Buster Mathis, Jr.

Buster Mathis Jr., born March 24, 1970 in Grand Rapids, MI, was an American boxer in the heavyweight division.

The son of Buster Mathis, one of the elite heavyweight contenders in the 60s and renowned for his overweight physique and flashy skills, Mathis Jr was also a heavy man (around 300 lbs at school) and took up boxing to lose weight.

Mathis Jr. turned pro in 1991 and quickly put together 12 wins. A busy, crowding fighter, Mathis was small for a heavyweight at around 220 lbs but skilled enough to beat fairly respected Clubfighters like Levi Billups, Justin Fortune and Mike Dixon very early in his career. He was considered a weak puncher (3 KO's in those 12 fights) but his opposition was above average.

In 1993 he challenged Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter (23-3) for his USBA heavyweight belt. Hunter, one of the most awkward and erratic fighters in the world, won a close decision over Mathis. The loss however was soon voided after Hunter later tested positive for cocaine.

In 1994 Mathis again contested the USBA belt (stripped from Hunter), this time winning an impressive 12 round decision over washed-up ex-Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs (27-7).

In August of that year Mathis was brought in as the comeback opponent for ex-undisputed champion Riddick Bowe. After a good effort bobbing and weaving out the way of the towering Bowe's best shots (and marking up Bowe's eyes), Mathis began to fall behind and took a knee in the fourth. Infamously Bowe would knock Mathis out while he was on the floor, yet instead of being disqualified referee Arthur Mercante Sr and New Jersey commission boss Larry Hazzard agreed on voiding the contest, a suspicious move heavily criticised in the boxing and national press.

In 1995 Mathis retained his USBA belt with a one sided points win over the faded ex-contender Alex Garcia (heavyweight boxer), thus setting up a big fight with the comebacking Mike Tyson, who would be having only his second fight since being released from prison earlier in the year.

Mathis Sr would not see his son's fight with Tyson, as his health problems caught up with him and he died only weeks before the contest.

Junior used his trademark bobbing and weaving style to smother and frustrate Tyson, who was exposed for his rust and struggled to land anything clean on the elusive target. In the third round Tyson's power told as Mathis slipped into a right uppercut, a quick Tyson volley put Mathis down although referee Frank Capuccino waved off the fight without reaching the count of 10.

A 1996 fight with hot prospect Obed Sullivan ended unsatisfactorily with a no contest in the 5th round, after Sullivan was badly cut in a clash of heads. Bizarrely, this would be the third no contest on Mathis's relatively brief career.

In November of that year Mathis would lose his USBA belt to undefeated prospect Lou Savarese, who was finally stepping up after accumulating a 35-0 record.

Mathis wisely called time on his career, retiring at the young age of 26 with a 21-2 (7 KO's) record, and 3 no contests.

After his career he would study business and has recently been hired as a match maker for a boxing promoter.

External links

*