Bob Foster

Bob Foster
Personal information
Real name: Robert Lloyd Foster
Nationality: American
Date of birth: (1938-12-15) December 15, 1938
Place of birth: Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA
Personal Statistics
Weight: {{convert/numdisp/frac	Light-Heavyweight|||Light-Heavyweight}} ( kg)
Boxing career information

Bob Foster (born April 27, 1938) is a native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA whom many boxing critics consider to be one of the greatest Light Heavyweight world champions in history. As an amateur he won a silver medal at the 1959 Pan American Games.

Professional career

Foster started his professional career on the night of March 27, 1961, against Duke Williams, in Washington, D.C., winning by a 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.

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 on one night: November 11. That was the night that Foster's first fight of note as a Light Heavyweight took place: Minutes 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, and lost to Zora Folley, by a decision in ten, 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 was the world's number one ranked Light Heavyweight challenger.

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 May 24, Foster became world champion by knocking out the also late Dick Tiger in four rounds. Tiger had been a two time world Middleweight champion and was defending his world Light Heavyweight crown that night. Then, Foster decided to try on the Heavyweights once again, and he beat future George Foreman victim 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 De Paula 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. It is also believed that that fight is one of only two times that's happened, the second time being in 1984, when Juan Kid Mesa rose off a knockdown to dethrone world Jr. Featherweight champion Jaime Garza in the same first round too.

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.

Foster vs Frazier

In 1970, Foster made two more trips to the heavyweights. In the first, he beat fringe contender Cookie 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 battle against Mark Tessman followed, and then he was given the chance to challenge for the world's 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 kept being world champion on the WBC. 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 world 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.

Foster vs Ali

Foster and Rondon met in Miami on April 7, 1972, in an unificatory 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. He then went up in weight and faced former and future world Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali, 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 after Apartheid featuring a White versus a Black, he cemented that position by defeating Fourie on points again. However, as Mark Mathabane noted in his autobiography Kaffir Boy, South Africa's black population also felt betrayed by Foster since he didn't 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.

Retirement and comeback

Foster had scored a draw against Jorge Ahumada before retiring from the sport for awhile. Because he did not lose to a non-Heavyweight champion in the ring, he was still considered the Lineal Light heavyweight champion. Foster would go on to fight seven more times, with the first five as wins and the last two as knockout losses, before retiring from boxing for good.

Life after boxing

In his retirement, the former world champion joined the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and became a detective, where he would become a well known officer in the Albuquerque area.

Later on, the avid autograph signer was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Foster had a record of 56 wins, 8 losses and 1 draw, with 46 wins coming by knockout. He was named to Ring Magazine's list of 100 Greatest Punchers. He was also named to Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years, ranking at #55.

