Under the instruction of trainer Billy Edwards, himself a former light heavyweight, Foster was primed to enter history as a world champion, if only given the opportunity by boxing’s economic system.
Foster Eyes a Title Shot
By the end of 1967, Foster was established as a prime threat to World Light Heavyweight champion Dick Tiger. His amateur career was lengthy, having earned a silver medal at the 1959 Pan American Games and an abortive bid to the 1960 Olympics in Rome. As a professional, Foster was 29-4 with 23 knockouts; three of his four losses came against heavyweights and his only light heavyweight setback was a controversial decision to Mauro Mina in Peru.
Dick Tiger, despite only standing 5’ 8”, used his gifts to earn the world title of two higher weight classes. He first captured the World Middleweight championship from Gene Fullmer in 1962 before losing and regaining it from Joey Giardello. In 1966, the Nigerian moved up to light heavyweight and immediately became champion against Jose Torres.
Tiger fought excellent opposition in his career, but wouldn’t meet Foster unless his management secured a large purse from the challenger. Despite having plowed through the light heavyweight division, Foster would have to wait until he attracted major investors. In 1967, Tiger won a rematch with Torres (whose group turned down a challenge by Foster) and defeated Roger Rouse, some of whose opponents Foster had beaten more convincingly.
Securing the Fight
Foster earned scant money in the earlier part of his career. He brought home as little as $300 after facing opponents like Ernie Terrell and Doug Jones, both major heavyweight contenders. The tide began to turn in late 1966, after Foster went an entire year without entering the ring and working in a munitions factory to support his wife and four children. That October, restaurant owner Morris Salow, who was impressed by Foster on the 1964 Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston undercard in Miami Beach, acquired his contract and pursued the financial backing he so desperately needed.
Tiger’s camp asked for $100,000 to box Foster and received it from Vince McMahon, the future WWF/WWE magnate who promoted boxing events at the time. The championship bout was finally signed and sealed, taking place at Madison Square Garden on May 24, 1968. Foster, a decorated amateur and virtually unbeaten as a light heavyweight, was favored at 12 to 5 over Tiger, the future Hall of Famer who carried a 57-17-3 record with 27 knockouts.
Foster Becomes Champ
Besides waiting years to scrape together $100,000 for a title shot, Foster also had to accept a payday of just $10,000, not including his expenses. Foster viewed the fight as an investment, having considerable experience and overwhelming physical advantages over Tiger. At 29, Foster was nearly a decade younger, seven inches taller (6’ 3” to 5’ 8”), and with a reach advantage of eight inches (79 to 71).
12,000 fans attended the championship bout on May 24th. At 2:05 of round four, the light heavyweight title changed hands. Foster and Tiger boxed evenly for their opening three rounds while the canvas became slippery under Madison Square Garden’s ring lights. Foster overcame the conditions and Tiger’s elusiveness, landing a short left hook that put Tiger flat on his back. The defending champion was in a daze and counted out by referee Mark Conn; Tiger had only been TKO’d in one previous fight.
A Record-Setting Reign
Foster would occupy boxing history on his knockout of Tiger alone, considered one of the ten greatest of all time and the height of Ring Magazine’s Round of the Year for 1968. But the new champion added further to his legacy, defending the light heavyweight title in a record 14 bouts. The achievement places Foster in a select group of light heavies that includes Archie Moore and Roy Jones Jr.
Foster held his position as one of boxing’s top pound-for-pound fighters until a first retirement in 1974. World championships, at the time, were defended frequently; amongst his opponents were Frank DePaula, Roger Rouse, Mike Quarry, and Chris Finnegan. He also stopped Vicente Rondon in a 1972 bout for the ‘undisputed’ light heavyweight title after the World Boxing Association stripped Foster of their belt.
While dominant in his own weight class, Foster hoped to become world champion at heavyweight and the first to wear both crowns simultaneously; but his only heavyweight title shot ended with a second-round knockout by Joe Frazier. Foster, physically outmatched by many of the leading heavyweights, was also counted out in a 1972 NABF title fight against Muhammad Ali.
Foster Retires
Foster originally left boxing after a draw with Jorge Ahumada in 1974. He returned as a heavyweight the following year before stepping away for good in 1978. In his retirement, Foster has trained fighters and worked as a member of New Mexico law enforcement. He was voted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame with its inaugural class in 1990.
A champion while the heavyweight division of Ali, Frazier, and George Foreman made headlines, Foster is respected by the boxing community but has gone largely under-appreciated when compared to other pugilists of his era. However, his place in boxing history is a permanent one and he is an automatic candidate for the greatest light heavyweight of all time.
Sources
‘Bob Foster.’ BoxRec fighter record, 2009 [via Internet].
Cozzone, Chris. ‘Champs of the ’60s - ’70s: Bob Foster.’ New Mexico Boxing, 2000-2002 [via Internet].
Roberts, James B. and Skutt, Alexander G. The Boxing Register: International Boxing Hall of Fame Official Record Book (3rd edition). Ithaca, NY: McBooks Press, 2002.
Ronberg, Gary. ‘Mushky Got The Tiger And Foster Tamed Him.’ Sports Illustrated 28, no. 4 (June 3, 1968) [via Internet].
Paul-John Ramos - Paul-John is a freelance writer based in Yonkers, New York. His past articles have appeared at Classical Net and his poetry in Steam ...
