BoxRec

Just wondering why whenever anyone asks people to name the hardest punching heavyweights ever I have never seen Mac Foster named on any list?

He finished with a record of 36-6 (36 KOs) and held KO wins over Cleveland Williams twice (5th and 3rd rounds), Zora Folley (1st round) and Thad Spencer (1st round). His loses were to Jerry Quarry (KO6), Muhammed Ali (PTS15), and 10 round decisions to Bob Stallings, Joe Bugner, Henry Clark and Stan Ward.

I don't know too much about Foster but his record seems quite decent to me. Anyone know anymore about him and his punching power.

I think the reason his name is not usually mentioned when it comes to KO artists is that he never KO'd any big name 'live' opponents.

The name fighters he did KO were very old men by the tim Foster got to them. A lot of his KO's were over low level opponents. The guy obviously had some power but never proved it against a top rated 'live' opponent as far as I can recall.

I'm sure however that I read once that he sometimes sparred with the late Sonny Liston and he floored/ Ko'd Sonny once in sparring.

There was a rumour about 6 months ago that Mac Foster had passed away, this was soon proved to be false, thankfully.

Controversial wrote:Just wondering why whenever anyone asks people to name the hardest punching heavyweights ever I have never seen Mac Foster named on any list?

He finished with a record of 36-6 (36 KOs) and held KO wins over Cleveland Williams twice (5th and 3rd rounds), Zora Folley (1st round) and Thad Spencer (1st round). His loses were to Jerry Quarry (KO6), Muhammed Ali (PTS15), and 10 round decisions to Bob Stallings, Joe Bugner, Henry Clark and Stan Ward.

I don't know too much about Foster but his record seems quite decent to me. Anyone know anymore about him and his punching power.

See the most overrated/underrated thread...I mentioned Foster as overrated...he was streaking (27-0-0) 27 KO's...then he met Jerry Quarry, got hammered, and was never the same...

Sweet Scientist wrote:

Controversial wrote:Just wondering why whenever anyone asks people to name the hardest punching heavyweights ever I have never seen Mac Foster named on any list?

He finished with a record of 36-6 (36 KOs) and held KO wins over Cleveland Williams twice (5th and 3rd rounds), Zora Folley (1st round) and Thad Spencer (1st round). His loses were to Jerry Quarry (KO6), Muhammed Ali (PTS15), and 10 round decisions to Bob Stallings, Joe Bugner, Henry Clark and Stan Ward.

I don't know too much about Foster but his record seems quite decent to me. Anyone know anymore about him and his punching power.

See the most overrated/underrated thread...I mentioned Foster as overrated...he was streaking (27-0-0) 27 KO's...then he met Jerry Quarry, got hammered, and was never the same...

I wouldn't say he's over-rated-people never really talk of him in a historical context, but looking at the Quarry fight, he was a very good prospect with skills and power, but he just couldn't mentally recover from the Quarry loss. He's one of the people who contributed to the depth of the HW scene in the 1970s-he was certainly a lot better then the likes of Joe Mesi and Dominik Guinn . . . . .

dempseyfire wrote: I wouldn't say he's over-rated-people never really talk of him in a historical context, but looking at the Quarry fight, he was a very good prospect with skills and power, but he just couldn't mentally recover from the Quarry loss. He's one of the people who contributed to the depth of the HW scene in the 1970s-he was certainly a lot better then the likes of Joe Mesi and Dominik Guinn . . . . .

Hey man, almost everybody is better than Mesi & Guinn...

I think (personally) that he was overrated because I started taking notice of him sometime in 1969...Ali was in exile, Frazier & Ellis each had a piece of Ali's championship...and all of a sudden Foster comes along knocking out everybody he faced...he started getting ink in the boxing mags and in Sports Illustrated...Many people (myself included) thought he would get by Quarry and ultimately take on Foreman, Frazier, etc...But Quarry was tougher...better...he really hammered Foster...boom-boom, out go the lights...I was rooting for Foster because I was hoping for some talented 'fresh blood' to come up in the HW division...and Quarry had certain limitations...couldn't beat the top tiered heavies...but he always seemed to beat the up & comers who strived to get fights in that 'top tier'...Foster was one of those...he didn't quite make the big time...Ali gave him a fight in '72, but Ali didn't consider him to be much of a challenge...didn't train as hard as he should have...and still beat up Foster in a rather boring fight...that wound up putting Foster in the hospital...so I do think he was overrated...atleast by me, anyway...

