BIG BUSTER MATHIS ; Has History Been Unkind To Him ?
At one time Buster Mathis Sr. of Grand Rapids, Michigan was the best amateur heavyweight in the world. This was in 1964 after he had twice defeated another promising amateur named Joe Frazier. He was on his way to the 1964 Olympics Games in Tokyo but an injury sidelined him. Frazier took his place as an alternate. Joe won the Gold Medal and the rest is history.
Where does Buster Mathis stand in the annals of heavyweight history ? Did he ever get the respect that he may have deserved ? He was a good enough prospect to have Cus D'Amato guide his professional career. He was a a very big man for his era and was surprisingly fast and agile for a big man.
At the beginning of his pro career the 300 pound Mathis shedded weight and subdued opponents. In his fourth fight he would outpoint a rugged customer named Bob Stallings. In his sixth fight he would halt Chuck Wepner.
Buster was built up like most prospects at that time were. His record is spotted with journeymen like Charlie Polite, Mike Bruce, Everett Copeland, Sonny Moore...After 23 straight victories he was matched with old foe Joe Frazier for the New York State recognition of the heavyweight title that had been taken from Muhammad Ali.
This time Joe would have more rounds to work over and wear down Big Buster. Finally in the eleventh round Buster went down and Joe had a piece of the heavyweight pie.
After the loss to Frazier, Mathis put together a nice five bout win streak. He beat Mel Turnbow, James J. Beattie, Amos " Big Train " Lincoln, Dick Wipperman and James J. Woody. That was pretty respectable opposition at that time. This led to another shot at the big time. A match with the brawling Canadian contender George Chuvalo.
The bout with Chuvalo would be the highlight of Buster's fine career. If anyone ever doubts that Buster was a world class heavyweight, get a hold of the film of this fight. Mathis was the master of Chuvalo throughout the twelve round contest.
The win over Chuvalo put Buster right back in the thick of the heavyweight picture.By this time the once 300 pound Mathis was tipping the scales around 235. Six weeks after the Chuvalo triumph, Buster would take on the erratic but always entertaining Jerry Quarry. On the night they fought Quarry was nothing short of brilliant. It was a boxing clinic and Buster was soundly defeated. At this point Buster took some time off after a high profile loss.
It would be well over two years before Buster would re-enter the ring and his opponent would be none other then the comebacking Muhammad Ali. Buster had ballooned to over 250 pounds and although game to the core he was totally outclassed by Ali and lost a twelve round decision. This would finish Buster as a serious contender.
Buster would defeat the undefeated Claude McBride but in his next bout he was savaged by another unbeaten prospect named Ron Lyle. That would be the end of Buster's career.
Big Buster only lost four of thirty four fights. He lost to Frazier, Quarry, Ali and Lyle. Does that make him all bad ? The Buster Mathis that defeated George Chuvalo was one of the best heavyweights of the late 1960's.
Good insights, Jim. I remember watching Mathis earn the lopsided decision over Chuvalo in wonder. I thought Chuvalo would tear him apart.
After beating Chuvalo so handily, Mathis may have been over-confident going into the Quarry fight. Buster thought he would whip Quarry the same way and it didn't happen. Quarry, who got great leverage on his punches and could KO a horse, caught Buster with a short right to the chops in the second round and Buster went down very slowly. He never recovered from that punch. I remember reading that Mathis was urinating blood for a few days after that fight.
Mathis was never afraid of anybody and went in against the best of his day. He was surprisingly mobile and could punch. He was a notch below the top heavies of his day, though, and that is reflected in his record.
I don't know...has history been unfair to him guys? When I hear the name Mathis, I think of a good hvy, but as M.D said -- one that was clearly a notch below the elite in what was admittedly a great and deep era. I think that is how most view him...or perhaps maybe not?
A guy from the 80's/90's that reminds me a little of Mathis was Tony Tubbs. Tubbs was a big kind of 'roly-poly' dude like Mathis with unusually "swift and nifty" hands. He gave a green 23 or 24 yr.old Riddick Bowe fits in a very close loss when in his 30's.
* Mathis Jr. was a decent fighter...but he just didn't have the 'pop' or size for hvy. Perhaps he would have been a good fit for 200.lbs.
