Ray Anderson (boxer)

Template:Short description 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 31⁄2 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	28-3-3	Template:Flagicon Mike Rossman	TKO	4	1977-03-02	Template:Flagicon Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States
Draw	18-8-1	Template:Flagicon Ba Sounkalo	PTS	10	1976-12-04	Template:Flagicon Hamburg, Germany
Loss	9-0	Template:Flagicon Marvin Johnson	TKO	6	1976-04-03	Template:Flagicon Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Loss	16-0	Template:Flagicon Miguel Angel Cuello	KO	6	1976-02-20	Template:Flagicon Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Germany
Win	42-7-2	Template:Flagicon Jorge Ahumada	PTS	10	1975-11-28	Template:Flagicon Hamburg, Germany
Draw	86-13-4	Template:Flagicon Avenamar Peralta	PTS	10	1975-09-12	Template:Flagicon Offenbach, Germany
Loss	7-2-4	Template:Flagicon Ngozika Ekwelum	KO	5	1975-06-24	Template:Flagicon Berlin, Germany
Loss	42-6	Template:Flagicon Bunny Johnson	PTS	8	1975-06-19	Template:Flagicon Jordal Amfi, Oslo, Norway
Draw	7-2-3	Template:Flagicon Ngozika Ekwelum	PTS	8	1975-05-16	Template:Flagicon Ludwigshafen, Germany
Loss	10-0-1	Template:Flagicon Harald Skog	PTS	10	1975-03-13	Template:Flagicon Oslo, Norway
Loss	80-12-4	Template:Flagicon Avenamar Peralta	TKO	8	1975-01-18	Template:Flagicon Hamburg, Germany
Loss	5-0	Template:Flagicon James "Great" Scott	UD	10	1974-04-23	Template:Flagicon Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Loss	26-6-4	Template:Flagicon Victor Galindez	KO	2	1974-02-16	Template:Flagicon Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina	Anderson knocked out at 1:23 of the second round.
Draw	39-9-3	Template:Flagicon Jimmy "The Cat" Dupree	PTS	10	1973-11-28	Template:Flagicon Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss	32-5-1	Template:Flagicon Jorge Ahumada	TKO	8	1973-08-13	Template:Flagicon Felt Forum, New York City, United States
Win	50-16-14	Template:Flagicon Miguel Angel Paez	PTS	8	1973-03-12	Template:Flagicon Palais des Sports (Paris), Paris, France
Loss	13-15-2	Template:Flagicon Roy "Cookie" Wallace	SD	10	1973-02-14	Template:Flagicon Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	90-7-8	Template:Flagicon Gregorio Peralta	PTS	10	1972-06-09	Template:Flagicon Madrid, Spain
Loss	9-1-1	Template:Flagicon Ba Sounkalo	PTS	10	1972-03-27	Template:Flagicon Paris, France
Loss	23-6-1	Template:Flagicon Joe "Cigarette" Burns	KO	9	1972-01-15	Template:Flagicon New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win	3-10	Template:Flagicon JD McCauley	KO	7	1971-11-10	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Loss	42-5	Template:Flagicon Bob Foster	UD	15	1971-04-24	Template:Flagicon Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, United States	WBC World Light Heavyweight Title. 140-145, 139-148, 138-149.
Win	25-2	Template:Flagicon Hal Carroll	PTS	10	1970-11-18	Template:Flagicon Ashland, Ohio, United States
Loss	13-3	Template:Flagicon Johnny "70s" Griffin	UD	10	1970-09-14	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Loss	12-3	Template:Flagicon Johnny "70s" Griffin	PTS	10	1970-08-03	Template:Flagicon Norton, Ohio, United States
Loss	12-6	Template:Flagicon Charley "Devil" Green	TKO	1	1970-04-28	Template:Flagicon Felt Forum, New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:36 of the first round.
Draw	27-7-2	Template:Flagicon Allen "Bibliophile" Thomas	PTS	10	1970-03-30	Template:Flagicon Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win	2-3-1	Template:Flagicon Hydra Lacy	KO	4	1970-01-27	Template:Flagicon Orlando, Florida, United States
Loss	5-0	Template:Flagicon Ted Gullick	KO	9	1969-12-10	Template:Flagicon Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win	14-9-2	Template:Flagicon Joe Hopkins	KO	1	1969-11-21	Template:Flagicon Rapid City, South Dakota, United States
Win	9-5	Template:Flagicon Ed Ostapovich	KO	1	1969-11-13	Template:Flagicon Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington, United States
