Bob Foster (boxer)

Robert Wayne Foster<ref name="britannica.com">Entry for Foster in the 'Encyclopedia Britannica' https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bob-Foster</ref> (April 27, 1942 – November 21, 2015) was an American professional boxer who fought as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. He won the world light heavyweight title from Dick Tiger in 1968 via fourth-round knockout, and went on to defend the title fourteen times against thirteen different fighters in total from 1968 to 1974. Foster challenged Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali during his career, but was knocked out by both (the fight with Frazier being for the WBA, WBC and The Ring world heavyweight titles). He was named to RingTemplate:'s list of 100 Greatest Punchers of all time. He was also named to RingTemplate:'s list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, ranking at No. 55. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in the inaugural class of 1990.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Foster was born at Borger, Texas on April 27, 1942. In his childhood years his family moved to Albuquerque in New Mexico, and he received his formal education at Albuquerque High School. Upon leaving school he enlisted with the United States Air Force, in which he served with the rank of Airman Second Class.<ref>Obituary for Bob Foster, 'Daily Telegraph', December 4, 2015.</ref> He began boxing on the Golden Gloves amateur circuit, and also took part in competitive inter-service matches for the U.S. Air Force.<ref name="britannica.com"/>

Boxing career

Foster started his professional career on the night of March 27, 1961, against Duke Williams, in Washington, D.C., winning by knockout in two rounds. The first 12 bouts of his career were spent campaigning in the United States' Eastern coast and in Canada. In his tenth bout, he made his first of multiple forays into the heavyweight division, and suffered his first loss, at the hands of Doug Jones, by a knockout in the eighth round.

After two more wins, he went in 1963 to Peru, where he lost to South American champion Mauro Mina by a decision in ten rounds at Lima. This was his first major Light Heavyweight bout, but it wouldn't be his last.

Three more fights back in the States resulted in quick knockout wins for him, and then, in 1964, he made his second attempt at entering the heavyweight rankings, being knocked out in the seventh by future world Heavyweight champion Ernie Terrell. He finished the year by posting three more knockout wins at Light Heavyweight, two of them in the month of November. The night of November 11 was Foster's first win of note as a light-heavyweight. One month after knocking out Don Quinn in the first round, he stepped up in the ring again and faced former world title challenger Henry Hank. He beat Hank by a knockout in the tenth.

In 1965, he had five fights, winning four and losing one. He beat Hank again, by decision in 12 rounds, and lost to Zora Folley, by a decision in ten rounds, in another attempt at joining the heavyweight top ten.

In 1966 he defeated Leroy Green in two rounds.

By 1967, Foster, although his attempts to become a top heavyweight were being frustrated, was a ranked light heavyweight. He decided to stick to the light-heavyweight division for the time being, and he won all seven of his fights, six by knockout. Among the fighters he beat were Eddie Cotton, Eddie Vick, and Sonny Moore. After defeating Moore, Foster became the world's number one ranked light heavyweight challenger.

World light-heavyweight champion

In 1968, Foster got his first shot at a world title. At Madison Square Garden in New York, on the night of March 24, Foster became world champion by knocking out Dick Tiger in four rounds. Tiger had been a two-time world middleweight champion and was defending his world light heavyweight crown that night. Foster then decided to box at heavyweight once again, and beat Charlie Polite by a knockout in three. He ended that year defeating Vick again, and his future world title challenger Roger Rouse, both by a knockout.

In 1969, he began by rising off the canvas to knock out Frank DePaula in the same first round and retain his belt. It is believed that was the first time ever a boxer won a world title fight in the first round after being floored in that same round.Template:Citation needed It is also believed that that fight is one of only three times that's happened...Template:Citation needed the second time being in 1984, when Juan Meza rose off a knockdown to dethrone world Jr. Featherweight champion Jaime Garza in the same first round too. It also happened in the 21st century, when Kendall Holt was dropped twice, only to knockout Ricardo Torres in round 1, for the WBO 140 lb title.

Foster's next fight in 1969 was against Andy Kendall, whom he beat in four rounds by knockout, to once again retain the crown. He closed the 1960s with two more knockout wins.