Sweet Scientist wrote:Ali gave him a fight in '72, but Ali didn't consider him to be much of a challenge...didn't train as hard as he should have...and still beat up Foster in a rather boring fight...that wound up putting Foster in the hospital.

If I am not mistaken, that was one of the very few 15 round non-title fights of the modern era.

I think Foster learned to box in the Marine Corps. I'm not sure if he did a tour in Vietnam. I know however that Foster was promoted early in his career as a patriotic alternative to Ali who was a very contriversial figure in those days

His loses were to Jerry Quarry (KO6), Muhammed Ali (PTS15), and 10 round decisions to Bob Stallings, Joe Bugner, Henry Clark and Stan Ward.

interesting thing about stallings, although, a sub .500 fighter with ko losses, he was able to beat both power punchers mac foster and earnie shavers. sort of like bigfoot martin......well martin would lose, but he would stop punchers ko streaks by going the distance.

I remember Mac Foster getting press at the time in World Boxing with statements like "Cassius Clay is lucky the U.S. Government got to him before I did" and "I am a black man but an American first." I think he made those statements not so much to hype his career but because he really felt that way. The Quarry fight was one of those Fight of the Month bouts they used to show. Yes, Quarry took him apart and Foster was never the same again. The Ali fight was in Tokyo and Ring Magazine did a five or six page photo spread of Ali getting mobbed by the Japanese press, fans, etc. Ali predicted he would stop Foster in the fifth and came to the ring carrying a round card with the #5 on it. The bout turned out to be a rather boring 15 rounder.

Question folks: Wasn't Foster one of the opponents for Foreman when he took on four or five guys in one day back in 1975 shortly after he lost the title to Ali? I remember Ali was at ringside for that circus and kept taunting Foreman and the whole thing turned into a page out of pro wrestling.

Controversial wrote:Just wondering why whenever anyone asks people to name the hardest punching heavyweights ever I have never seen Mac Foster named on any list?

He finished with a record of 36-6 (36 KOs) and held KO wins over Cleveland Williams twice (5th and 3rd rounds), Zora Folley (1st round) and Thad Spencer (1st round). His loses were to Jerry Quarry (KO6), Muhammed Ali (PTS15), and 10 round decisions to Bob Stallings, Joe Bugner, Henry Clark and Stan Ward.

I don't know too much about Foster but his record seems quite decent to me. Anyone know anymore about him and his punching power.

Folley and Williams were washed up when Foster beat them. Foster never beat any serious contenders. He has an impressive knockout percentage, but I don't believe he was a real top-notch great puncher.

THE DANCING MASTER wrote:I remember Mac Foster getting press at the time in World Boxing with statements like "Cassius Clay is lucky the U.S. Government got to him before I did" and "I am a black man but an American first." I think he made those statements not so much to hype his career but because he really felt that way. The Quarry fight was one of those Fight of the Month bouts they used to show. Yes, Quarry took him apart and Foster was never the same again. The Ali fight was in Tokyo and Ring Magazine did a five or six page photo spread of Ali getting mobbed by the Japanese press, fans, etc. Ali predicted he would stop Foster in the fifth and came to the ring carrying a round card with the #5 on it. The bout turned out to be a rather boring 15 rounder.

Question folks: Wasn't Foster one of the opponents for Foreman when he took on four or five guys in one day back in 1975 shortly after he lost the title to Ali? I remember Ali was at ringside for that circus and kept taunting Foreman and the whole thing turned into a page out of pro wrestling.

Boone Kirkman-Charlie Polite-Alonzo Johnson-Terry Daniels-Jerry Judge were Foreman's opponents...no Mac Foster...I think he was retired by '75...

Sweet Scientist wrote:Alonzo Johnson

Whom I believe went on to train everyones favourite Frank Bruno opponent Chuck Gardner!