Official professional boxing record

56 Wins (46 Knockouts), 8 Defeats (6 Knockouts), 1 Draw
Res.	Record	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	56-8-1	Bob Hazelton	TKO	2	1978-06-02	Century II Convention Hall, Wichita, Kansas
Loss	56-7-1	Mustafa Wassaja	RTD	5 (8)	1978-02-09	K.B. Hallen, Copenhagen	Lost Lineal Light heavyweight title
Win	56-6-1	Bob Hazelton	KO	10	1977-09-02	Willemstad, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles	Retained Lineal Light heavyweight title.
Win	55-6-1	Al Bolden	KO	6 (10)	1976-09-25	Spokane Coliseum, Spokane, Washington	Retained Lineal Light heavyweight title.
Win	54-6-1	Harold Carter	KO	6 (10)	1976-09-25	Eagles Aerie, Missoula, Montana	Retained Lineal Light heavyweight title.
Win	53-6-1	Al Bolden	KO	3 (10)	1976-05-08	Adams Field House, Missoula, Montana	Retained Lineal Light heavyweight title.
Win	52-6-1	Bill Hardney	KO	3 (10)	1975-06-28	Sweeney Gym, Santa Fe, New Mexico	Retained Lineal Light heavyweight title.
Draw	51-6-1	Jorge Ahumada	PTS	15	1974-06-17	University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico	Retained Lineal, The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	51-6	Pierre Fourie	UD	15	1973-12-01	Rand Stadium, Johannesburg, Gauteng	Retained Lineal, The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	50-6	Pierre Fourie	UD	15	1973-08-21	University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico	Won (vacant) Lineal & Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Loss	49-6	Muhammad Ali	KO	8 (12)	1972-11-21	Sahara Tahoe Hotel, Stateline, Nevada	For NABF Heavyweight title
Win	49-5	Chris Finnegan	KO	14 (15), 0:55	1972-09-26	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles The Ring magazine's "Fight of the Year" (1972)
Win	48-5	Mike Quarry	KO	4 (15)	1972-06-27	Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	47-5	Vicente Rondón	KO	4 (15)	1972-06-27	Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida	Retained The Ring, WBC & Won WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	46-5	Brian Kelly	TKO	3 (15), 1:56	1971-12-16	Fairgrounds Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Retained The Ring & WBC World Light heavyweight titles
Win	45-5	Tommy Hicks	TKO	8 (15)	1971-10-30	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania	Retained The Ring & WBC World Light heavyweight titles
Win	44-5	Vernon McIntosh	TKO	3 (10)	1971-08-17	Miami Beach, Florida
Win	43-5	Ray Anderson	UD	15	1971-04-24	Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida	Retained The Ring & WBC World Light heavyweight titles
Win	42-5	Hal Carroll	TKO	4 (15), 2:32	1971-03-02	Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, Pennsylvania	Retained The Ring & WBC World Light heavyweight titles
Loss	41-5	Joe Frazier	KO	2 (15), 0:49	1970-11-18	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan	For WBC & WBA World Heavyweight titles
Win	41-4	Mark Tessman	TKO	10 (15)	1970-06-27	Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	40-4	Roger Rouse	TKO	4 (15)	1970-04-04	Adams Field House, Missoula, Montana	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	39-4	Roy Wallace	KO	6 (10)	1970-03-09	Fort Homer Hesterly Armory, Tampa, Florida
Win	38-4	Bill Hardney	TKO	4 (10)	1970-02-24	Orlando, Florida
Win	37-4	Chuck Leslie	TKO	5 (10), 2:58	1969-11-02	New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	36-4	Levan Roundtree	TKO	4 (10), 2:10	1969-06-19	Atlanta Municipal Auditorium, Atlanta, Georgia
Win	35-4	Andy Kendall	TKO	4 (15), 1:15	1969-05-24	Eastern States Coliseum, West Springfield, Massachusetts	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	34-4	Frank DePaula	TKO	1 (15), 2:17	1969-01-22	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Retained The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	33-4	Roger Rouse	TKO	5 (10), 2:34	1968-09-09	Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C
Win	32-4	Eddie Vick	TKO	9 (10)	1968-08-26	Tingley Coliseum, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Win	31-4	Charley Polite	TKO	3 (10)	1968-07-29	Eastern States Coliseum, West Springfield, Massachusetts
