Buster Mathis, Jr.

Buster Mathis Jr. (born March 25, 1970) is an American former professional boxer who competed in the heavyweight division. He held the regional IBF-USBA Heavyweight title, winning the belt in 1994, making two successful defenses until losing to Lou Savarese in 1996.

Early life

Mathis Jr. was the son of Buster Mathis, a heavyweight boxer from the 1960s. The senior Mathis had been invited to the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, and was a contender with fights against champions Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier. Mathis Jr. was a heavy man and took up boxing because he was bullied as a child until the age of 14, and also for the benefit of losing extra weight. Mathis Jr. attended Grandville Public Schools in Grandville, Michigan, from 1979 until he graduated in 1988.

Professional career

Mathis Jr. turned pro in 1991 and quickly put together 12 wins. A busy, crowding fighter, Mathis was small for a heavyweight at around 220 lbs but skilled enough to beat fairly respected fighters like Levi Billups, Justin Fortune and Mike Dixon very early in his career. Buster Mathis encouraged his son to fewer higher paying fights, using the Mathis name to his advantage. He was considered a weak puncher (3 KO's in those 12 fights) but his opposition was above average.

In 1993 he challenged Mike 'The Bounty' Hunter (23-3) for his USBA heavyweight belt. Hunter won a close decision over Mathis. The loss however was soon voided after Hunter later tested positive for cocaine.

In 1994 Mathis again contested the USBA belt (stripped from Hunter), this time winning an impressive 12-round decision over ex-Olympic champion Tyrell Biggs (27-7).

In August of that year Mathis was brought in as the comeback opponent for former undisputed champion Riddick Bowe. After a good effort bobbing and weaving out of the way of Bowe's best shots, Mathis began to fall behind and took a knee in the fourth. Bowe knocked Mathis out while he was on the mat, yet instead of being disqualified, referee Arthur Mercante Sr. and New Jersey commission boss Larry Hazzard agreed to void the contest.

In 1995 Mathis retained his USBA belt with a point win over contender Alex Garcia, thus setting up a fight with Mike Tyson. This was Tyson's second fight since being released from prison earlier in the year.

Mathis Sr. did not see his son's fight with Tyson due to Sr's final battle with health problems such as diabetes and kidney issues. Mathis Sr. died a few weeks before the Tyson fight. In the third round Tyson knocked Mathis Jr. out with a right uppercut. Ten days after the Tyson fight Mathis Jr.'s trainer and long time friend Joey Fariello died, and Mathis Jr. quickly lost his spark for the sport.

A 1996 fight with prospect Obed Sullivan ended with a no contest in the 5th round, after Sullivan was badly cut in a clash of heads. This was the third no contest in Mathis Jr.'s relatively brief career.

In November 1996 Mathis lost his USBA belt to undefeated Lou Savarese.

Mathis retired at the age of 26 with a 21-2 (7 KO's) record, and 3 no contests.

After boxing

After his boxing career he studied education receiving a bachelor's degree from the University of Miami. He currently resides in his hometown of Grand Rapids, Michigan and spends his free time speaking to youth to encourage and motivate them, signing autographs and speaking to foster children. Buster Mathis is now the vice president of a non-profit, Buster Mathis Inc. (www.thebullybuster.org) and offers elementary children the Bully Buster Prevention Program through a boxing technique called the 'peek-a-boo'. Buster Mathis is single and has no children at this time. Buster also is a substitute teacher on his off time, most recently at East Kentwood High School. On October 20, 2016, Buster Mathis Jr. was inducted into the Grand Rapids (MI) Sports Hall of Fame, joining his father who was previously inducted.

Fighting style Buster Mathis Jr is a busy and crowding fighter, he aims to challenge his opponent and smother them from the start to the end. He is considered to be a good volume puncher and is quick on the inside, additionally he frequently threw punches in combinations. Mathis Jr obtained good head movement; he avoided punishment by constantly bobbing, weaving, and ducking Buster Mathis was considered to be a weak puncher, according to his record, only 33% of his wins came by knockout.

Professional boxing record

Loss

TKO 7 1 Nov 1996

No Contest

NC 5 20 Apr 1996

Win

KO 4 27 Feb 1996

Loss

KO 3 16 Dec 1995

Win

TKO 1 5 Aug 1995

Win

UD 12 18 Apr 1995

Win

UD 10 4 Feb 1995

Win

TKO 9 3 Dec 1994

Win

TKO 5 5 Nov 1994

Win

UD 10 1 Oct 1994

No Contest

NC 4 13 Aug 1994

Win

MD 10 2 Apr 1994

Win

UD 12 5 Feb 1994

No Contest

NC 12 4 Dec 1993

Win

UD 10 2 Oct 1993

Win

UD 10 7 Aug 1993

Win

PTS 10 10 Jul 1993

Win

TKO 5 15 Jun 1993

Win

TKO 8 14 Feb 1993

Win

PTS 6 22 Sep 1992

Win

PTS 6 24 Apr 1992

Win

TKO 5 21 Apr 1992

Win

PTS 4 21 Mar 1992

Win

PTS 4 3 Mar 1992

Win

PTS 4 8 Feb 1992

Win

PTS 4 9 Dec 1991