Frazier vs Foster

In 1970, Foster made two more trips to the heavyweights. In the first, he beat fringe contender Lee Wallace in six rounds by knockout. This was followed by a return to the light-heavyweight division to defend his title against Rouse. Infuriated by some comments that Rouse's manager had made before the bout concerning the fact that even though Foster knocked out Rouse in their first bout he was not able to drop him, Foster dropped Rouse five times en route to a fourth-round knockout victory. A knockout in 10 to retain the title against Mark Tessman followed, and then he was given the chance to challenge for the world heavyweight title. Facing world champion Joe Frazier on the night of November 18 in Detroit, he was knocked out in two rounds.

After defeating Hal Carroll by a knockout in four rounds to defend his crown, the WBA stripped him of the title, but he was still recognized by the WBC as a champion. Foster became enraged at the WBA, which proceeded to have Vicente Rondon of Venezuela and Jimmy Dupree fight for the world title. Rondon won, becoming the second Latin American world light-heavyweight champion (after José Torres), and Foster set his eyes on him. Foster went on defending his WBC title, and he defeated challengers Ray Anderson, Tommy Hicks, and Brian Kelly. Of those three, it was Anderson who was the only one to last the 15 round distance with Foster.

Ali vs Foster

Foster and Rondon met in Miami on April 7, 1972, in a unification bout. Foster became the undisputed world champion once again, by knocking Rondon out in the second round. In his next fight, he used what many critics have called one of the best punches in history to retain his title by a knockout in four against Mike Quarry. Foster then went up in weight and faced former and future world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, on November 21, 1972, in what was legendary referee Mills Lane's first bout of note as a referee. Foster lost to Ali by a knockout in the eighth, after being knocked down 7 times.

In 1973, Foster retained his title twice against Pierre Fourie, both by decision. Their second fight had a distinct social impact because it was fought in apartheid-ruled South Africa, Foster being Black and Fourie being White. Foster became a hero to South African Blacks by beating Fourie the first time around, and in their rematch, the first boxing fight in South Africa during apartheid featuring a White versus a Black, he cemented that position by defeating Fourie on points again.

Piet Koornhoff was the South African Minister of Sport at that time and he had to be persuaded to allow the fight. He had to amend the regulations relating to the prohibition of "mixed sport" in order to do so. Foster was allowed into the country on condition that he refrain from making any political comments or speeches. In a post fight interview he diplomatically responded to a question that he liked the country and would be willing to come back again. This explains the sentiment of Mark Mathabane as noted in his autobiography Kaffir Boy, that South Africa's black population felt betrayed by Foster since he did not address apartheid during his time in South Africa.

His last defense as world light-heavyweight champion came in 1974, when he was dropped by Argentinian Jorge Ahumada, but managed to keep the title with a draw. After that, he announced his retirement, leaving the world's light-heavyweight championship vacant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Foster returned to boxing in 1975, before retiring from the sport in 1978 at the age of 36.

Post-boxing life

In the mid-1970s Foster became a police officer with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department, later becoming a detective and a well known policeman in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<ref name=obit>Goldsmith, Alex (November 21, 2015) Champion boxer, BCSO deputy Bob Foster dead at 77. krqe.com</ref>

Personal life

He married Pearl with whom he had four children. He divorced then married Sue. He had a child named Nelson. Foster married Patricia Saiz in 1982. Her death in 1984 was ruled a suicide. His fourth wife was Rosetta Benjamin.

Foster died at the age of 73 on November 21, 2015, in a hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico.<ref name=obit />