Win	30-4	Dick Tiger	KO	4 (15), 2:05	1968-05-24	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York	Won The Ring, WBC & WBA World Light heavyweight titles
Win	29-4	Sonny Moore	KO	5 (10)	1967-12-05	Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C
Win	28-4	Eddie Vick	KO	5 (10)	1967-11-20	Providence Coliseum, Providence, Rhode Island
Win	27-4	Levan Roundtree	KO	8 (10), 1:35	1967-10-25	Washington, D.C
Win	26-4	Henry Matthews	TKO	2 (10)	1967-06-09	Starland Arena, Roanoke, Virginia
Win	25-4	Eddie Cotton	KO	3 (12), 1:58	1967-05-08	Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C
Win	24-4	Andres Antonio Selpa	KO	2 (10)	1967-02-27	Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C
Win	23-4	Jim Robinson	KO	1 (10)	1967-01-16	Washington Coliseum, Washington, D.C
Win	22-4	LeRoy Green	KO	2	1966-12-06	Norfolk Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Loss	21-4	Zora Folley	UD	10	1965-12-06	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	21-3	Henry Hank	UD	12	1965-07-26	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	20-3	Chuck Leslie	TKO	3 (10)	1965-05-24	Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	19-3	Dave Russell	TKO	6 (10)	1965-03-21	Norfolk Arena, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	18-3	Bobby Rascon	KO	2 (10)	1965-02-15	Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Win	17-3	Henry Hank	TKO	9 (10)	1964-12-11	Municipal Auditorium, Norfolk, Virginia
Win	16-3	Norman Letcher	TKO	1 (10), 0:43	1964-11-23	Kezar Pavilion, San Francisco, California
Win	15-3	Don Quinn	KO	1 (10), 1:07	1964-11-11	Norfolk, Virginia
Loss	14-3	Ernie Terrell	KO	7 (10), 0:58	1964-07-10	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	14-2	Allen Thomas	TKO	1 (10), 1:26	1964-05-08	Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois
Win	13-2	Dave Bailey	KO	1 (6)	1964-02-25	Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida
Win	12-2	Willi Besmanoff	KO	3 (10)	1963-12-11	Norfolk, Virginia
Loss	11-2	Mauro Mina	UD	10	1963-11-07	Estadio Nacional, Lima
Win	11-1	Curtis Bruce	KO	4	1963-04-29	Capitol Arena, Washington, D.C
Win	10-1	Richard Benjamin	KO	1 (8)	1963-02-18	Capitol Arena, Washington, D.C
Loss	9-1	Doug Jones	TKO	8 (10), 0:23	1962-10-20	Madison Square Garden, New York, New York
Win	9-0	Bert Whitehurst	SD	8	1962-06-27	Sunnyside Garden, Sunnyside, Queens, New York, New York
Win	8-0	Billy Tisdale	TKO	2 (6)	1962-05-19	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York
Win	7-0	Clarence Floyd	KO	4 (6)	1961-12-04	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario
Win	6-0	Ernie Knox	TKO	3 (6)	1961-11-21	Norfolk, Virginia
Win	5-0	Floyd McCoy	PTS	6	1961-08-08	Delormier Stadium, Montreal, Quebec
Win	4-0	Ray Bryan	TKO	2 (6)	1961-06-22	Forum, Montreal, Quebec
Win	3-0	Billy Johnson	PTS	4	1961-05-08	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York
Win	2-0	Clarence Ryan	PTS	4	1961-04-03	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York
Win	1-0	Duke Williams	KO	2 (4)	1961-03-27	St. Nicholas Arena, New York, New York

See also

• List of WBC world champions

External links

• Professional boxing record for Bob Foster from BoxRec
• New Mexico Boxing, the Bob Foster story
• http://www.bobfosterboxing.net

Sporting positions
Preceded by Dick Tiger	WBA Light Heavyweight Champion May 24, 1968 – December 9, 1970 Stripped	Vacant Title next held by Vicente Rondon
	WBC Light Heavyweight Champion May 24, 1968 – September 16, 1974 Retired	Vacant Title next held by John Conteh
	The Ring Light Heavyweight Champion May 24, 1968 – September 16, 1974 Retired	Vacant Title next held by Victor Galindez
	World Light Heavyweight Champion May 24, 1968 – December 9, 1970 Titles fractured	Vacant Title next held by Bob Foster
Preceded by Vicente Rondon	WBA Light Heavyweight Champion April 7, 1972 – September 16, 1974 Retired	Vacant Title next held by Victor Galindez
Vacant Title last held by Bob Foster	World Light Heavyweight Champion April 7, 1972 – September 16, 1974 Retired	Vacant Title next held by Michael Spinks
Awards
Preceded by Carlos Ortiz	BWAA Fighter of the Year 1968	Succeeded by Joe Frazier