- Zora Folley
Zora Folley (
27 May 1932 –July 9 ,1972 ) was anAfrican-American heavyweight boxer.Born in
Dallas, Texas , he moved with his family toChandler, Arizona in 1942, where he grew up playing baseball. Upon joining theU.S. Army in 1948, he entered the boxing ring, and won the 6th Army championship within a year, eventually earning the All-Army and All-Service titles. He fought in theKorean War , earning five battle stars, and was discharged in 1953.He then signed a professional boxing contract, winning his first pro fight against Jimmy Ingram, then after a draw, won seventeen straight victories until losing to Johnny Summerlin. Despite being considered a top contender, Folley never faced heavyweight champion
Floyd Patterson . This was partly due to his loss by decision to Henry Cooper in September 1958 (which was avenged in December 1961). Folley beat such contenders asEddie Machen ,George Chuvalo , Bob Cleroux,Oscar Bonavena , andDoug Jones . He also had draws withKarl Mildenberger andEddie Machen (their first fight). Between 1960 and 1962 Folley was knocked out bySonny Liston , Alejandro Lavorante, and Doug Jones(the rematch).It wasn't until March 22, 1967, that he faced the world heavyweight champion, who at this point was
Muhammad Ali . Folley was knocked out in the 7th round. Folley fought for three more years afterward before being knocked out byMac Foster in 1970.Folley served as a member of the
Chandler City Council , and raising a family of nine children with his wife Joella. Before their fight, Ali joked that Folley was such a nice man that it posed a real problem because he couldn't possibly get mad at him. Folley was one of the first to call the controversial champion by his Muslim name instead of Cassius Clay.Under mysterious circumstances, Folley suffered severe head injuries in a motel swimming pool while visiting a friend in
Tucson, Arizona on July 8, 1972, and died at a Tucson hospital within hours. The death was officially ruled to be accidental, but conspiracy theories regarding his death persist.The city of Chandler dedicated Zora Folley Memorial Park in his honor.
Zora Folley's final career statistics were 79 wins, 11 losses, and 6 draws, with 43 wins by knockout.
External links
*boxrec|id=9384 Retrieved on
2008-02-05
* [http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-article/2606/rise-fall-zora-folley/ The Rise and Fall of Zora Folley] "The Sweet Science", September 9, 2005
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/1998/holyfield/garden/3ali_folley.html After Muhammad, a Graveyard] "Sports Illustrated", April 3, 1967
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