Barnstorming Muhammad Ail fights light heavyweight champion Bob Foster

In 1972, a few days before Thanksgiving, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali met light heavyweight champion Bob Foster in Nevada.

Unlike today, Ali was active. His fight against Foster was his sixth of the year.

He had begun the year by winning a unanimous decision over Mac Foster. Foster had won his first 24 fights by knockout.

Foster was undefeated and favored to beat Jerry Quarry in 1970. But the skillful Quarry used his experience and sharp punching to stop Foster. He rebounded to win four fights in a row before meeting Ali in Japan.

Ali’s prediction of a knockout in five failed, but he cruised to a 15-round decision.

Exactly a month later, (Yes) Ali was back in the ring fighting a rematch against perennial contender George Chuvalo in British Columbia. Chuvalo said he was a better fighter now than when they first met six years before. Ali dominated Chuvalo over 12 rounds.

Another rematch was next. Ali fought Quarry in Nevada. Their first fight in Atlanta was Ali’s return after over three years for refusing to be inducted into the Army during the Vietnam War. Ali was sharp, slicing Quarry’s brow with a right cross in round three. The referee stopped the fight soon after. Quarry had been doing better in the third round until getting cut.

He had talked about a rematch since. The rematch was worse for Quarry. Ali dominated from the opening heat, beating Quarry to the punch with combinations. Ali basically stopped the fight in round seven. A three-punch salvo wobbled Quarry. Ali indicated to the referee that the fight was over. The referee agreed. So much for second chances.

Ali went to Dublin, Ireland, and stopped Alvin Lewis in 11 rounds. Two months later, he stopped former heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson at Madison Square Garden in New York.

Patterson, 37, had come to win. He tagged an overconfident Ali with some solid blows until a nasty cut ended the match.

Foster was next. The venue was the Sahara Tahoe Hotel in Lake Tahoe, NV. Foster had fought three times in 1972, winning them all by knockout.

He was getting older, but his power remained. Big-time power. Foster knocked out Vincente Rondon in a grudge match in Miami, Florida. Four months later, it was Mike Quarry, the cocky younger brother of Jerry. Quarry did well early, but in round four Foster landed a wicked fight-ending left hook.

Foster went to London and engaged in a slugging match with Chris Finngan, prevailing in round 14.

The fight was The Ring Magazine Fight of the Year.

Ali gazed into his crystal ball and made a prediction.

“My prediction with Bob Foster will be round eight,” Ali said. “This is the first prediction in a while–round eight.”

Foster was confident as well, even though his success with heavyweights was poor. Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier had knocked Foster into never-never land in 1970. His power was explosive against light heavies, not so much against heavyweights.

The weigh-in showed the wide difference between the two.

Ali weighed 221 pounds. Foster 180.

Ali used movement and outworked Foster in the first four rounds. Surprisingly, Foster out-jabbed him, but Ali was in control.

In the next heat, one of those jabs did something that had never happened to Ali in 40 professional fights. The blow caused a cut above Ali’s left eye.

Howard Cosel had a meltdown at ringside. Ali, perhaps annoyed at seeing his own blood, went to work. He cracked Foster with sharp and stinging blows. Foster crumbled four times in the fifth round. Ali took the sixth round off, then floored Foster two more times in round seven.

The fight was essentially over. Not completely. Foster connected with right hands that seemed to make Ali’s leg dip, but alas, Ali was auditioning for acting school. He wasn’t really hurt. He floored Foster soon after.

A few minutes later, he landed a blow that he used often (see the George Foreman fight): the lead right hand. Foster went down, and this time didn’t get up. Ali said after the fight that Foster “hit like a mule.

“Foster wasn’t so kind about Ali’s punching prowess.”He couldn’t bust an egg.” said Foster.

Bad loser.

Ali took a couple of months off and returned to the ring to fight Joe Bugner.

Disaster loomed in the form of Ken Norton.