Ray Anderson

Ray Anderson (born August 31, 1944, in Anniston, Alabama) was a boxer in the light heavyweight division who fought from 1965 to 1977. Anderson became the first challenger to last fifteen rounds against Bob Foster for the world Light Heavyweight title, but he lost what was his only world title try by decision. Anderson currently lives in Anniston.

Professional career Anderson began his rise to prominence in 1966. As a light heavyweight he took on and beat a formidable heavyweight journeyman named Amos Johnson in a ten-rounder at The Akron Armory in Akron, Ohio. As an amateur, Anderson was one of the few men to beat the young Cassius Clay (known later as Muhammad Ali) who went on to become the Heavyweight Champion of the world. Ray's career continued as he fought Joe Byrd of Flint, Michigan, in 1969, knocking Joe out in round 1. Ray also knocked out Canton's Marion Conner in Round 2, sealing his stature as Ohio's best light heavyweight. He fought John Griffin of Syracuse, New York twice, losing both in close decisions.

Ray Anderson was credited by Joe Frazier, who long used him as a sparring partner because of his tall rangy Ali-like style as assisting him in his preparation to unify the heavyweight title in 1970, with his win over WBA heavyweight titleholder Jimmy Ellis at Madison Square Garden. Later in 1970, Anderson was to bite off more than he could chew when he decided to fight a young prospect at the Cleveland Arena in Cleveland, Ohio named Ted Gullick, after providing Gullick with a boxing lesson in rounds 1 through 4, toward the end of the fourth Gullick scored a knockdown with a sharp left hook. Anderson rose and was in part saved by the bell. Later Gullick dominated the fight and finished Anderson in the 9th round by knocking him out. Anderson beat Gregorio Peralta by a ten-round decision in Spain in 1972.

The pinnacle of Ray's career was his challenge to the former Light Heavyweight Champion of the World Bob Foster. Anderson was a tall light-heavyweight of his era, standing 6 feet 1 inch. However, Foster was 6 feet 3 inches and could punch very hard. Anderson was not used to giving away height; he prided himself in being both handsome and fast. He was not willing to risk being hit by Foster, thus he chose to dance and defend for most of the fight, thus losing a fifteen-round decision. To Anderson's credit he was one of the few men that would last all 15 rounds with Foster. The late Yank Durham, Joe Frazier's trainer, worked Anderson's corner during the Foster fight felt that Anderson should have eliminated the Ali style tactics and take it to Foster and was upset by the outcome. Anderson had proven to be a very respected fighter early on and once joining promoter Don King, seemed to start an altered course in his career which can't be explained. It is thought that King wanted to use Anderson to promote other upcoming boxers in order to propel himself into the limelight instead of using Anderson's talent to help him reach the top of the rankings. Anderson's children Deric and Eric (twins), and Brigitte Anderson were last known to reside in Ohio. In the early 90's one (or both) of Anderson's twin sons; were known for his athletic abilities and had shown glimpses of skills that would advance him into professional football. However, details of his efforts are not recorded.

