Buster Mathis vs. James J. Woody
Buster Mathis 223 lbs beat James J Woody 203 lbs by TKO at 2:59 in round 6 of 10
- Date: 1968-09-26
- Location: Madison Square Garden, New York, New York, USA
- Referee: Tony Perez
- Judge: Tony Castellano 1-3
- Judge: Artie Aidala 1-4
"In the first of two heavyweight main events at MSG, Buster Mathis, 223, from Grand Rapids, Mich., stopped James J. Woody, 203 1/2, of New York at 2:59 of the 6th round of a scheduled 10-rounder. Woody, shorter and lighter than Mathis, was ahead on two of the three official cards until the sudden ending. Neither fighter had done much damage in the early rounds and the fans were booing and whistling for action. Suddenly, in the 6th round, Mathis landed a solid right hand in an exchange when a mouse developed under Woody's right eye. Mathis shook up Woody with a left hook and then swarmed all over him with both hands. He threw a right hand just as Woody went down. Referee Tony Perez took the count to nine, looked into Woody's eyes and stopped the fight with the loser on his feet." -Canadian Press
- The co-main event on this card pitted George Chuvalo against Manuel Ramos.
- The Canadian Press reported that James J. Woody had been promised a title fight with Joe Frazier in November if he got past Mathis.
Scorecards (through 5 completed rounds)
- Referee Tony Perez - 3-2 Mathis
- Judge Artie Aidala - 4-1 Woody
- Judge Tony Castellano - 3-1-1 Woody