What are you're thoughts on Buster Mathis Senior as a fighter? I just watched his fight against Chuvalo and boy he did a job on Chuvalo who was a limited but very good tough fighter. I've also seen his fights against Joe Frazier and Ali. In the Frazier fight he looked pretty good until Frazier broke him down in the mid to late rounds. I haven't watched the Ali fight in a while but from what I remember it wasn't very impressive though I believe it was after his prime. His other two losses came against Jerry Quarry and Ron Lyle two very good fighters and he beat some other good pros as well as defeating Frazier as an amateur and being a national champ. How good do you think Mathis senior was? Do you think at his best he was good enough to possibly capture a world title in certain era's especially say the WBA title in the 80's? How would you rank him amongst other fat but skilled heavyweights such as Leroy Jones or Tony Tubbs?
Buster was a better amateur than pro. His win over Chuvalo was his best victory, but Chuvalo had many losses. The only really top-notch fighters that he fought were Quarry, Ali, Frazier, and Lyle, and he lost to each one decisively. Although he trained hard, his weight problem was never corrected. After he retired it got completely out of control and he died young. I don't think he was as good as Tubbs or Tony Galento or Leroy Jones. He did have good skills, but not great.
Leroy Jones' only notable win was over Mike Weaver, who was a 14-7 journeyman at the time and hadn't yet turned a corner. His entire career is defined by a shutout stoppage to Larry Holmes, the only notable fight he ever engaged in ... whereas Buster at least stepped up several times, has the win over Chuvalo and beat some guys who, at the time, were considered on-the-risers with solid records. In short, Jones doesnt belong in the same category.
I am not a Jones fan at all, but he did beat a future heavyweight champ. There isn't much to choose between Mathis and Jones. Did you see Mathis vs. Quarry? Quarry beat him easily, winning every round. Lyle destroyed him. It was a sorry sight to see Mathis knocked out on the canvas by Frazier, sucking wind like a beached whale. Perhaps Mathis was as good as some other out of shape heavies, but what does that mean? It should be noted that his conduct in the Chuvalo fight was not good as he ignored, disrespected, and actually pushed the ref.
Buster always fought his weight problems but he was actually a very good 'Boxer' despite the poundage. Just couldn't take it to the next level. No disrespect, boxing is filled with guys with a lot of potential who just never quite had that special something to take them to the next level.
I think Buster would've beaten both Jones and Galento. Jones win over Weaver, as I recall, was hotly disputed by Ring mag at the time and Galento, for all his toughness had a good leaping left hook, which I think would've been contained by Buster. I see only Tubbs giving him a fight because he had damn fast hands. It wasn't laziness that got Buster in that shape in the ring because his son had the same physical makeup. Buster, for his size however, had fast hands and was quite nimble for a big man.
Buster Mathis was a remarkably fast, nimble, and skillful boxer, especially for such a big man and in spite of his weight issues. On his way up, he was often criticized for having an undefeated record against unrated fighters. The cry among sportswriters was "When will Buster Mathis fight somebody?" He began to gain more credibility when he stopped Ron Marsh, then all of a sudden he was matched against his old amateur nemesis Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Championship. While many thought this was a bridge too far for Buster, others picked him over Frazier. Rocky Graziano said (in reference to Mathis' two amateur victories over Joe) "If a man beats somebody twice, he oughta be able to do it again - one, two, tree!" It did prove to be too much too soon for Buster, but he gave a very good account of himself against Frazier until the end. Mathis had a good career but probably would have had a better one if he had more seasoning fights against rated contenders before going against Frazier and other top men (similar to the path of Gerry Cooney later on.) Buster Mathis had a lot of potential, but it never really came together enough for him to make it into the elite heavyweights of his time. I would pick Mathis over Leroy Jones, but Tubbs probably would have outpointed him.
Mathis was actually in the lead vs. Frazier until Frazier came on late and turned the tides. Buster was a good boxer type, who moved well for his size. He lacked the chin and stamina to take it to the next level. I think he'd be in the top ten today, but likely would be in and out of the ratings due to some limitations.
Buster Mathis had size, quickness and good coordination for a man 6-3 240+ lbs. He could move and box very well but his conditioning was an ongoing problem for him. It was Joe Frazier`s opinion that Buster didn`t have a taste for combat. Joe not only fought Mathis 3 times but he trained with him as well for the Olympics in which Mathis withdrew due to an injury. I think Mathis would have fit in perfectly with the `80s crop of heavyweights Tubbs, Thomas, Witherspoon and Spinks etc. All those fighters were talented but they all were lackluster fighters for the most part compared to their potential.
Mathis was a good fighter. From what I've seen of him he had decent skills. be interesting to see if he might have been better had his conditioning been more ideal.