BoxRec

Interesting newspaper article about Mac Foster from June.17.1970 when he was still 24-0.
(I wonder what the students and facuilty at Berkely thought about him in 1970?)

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m7 ... 5502613&dq

Some of the sparring partners Mac Foster used for the Quarry bout were Joe Alexander
and Ray Anderson.
also check out the reference to them watching and studying a film of
Mac Foster vrs Cleveland Williams in Fresno in 1969.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HG ... 2686463&dq

Mac Foster Amateur Record


Mac Foster's amateur boxing record was 21-1(17 by KO),another source lists it as 26-1.
It has been reported the one loss was controversial(to whom?).
He had won 14 services titles and was also twice the all-Marine Champion.
(1964 All-Marine Heavyweight Champion)
including One all-Service title,
One AAU title.

Im not sure if the second all-Marine title he won was in the heavyweight division,
When Ken Norton joined the all-Marine boxing team in 1965,
Foster then fought as a light heavyweight on the team.
I think once Norton joined the team,Foster may have been pressured to fight as a LH,
as Norton was a bigger man( 6 ft 3(205 lbs) to Foster's 6 ft 2(195 lbs))also Norton was a year younger then Foster
and still growing(Foster born June 1942 and Norton was born August 1943).
Norton had won 3 All-Marine Heavyweight titles from 1965-1967.
Foster use to spar with Norton while training back then and it was even rumored to have even knocked Norton out in a heated sparring session.

Mac Foster talks about sparring with Ken Norton when the both of them were on the All-Marine boxing team back in 1965.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 8194475&dq

Brutu wrote:Mac Foster talks about sparring with Ken Norton when the both of them were on the All-Marine boxing team back in 1965.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 8194475&dq

Interestingly, the big hitting seemingly under-achieving Foster probably would have had an excellent chance at stopping the always there to hit Norton. I think one thing that hurt Foster was that he wasn't as carefully matched as some of the other similar HWs of the era. If you look at the guys he lost to at the end of his career, they were all spoilers who could go rounds and were very hard to stop. Of course, Bugner was a top HW at the time but Clark and Ward were both pretty tough nuts to crack and despite his record, Stallings was the quintessential spoiler.

Nile4000 wrote:Mac's career definitley should've ended up better than it did.

Bad matchmaking. His early career looks much like you would expect with some past it names and some good journeymen like Spencer, Williams, O’Halloran, Ramos and Doyle. No great names, but he’s got some good depth and a nice variety of styles. But then they put him in with the slick counterpunching Quarry who exposes Macs shortcomings. Then after some decent opposition to get him back in the swing of winning they essentially cash him out by throwing him in with arguably the slickest HW in history.

Mac was probably a much better fighter than history will remember him. It’s not outlandish to think that if they could have gotten a fight with Norton rather than Ali, then his name might be mentioned as one of those tough 70’s HWs, rather than the asterisk that he now is. I'm not saying that he would have beaten Norton, but Norton was not known as a slick defensive fighter, and he could be dropped.

Sometimes there’s a very fine line between a supposed failed prospect like Foster and a hall of famer, and I think a guy like Foster is probably remembered by many of those that manage HW prospects today.

Mac Foster had some problem with his left elbow over his career,
which resulted in him throwing a lot of lead rights in some of his fights.
Im not sure how far back that injury in his career it goes,
back at least to the fight with Ali in 1972.

Mac Foster was scheduled to fight Jimmy Ellis August 1969.
It was to take place in Athens Greece and shown live on,
ABC-TV Wide World of Sports.

The fight with Ali in Tokyo was originally scheduled for November.29.1971,
but was delayed because of money guarentees and permission from the Japanese
Boxing Federation involving a bout not with a Japanese fighter.

Brutu wrote:Mac Foster was scheduled to fight Jimmy Ellis August 1969.
It was to take place in Athens Greece and shown live on,
ABC-TV Wide World of Sports.

I don't recall this, but I'm sure you're right. Ellis in '69 was a damn good fighter, and probably not the best opponent for a young power puncher to display his wares.

Its too bad that boxing fan folk did not appear to have been as interested in Mac Foster like they
were/are of Jeff Merritt these days.
I think maybe because the thought Foster was too much of a 'Square'
and also because he loved America,its flag and apple pie.
Something that all commies both foreign and domestic detest.
(but thats just my opinion/feeling).

Brutu wrote:Some of the sparring partners Mac Foster used for the Quarry bout were Joe Alexander
and Ray Anderson.
also check out the reference to them watching and studying a film of
Mac Foster vrs Cleveland Williams in Fresno in 1969.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=HG ... 2686463&dq

Wow,Did that Mac Foster vs Cleveland Williams bought ever turn up on film or video?
I think that may be the one were Clevland Williams ruptured Mac Foster's ear-drum in an early round but Foster came back to knock out Williams in the Fifth round.