When I think of Buster I think of the fight he was supposed to have in Cleveland during the Don Elbaum era here. Buster was to meet Giant Jack O" Halloran in a fight between two behemoths. But Mathis had pulled out of a fight in Detroit against Al Blue Lewis in Detroit and was banned temporarily and Cleveland's Commission honored the ban. So Don Elbaum put in local light-heavy John Griffin against Jack and Griff beat a steady tattoo on O' Halloran and it was no contest.
Jim- Most agree that Buster was Buster's worst enemy. Not only too heavy a lot of the time, but also apparently too nice a guy. That comes through if you read Fraziers autobiography about their time in Tokyo. Buster being kindhearted and homesick.
Good point, Murph. Buster was a genuinely nice man and sometimes that's a detraction in the ring. Dempsey was always viewed as a great guy outside of the ring but a savage inside the ropes.
History is typically unkind or unfair to fighters who had the skills of a champion but came along at the wrong time. That was especially true in the past when there was only ONE champion and one belt before the alphabet days. Harry Wills is a good example. Peter Jackson. Earnie Shavers. Eddie Machen. Roland LaStarza.
One man history was kind to is Jimmy Ellis. He came along during the heyday of Ali and Frazier and just before the emergence of Foreman. He couldn't match up with any of them. He had the good fortune of being part of the WBA elimination tournament in 1967-68 after Ali was stripped of the title. Frazier was also in that field but backed out to fight Mathis for the New York state version of the heavyweight crown instead. The man who replaced Frazier was Leotis Martin and he lost to Ellis in the opening round of the WBA tourney when he suffered a severely cut lip and was stopped in the ninth round. Ellis then went on to upset an overconfident Oscar Bonavena in 12 rounds, knocking him down twice, and then decisioned Quarry in 15 very dull rounds. Ellis refused to allow Quarry the chance to counter punch against the ropes. It made for a lackluster fight but it was tactical masterpiece by Angelo Dundee and allowed Ellis to have his raised as WBA champ.
Good point, Murph. Buster was a genuinely nice man and sometimes that's a detraction in the ring. Dempsey was always viewed as a great guy outside of the ring but a savage inside the ropes.
History is typically unkind or unfair to fighters who had the skills of a champion but came along at the wrong time. That was especially true in the past when there was only ONE champion and one belt before the alphabet days. Harry Wills is a good example. Peter Jackson. Earnie Shavers. Eddie Machen. Roland LaStarza.
One man history was kind to is Jimmy Ellis. He came along during the heyday of Ali and Frazier and just before the emergence of Foreman. He couldn't match up with any of them. He had the good fortune of being part of the WBA elimination tournament in 1967-68 after Ali was stripped of the title. Frazier was also in that field but backed out to fight Mathis for the New York state version of the heavyweight crown instead. The man who replaced Frazier was Leotis Martin and he lost to Ellis in the opening round of the WBA tourney when he suffered a severely cut lip and was stopped in the ninth round. Ellis then went on to upset an overconfident Oscar Bonavena in 12 rounds, knocking him down twice, and then decisioned Quarry in 15 very dull rounds. Ellis refused to allow Quarry the chance to counter punch against the ropes. It made for a lackluster fight but it was tactical masterpiece by Angelo Dundee and allowed Ellis to have his raised as WBA champ.
Mike D.
Agreed, Mike. Much is made of Ali's being robbed of those years, but one mans tragedy is anothers opportunity, and in that case it was Jimmy Ellis. Who would you guys take in a matchup between Jimmy Ellis and Earnie Shavers? Yeah, that's what I thought ;) Jimmy was a good fighter and I don't mean to demean him in any way, but if Ali isn't stripped and if Yank Durham doesn't pass up putting Fraizer in the tournament (wisely realizing that the winner would have to come to them anyway) then Jimmy Ellis doesn't enjoy the Former HW Champion of the World Label for the rest of his life, ;)
Good point, Murph. Buster was a genuinely nice man and sometimes that's a detraction in the ring. Dempsey was always viewed as a great guy outside of the ring but a savage inside the ropes.
