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 Ronald David Lyle (February 12, 1941 – November 26, 2011) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1971 to 1980, and in 1995. He challenged unsuccessfully for the world heavyweight championship, losing to Muhammad Ali in 1975. K ...

, 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 circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'' 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 Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is con ...

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,

, KO , 2 , 29 Sep 1972 , align=left,

Denver Coliseum Denver Coliseum is an indoor arena, owned by thCity and County of Denver operated by itsDenver Arts & Venuesand located in Denver, Colorado. The arena holds 10,200 people and was built from 1949 to 1951. The coliseum is located in Denver's Elyria ...

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 30–3 , align=left, Humphrey McBride , TKO , 3 , 5 Sep 1972 , align=left,

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, an ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , 29–3 , align=left,

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

Astrodome The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply the Astrodome, is the world's first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. It was financed and assisted in development by Roy Hofheinz, mayor of Housto ...

, Houston, Texas , align=left, , - , Loss , 29–2 , align=left,

, UD , 12 , 24 Mar 1969 , align=left,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 29–1 , align=left,

, 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,

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee i ...

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

Olympic Auditorium The Grand Olympic Auditorium is a former sports venue in southern Downtown Los Angeles, California. The venue was built in 1924 at 1801 South Grand Avenue, now just south of the Santa Monica Freeway. The grand opening of the Olympic Auditorium ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 25–1 , align=left, J.J. Beattie , TKO , 7 , 25 Jul 1968 , align=left,

Met Center The Met Center was an indoor arena that stood in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States, a suburb of Minneapolis. The arena, which was completed in 1967 by Minnesota Ice, just to the north of Metropolitan Stadium, seated 15,000. It was the home of ...

, Bloomington, Minnesota , align=left, , - , Win , 24–1 , align=left, M.J. Turnbow , TKO , 7 , 30 Apr 1968 , align=left,

Miami Beach Auditorium The Miami Beach Convention Center (originally the Miami Beach Exhibition Hall) is a convention center located in Miami Beach, Florida. Originally opened in 1958, the venue was renovated from 2015-2018 for $620 million. The re-imagined and enhance ...

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which sep ...

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

Johanneshov Johanneshov () is a district in Stockholm located at the intersection of national road 73 and national road 75 in the borough of Enskede-Årsta-Vantör, southern Stockholm, Sweden. The icehockey arena Hovet is located in Johanneshov, its ...

, Stockholm , 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 The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena was a multi-purpose arena at Exposition Park, in the University Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. It was located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and just south of the campus of the University of ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 19–0 , align=left, Sonny S.D. Moore , TKO , 5 , 23 May 1967 , align=left,

Saint Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 18–0 , align=left, Ed "Baker Boy" Hurley , KO , 1 , 12 May 1967 , align=left,

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

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

, Houston, Texas , align=left, , - , Win , 16–0 , align=left, E.S. Andrews , KO , 2 , 17 Nov 1966 , align=left,

Portland Exposition Building The Portland Exposition Building, also known as The Expo, is a sports and exhibition venue (convention center) building complex in Portland, Maine. The complex includes five inter-connected buildings with 24,000 square feet of exhibition space a ...

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metro ...

, 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 one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, th ...

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 14–0 , align=left, Earl Averette , TKO , 3 , 28 Sep 1966 , align=left,

Cambria County War Memorial Arena The Cambria County War Memorial Arena is a 4,001-seat multi-purpose arena in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, that is managed by SMG Entertainment. It was built in 1950, for the Johnstown Jets of the Eastern Hockey League. The arena was built on the si ...

Johnstown, Pennsylvania Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,411 as of the 2020 census. Located east of Pittsburgh, Johnstown is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, wh ...

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

Akron, Ohio Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 Census, the city ...

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

Cobo Arena Huntington Place (formerly known as Cobo Hall, Cobo Center, and briefly as TCF Center) is a convention center in Downtown Detroit, owned by the Detroit Regional Convention Facility Authority (DRCFA) and operated by ASM Global. Located at 1 Wash ...

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

, 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,

, align=left, , - , Win , 8–0 , align=left, Charley Polite , PTS , 6 , 16 Feb 1966 , align=left, Westchester County Center,

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, align=left, , - , Win , 7–0 , align=left, Mike Bruce , TKO , 5 , 19 Jan 1966 , align=left, Westchester County Center,

, align=left, , - , Win , 6–0 , align=left,

Chuck Wepner Charles Wepner (born February 26, 1939) is an American former professional boxer. He fell just nineteen seconds short of a full fifteen rounds against world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali in a 1975 championship fight. Wepner also scored notab ...

, 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,

, 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 ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

, align=left, , - , Win , 2–0 , align=left, Johnny Shore , TKO , 2 , 28 Aug 1965 , align=left, Rock Island, Quebec , align=left, , - , Win , 1–0 , align=left, Bob Maynard , TKO , 2 , 28 Jun 1965 , align=left, Paul Sauve Arena,

, align=left,

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