Caractacus...this is a joke...you know what Im talking about!

He just seems to be a guy who was a level below the top guys of his era. He rolled up a pretty good record early on, but when he he started fighting better competition he came up short. Alex Stewart kind of reminds me of him.

The Great John L wrote:

Nile4000 wrote:Mac's career definitley should've ended up better than it did.

Bad matchmaking. His early career looks much like you would expect with some past it names and some good journeymen like Spencer, Williams, O’Halloran, Ramos and Doyle. No great names, but he’s got some good depth and a nice variety of styles. But then they put him in with the slick counterpunching Quarry who exposes Macs shortcomings. Then after some decent opposition to get him back in the swing of winning they essentially cash him out by throwing him in with arguably the slickest HW in history.

Mac was probably a much better fighter than history will remember him. It’s not outlandish to think that if they could have gotten a fight with Norton rather than Ali, then his name might be mentioned as one of those tough 70’s HWs, rather than the asterisk that he now is. I'm not saying that he would have beaten Norton, but Norton was not known as a slick defensive fighter, and he could be dropped.

Sometimes there’s a very fine line between a supposed failed prospect like Foster and a hall of famer, and I think a guy like Foster is probably remembered by many of those that manage HW prospects today.

As Brutu said, Foster developed some significant injury issues with his back and elbow after the Quarry loss, leading to his relative inactivity. He also looks in the film against Ali a completely different fighter than the one who fought Quarry . . it seems clear his arms issues were forcing him to fight in a rather awkward style, without the snap he'd had earlier.

As stated, he also was matched very tough after his star fell. Bugner, Ward, and Clark were all tough cookies.

Caractacus wrote:Its too bad that boxing fan folk did not appear to have been as interested in Mac Foster like they
were/are of Jeff Merritt these days.
I think maybe because the thought Foster was too much of a 'Square'
and also because he loved America,its flag and apple pie.
Something that all commies both foreign and domestic detest.
(but thats just my opinion/feeling).

How left wing do you have to get before you stop liking apple pie? I'm pretty left wing, but I still like it.

and dont forget Cleveland Willams(one of the hardest punching heavyweights of all time),
had ruptured Mac Foster's ear-drum with a big punch in their first fight in September 1969..
That usually messes up a fighters equalibrium.
Maybe he never quite recovered from it?

Was Mac Foster ever interviewed for that book FACING ALI?
I dont think he was and would be curious to find out why,if he declined to be interviewed anyway.
(maybe Mac Foster just didnt care to remember it himself?)

Ali predidcited that he would 'knock out' Mac Foster in the fifth round in Tokyo Japan,
but instead Foster went the entire 15 rounds(and it wasnt even a title fight!).

Here is a link to the Muhammad Ali vs Mac Foster bout
That was held in Tokyo Japan in April 1972.
It was a closed-circuit broadcast,
The fight started around Saturday noon Tokyo time so that it could be shown around 10 o'clock Friday evening East Coast time(U.S.A)



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tm1Gqs-syrc

Well Foster's face looked like a Pinata that was about to burst by the end. Ali could sure deconstruct the opposition. Pretty one sided beatdown.

But like you say, like all of Ali's opponents, they were only shell's of the fighters they once were.


Apparently Ali would only sign to fight them once he got the documentation of their disabilities.

Clever fella Ali.

Check out how much bigger Muhammad Ali looks compared to Mac Foster,particularly in the upper body.
(even tho there was only about a 15 pound weight difference)
Mac Foster almost reminds me of Leon Spink(and Ron Lyle's style too) as to his fighting style in this bout.
Although of course Ali was putting the presurre on him from the get-go.

Brutu wrote: ↑23 Jul 2013, 19:57 Mac Foster talks about sparring with Ken Norton when the both of them were on the All-Marine boxing team back in 1965.

http://www.news.google.com/newspapers?i ... 8194475&dq

bump

It's interesting that Ali didn't -- or couldn't -- knock him out. What does everyone else here think about that? Did Ali carry Foster, or did Foster stay the distance legitimately?

My guess is that Ali couldn't KO Mac. Foster was known for taking a great shot, and in this bout, he's keeping his guard tight and high in order to compensate for the fact that he's outclassed by Muhammad. Also, Ali must have known that turning up the heat and gunning for a KO would have opened the possibility of Foster landing a lucky, devastating counter-punch.

I give Foster credit for being tough and durable. I rate him as being superior to Leon Spinks, based on superior size, strength, and punching power alone. I rate Foster considerably below Ron Lyle however. But it's interesting to speculate if Lyle could have KO'd Mac if the two ever met.