Mac Foster pugile

MacArthur "Mac" Foster (June 27, 1942 – July 19, 2010) was a 20th-century American heavyweight professional boxer.He competed from 1966 to 1976, winning 30 of his 36 professional bouts, with all his victories coming by way of knockout. He scored notable stoppages of heavyweight contenders Thad Spencer, Cleveland Williams, whom he defeated twice, and Zora Folley. Foster went the distance againstMuhammad Ali in April 1972, losing by a fifteen-round unanimous decision.Foster was born in Alexandria, Virginia, a son, and the third of eleven children, of a Mississippi sharecropping family. He spent his childhood years in Fresno, California, where his father found employment as a nurse. Foster picked grapes and cotton as a youth. Fresno State University offered him a track and field scholarship out of Washington High School, but he declined the opportunity, choosing instead to enlist with the United States Marines. Whilst serving with the Marines he won fourteen amateur boxing titles, and was deployed for two combat tours in the Vietnam War.citation needed After a discharge from the Marines with the rank of sergeant, Foster turned professional, becoming the third Fresno boxer of note (Young Corbett III was a world welterweight champion and Wayne Thornton rose through the rankings to become a number one heavyweight contender in 1970). He trained with Pat DiFuria at the Merced Street Gym.dead linkStanding at 6 ft 2" in height and known as "Big Mac The Knife from Fresno", Foster made his professional debut in 1966, winning his first 24 fights by knockout, and was named The Ring's Progress of the Year for 1969. Britain's Boxing Illustrated wrote, "He could certainly whack!"citation neededWhilst being employed as a sparring partner for Sonny Liston, Foster was reputed to have knocked down the former world champion, causing Liston two days later to work Foster over during another sparring session before handlers could intervene between the two men to stop it.