Professional boxing record 36 Wins (21 knockouts, 15 decisions), 19 Losses (11 knockouts, 8 decision), 5 Draws Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes Loss Mike Rossman TKO 4 Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States Draw Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 1976-12-04 Hamburg, Germany Loss Marvin Johnson TKO 6 1976-04-03 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States Loss Miguel Angel Cuello KO 6 1976-02-20 Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Germany Win Jorge Ahumada PTS 10 1975-11-28 Hamburg, Germany Draw Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 1975-09-12 Offenbach, Germany Loss Ngozika Ekwelum KO 5 1975-06-24 Berlin, Germany Loss Bunny Johnson PTS 8 1975-06-19 Jordal Amfi, Oslo, Norway Draw Ngozika Ekwelum PTS 8 1975-05-16 Ludwigshafen, Germany Loss Harald Skog PTS 10 1975-03-13 Oslo, Norway Loss Avenamar Peralta TKO 8 1975-01-18 Hamburg, Germany Loss James "Great" Scott UD 10 1974-04-23 Miami Beach, Florida, United States Loss Victor Galindez KO 2 1974-02-16 Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Draw Jimmy "The Cat" Dupree PTS 10 1973-11-28 Cleveland, Ohio, United States Loss Jorge Ahumada TKO 8 1973-08-13 Felt Forum, New York City, United States Win Miguel Angel Paez PTS 8 1973-03-12 Palais des Sports (Paris), Paris, France Loss Roy "Cookie" Wallace SD 10 1973-02-14 Cleveland, Ohio, United States Win Gregorio Peralta PTS 10 1972-06-09 Madrid, Spain Loss Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 1972-03-27 Paris, France Loss Joe "Cigarette" Burns KO 9 1972-01-15 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States Win JD McCauley KO 7 1971-11-10 Akron, Ohio, United States Loss Bob Foster UD 15 1971-04-24 Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, United States Win Hal Carroll PTS 10 1970-11-18 Ashland, Ohio, United States Loss Johnny "70s" Griffin UD 10 1970-09-14 Akron, Ohio, United States Loss Johnny "70s" Griffin PTS 10 1970-08-03 Norton, Ohio, United States Loss Charley "Devil" Green TKO 1 1970-04-28 Felt Forum, New York City, United States Draw Allen "Bibliophile" Thomas PTS 10 1970-03-30 Chicago, Illinois, United States Win Hydra Lacy KO 4 1970-01-27 Orlando, Florida, United States Loss Ted Gullick KO 9 1969-12-10 Cleveland, Ohio, United States Win Joe Hopkins KO 1 1969-11-21 Rapid City, South Dakota, United States Win Ed Ostapovich KO 1 1969-11-13 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington, United States Win Joe "Nice Guy" Byrd TKO 1 1969-11-06 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Karl Zurheide UD 10 1969-10-06 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Win Pete Riccitelli KO 5 1969-08-11 Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States Win Billy "Boggy" Marsh KO 3 1969-07-23 Orlando, Florida, United States Win Roy "Cookie" Wallace PTS 10 1969-06-03 Atlanta, Georgia, United States Win Frank "Snakebite" Niblett UD 10 1969-05-27 Oakland, California, United States Win Willie McIntyre KO 2 1969-04-01 Orlando, Florida, United States Win Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor TKO 2 1969-03-23 Canton, Ohio, United States Win Willie Tiger TKO 1 1969-03-05 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor UD 10 1969-01-26 Canton, Ohio, United States Win Hubert "Happy Wanderer" Hilton TKO 3 1969-01-10 Felt Forum, New York City, United States Win Amos Johnson PTS 10 1968-11-06 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Eddie Dembry TKO 1 1968-09-18 Mansfield, Ohio, United States Win Jimmy "The Poll" Harris TKO 1 1968-02-14 Akron, Ohio, United States Loss Willie "Monster" McMillan TKO 6 1967-07-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States Win Bobby Lawson KO 2 1967-05-27 Columbus, Ohio, United States Win Francisco San Jose PTS 8 1967-04-28 Stockholm, Sweden Win Vic Brown UD 6 1967-03-15 Akron, Ohio, United States Win James Goree KO 2 1967-02-21 Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States Win Tom "Liberty" Bell KO 1 1967-01-15 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Bob Slaughter PTS 6 1966-12-05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States Win Bob "Pretty Boy" Felstein KO 5 1966-10-26 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Jimmy McClain PTS 6 1966-06-14 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States Win Al "Hank" Williams KO 1 1966-05-25 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Al "Hank" Williams KO 1 1966-03-11 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States Win Gene "Ashes to Ashes" Hunt KO 2 1966-03-02 Akron, Ohio, United States Win James "The Boss" Ross PTS 4 1966-02-02 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Larry Tatum PTS 4 1965-12-16 Akron, Ohio, United States Win Gene "Ashes to Ashes" Hunt TKO 3 1965-07-14 Akron, Ohio, United States

Exhibition boxing record