Win	10-6	Template:Flagicon Joe "Nice Guy" Byrd	TKO	1	1969-11-06	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	27-6	Template:Flagicon Karl Zurheide	UD	10	1969-10-06	Template:Flagicon Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win	46-15-1	Template:Flagicon Pete Riccitelli	KO	5	1969-08-11	Template:Flagicon Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Win	49-50-12	Template:Flagicon Billy "Boggy" Marsh	KO	3	1969-07-23	Template:Flagicon Orlando, Florida, United States
Win	7-10-1	Template:Flagicon Roy "Cookie" Wallace	PTS	10	1969-06-03	Template:Flagicon Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win	15-34-11	Template:Flagicon Frank "Snakebite" Niblett	UD	10	1969-05-27	Template:Flagicon Oakland, California, United States	8-1, 7-2, 8-1.
Win	9-7-5	Template:Flagicon Willie McIntyre	KO	2	1969-04-01	Template:Flagicon Orlando, Florida, United States
Win	26-17-1	Template:Flagicon Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor	TKO	2	1969-03-23	Template:Flagicon Canton, Ohio, United States
Win	15-13-2	Template:Flagicon Willie Tiger	TKO	1	1969-03-05	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	26-16-1	Template:Flagicon Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor	UD	10	1969-01-26	Template:Flagicon Canton, Ohio, United States	Ohio Heavyweight Title.
Win	17-8-2	Template:Flagicon Hubert "Happy Wanderer" Hilton	TKO	3	1969-01-10	Template:Flagicon Felt Forum, New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:54 of the third round.
Win	22-8-2	Template:Flagicon Amos Johnson	PTS	10	1968-11-06	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	11-4	Template:Flagicon Eddie Dembry	TKO	1	1968-09-18	Template:Flagicon Mansfield, Ohio, United States
Win	--	Jimmy "The Poll" Harris	TKO	1	1968-02-14	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Loss	8-1	Template:Flagicon Willie "Monster" McMillan	TKO	6	1967-07-19	Template:Flagicon Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the sixth round.
Win	0-3	Template:Flagicon Bobby Lawson	KO	2	1967-05-27	Template:Flagicon Columbus, Ohio, United States	Lawson knocked out at 1:42 of the second round.
Win	4-2-1	Template:Flagicon Francisco San Jose	PTS	8	1967-04-28	Template:Flagicon Stockholm, Sweden
Win	8-7	Template:Flagicon Vic Brown	UD	6	1967-03-15	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	0-5	Template:Flagicon James Goree	KO	2	1967-02-21	Template:Flagicon Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States	Goree knocked out at 1:51 of the second round.
Win	2-1	Template:Flagicon Tom "Liberty" Bell	KO	1	1967-01-15	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	7-11-2	Template:Flagicon Bob Slaughter	PTS	6	1966-12-05	Template:Flagicon Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	10-2-1	Template:Flagicon Bob "Pretty Boy" Felstein	KO	5	1966-10-26	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	7-0	Template:Flagicon Jimmy McClain	PTS	6	1966-06-14	Template:Flagicon Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win	0-1	Template:Flagicon Al "Hank" Williams	KO	1	1966-05-25	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States	Williams knocked out at 1:28 of the first round.
Win	--	Template:Flagicon Al "Hank" Williams	KO	1	1966-03-11	Template:Flagicon Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win	0-2	Template:Flagicon Gene "Ashes to Ashes" Hunt	KO	2	1966-03-02	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	--	James "The Boss" Ross	PTS	4	1966-02-02	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	1-0	Template:Flagicon Larry Tatum	PTS	4	1965-12-16	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States
Win	0-1	Template:Flagicon Gene "Ashes to Ashes" Hunt	TKO	3	1965-07-14	Template:Flagicon Akron, Ohio, United States	Referee stopped the bout at 1:37 of the third round.

Exhibition boxing record

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
2	Template:N/A	0–0 (2)	Template:Flagicon Muhammad Ali	Template:N/A	2	Oct 11, 1972	Template:Flagicon Boston Garden, Boston, Massachusetts U.S.	Non-scored bout
1	Template:N/A	0–0 (1)	Template:Flagicon Muhammad Ali	Template:N/A	2	Aug 24, 1972	Template:Flagicon Baltimore Civic Center, Baltimore, Maryland U.S.	Non-scored bout

External links

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