Professional boxing record

Template:Abbr	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
65	Template:No2Loss	Template:Nowrap	Bob Hazelton	TKO	2 (10)	Jun 2, 1978	Template:Small
64	Template:No2Loss	56–7–1	Mustafa Wassaja	RTD	5 (8)	Feb 9, 1978	Template:Small
63	Template:Yes2Win	56–6–1	Bob Hazelton	KO	10 (10), Template:Small	Sep 2, 1977	Template:Small
62	Template:Yes2Win	55–6–1	Al Bolden	KO	6 (10)	Sep 25, 1976	Template:Small
61	Template:Yes2Win	54–6–1	Harold Carter	UD	10	Aug 28, 1976	Template:Small
60	Template:Yes2Win	53–6–1	Al Bolden	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	May 8, 1976	Template:Small
59	Template:Yes2Win	52–6–1	Bill Hardney	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	Jun 28, 1975	Template:Small
58	Template:DrawDraw	51–6–1	Jorge Ahumada	SD	15	Jun 17, 1974	Template:Small	Template:Small
57	Template:Yes2Win	51–6	Pierre Fourie	UD	15	Dec 1, 1973	Template:Small	Template:Small
56	Template:Yes2Win	50–6	Pierre Fourie	UD	15	Aug 21, 1973	Template:Small	Template:Small
55	Template:No2Loss	49–6	Muhammad Ali	KO	8 (12), Template:Small	Nov 21, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
54	Template:Yes2Win	49–5	Chris Finnegan	KO	14 (15), Template:Small	Sep 26, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
53	Template:Yes2Win	48–5	Mike Quarry	KO	4 (15), Template:Small	Jun 27, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
52	Template:Yes2Win	47–5	Vicente Rondón	KO	2 (15), Template:Small	Apr 7, 1972	Template:Small	Template:Small
51	Template:Yes2Win	46–5	Brian Kelly	TKO	3 (15), Template:Small	Dec 16, 1971	Template:Small	Template:Small
50	Template:Yes2Win	45–5	Tommy Hicks	TKO	8 (15)	Oct 30, 1971	Template:Small	Template:Small
49	Template:Yes2Win	44–5	Vernon McIntosh	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	Aug 17, 1971	Template:Small
48	Template:Yes2Win	43–5	Ray Anderson	UD	15	Apr 24, 1971	Template:Small	Template:Small
47	Template:Yes2Win	42–5	Hal Carroll	TKO	4 (15), Template:Small	Mar 2, 1971	Template:Small	Template:Small
46	Template:No2Loss	41–5	Joe Frazier	KO	2 (15), Template:Small	Nov 18, 1970	Template:Small	Template:Small
45	Template:Yes2Win	41–4	Mark Tessman	TKO	10 (15), Template:Small	Jun 27, 1970	Template:Small	Template:Small
44	Template:Yes2Win	40–4	Roger Rouse	RTD	3 (15), Template:Small	Apr 4, 1970	Template:Small	Template:Small
43	Template:Yes2Win	39–4	Roy Wallace	KO	6 (10)	Mar 9, 1970	Template:Small
42	Template:Yes2Win	38–4	Bill Hardney	TKO	4 (10)	Feb 24, 1970	Template:Small
41	Template:Yes2Win	37–4	Chuck Leslie	TKO	5 (10), Template:Small	Nov 2, 1969	Template:Small
40	Template:Yes2Win	36–4	Levan Roundtree	TKO	4 (10), Template:Small	Jun 19, 1969	Template:Small
39	Template:Yes2Win	35–4	Andy Kendall	TKO	4 (15), Template:Small	May 24, 1969	Template:Small	Template:Small
38	Template:Yes2Win	34–4	Frank DePaula	TKO	1 (15), Template:Small	Jan 22, 1969	Template:Small	Template:Small
37	Template:Yes2Win	33–4	Roger Rouse	TKO	5 (10), Template:Small	Sep 9, 1968	Template:Small
36	Template:Yes2Win	32–4	Eddie Vick	TKO	9 (10)	Aug 26, 1968	Template:Small
35	Template:Yes2Win	31–4	Charley Polite	TKO	3 (10)	Jul 29, 1968	Template:Small
34	Template:Yes2Win	30–4	Dick Tiger	KO	4 (15), Template:Small	May 24, 1968	Template:Small	Template:Small
33	Template:Yes2Win	29–4	Sonny Moore	KO	5 (10)	Dec 5, 1967	Template:Small
32	Template:Yes2Win	28–4	Eddie Vick	UD	10	Nov 20, 1967	Template:Small
31	Template:Yes2Win	27–4	Levan Roundtree	KO	8 (10), Template:Small	Oct 25, 1967	Template:Small
30	Template:Yes2Win	26–4	Henry Matthews	TKO	2 (10)	Jun 9, 1967	Template:Small
29	Template:Yes2Win	25–4	Eddie Cotton	KO	3 (12), Template:Small	May 8, 1967	Template:Small
28	Template:Yes2Win	24–4	Andres Antonio Selpa	KO	2 (10), Template:Small	Feb 27, 1967	Template:Small
27	Template:Yes2Win	23–4	Jim Robinson	KO	1 (10)	Jan 16, 1967	Template:Small
26	Template:Yes2Win	22–4	LeRoy Green	KO	2 (?)	Dec 6, 1966	Template:Small
25	Template:No2Loss	21–4	Zora Folley	UD	10	Dec 6, 1965	Template:Small
24	Template:Yes2Win	21–3	Henry Hank	UD	12	Jul 26, 1965	Template:Small
23	Template:Yes2Win	20–3	Chuck Leslie	TKO	3 (10), Template:Small	May 24, 1965	Template:Small
22	Template:Yes2Win	19–3	Dave Russell	TKO	6 (10), Template:Small	Mar 21, 1965	Template:Small
21	Template:Yes2Win	18–3	Bobby Rascon	KO	2 (10)	Feb 15, 1965	Template:Small
20	Template:Yes2Win	17–3	Henry Hank	TKO	9 (10)	Dec 11, 1964	Template:Small
19	Template:Yes2Win	16–3	Norman Letcher	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	Nov 23, 1964	Template:Small
18	Template:Yes2Win	15–3	Don Quinn	KO	1 (10), Template:Small	Nov 11, 1964	Template:Small
17	Template:No2Loss	14–3	Ernie Terrell	TKO	7 (10), Template:Small	Jul 10, 1964	Template:Small
16	Template:Yes2Win	14–2	Allen Thomas	TKO	1 (10), Template:Small	May 8, 1964	Template:Small
15	Template:Yes2Win	13–2	Dave Bailey	KO	1 (6)	Feb 25, 1964	Template:Small
14	Template:Yes2Win	12–2	Willi Besmanoff	KO	3 (10), Template:Small	Dec 11, 1963	Template:Small
13	Template:No2Loss	11–2	Mauro Mina	UD	10	Nov 7, 1963	Template:Small
12	Template:Yes2Win	11–1	Curtis Bruce	KO	4 (8), Template:Small	Apr 29, 1963	Template:Small
11	Template:Yes2Win	10–1	Richard Benjamin	KO	1 (8), Template:Small	Feb 18, 1963	Template:Small
10	Template:No2Loss	9–1	Doug Jones	TKO	8 (10), Template:Small	Oct 20, 1962	Template:Small
9	Template:Yes2Win	9–0	Bert Whitehurst	SD	8	Jun 27, 1962	Template:Small
8	Template:Yes2Win	8–0	Billy Tisdale	TKO	2 (6)	May 19, 1962	Template:Small
7	Template:Yes2Win	7–0	Clarence Floyd	KO	4 (6), Template:Small	Dec 4, 1961	Template:Small
6	Template:Yes2Win	6–0	Ernie Knox	TKO	3 (6)	Nov 21, 1961	Template:Small
5	Template:Yes2Win	5–0	Floyd McCoy	PTS	6	Aug 8, 1961	Template:Small
4	Template:Yes2Win	4–0	Ray Bryan	TKO	2 (6)	Jun 22, 1961	Template:Small
3	Template:Yes2Win	3–0	Billy Johnson	PTS	4	May 8, 1961	Template:Small
2	Template:Yes2Win	2–0	Clarence Ryan	PTS	4	Apr 3, 1961	Template:Small
1	Template:Yes2Win	1–0	Duke Williams	KO	2 (5), Template:Small	Mar 27, 1961	Template:Small

Titles in boxing

Major world titles

• WBA light heavyweight champion (175 lbs) (2×)
• WBC light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

The Ring magazine titles

• The Ring light heavyweight champion (175 lbs)

Undisputed titles

• Undisputed light heavyweight champion (2×)

See also

• List of WBC world champions

External links

• Template:Boxrec
• New Mexico Boxing, the Bob Foster story
• http://www.bobfosterboxing.net
• Bob Foster - CBZ Profile

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