Ray Anderson (boxer)

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 3½ 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[1]
Result Record Opponent Type Round Date Location Notes
Loss 28-3-3 Mike Rossman TKO 4 1977-03-02 Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States
Draw 18-8-1 Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 1976-12-04 Hamburg, Germany
Loss 9-0 Marvin Johnson TKO 6 1976-04-03 Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Loss 16-0 Miguel Angel Cuello KO 6 1976-02-20 Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, Alsterdorf, Germany
Win 42-7-2 Jorge Ahumada PTS 10 1975-11-28 Hamburg, Germany
Draw 86-13-4 Avenamar Peralta PTS 10 1975-09-12 Offenbach, Germany
Loss 7-2-4 Ngozika Ekwelum KO 5 1975-06-24 Berlin, Germany
Loss 42-6 Bunny Johnson PTS 8 1975-06-19 Jordal Amfi, Oslo, Norway
Draw 7-2-3 Ngozika Ekwelum PTS 8 1975-05-16 Ludwigshafen, Germany
Loss 10-0-1 Harald Skog PTS 10 1975-03-13 Oslo, Norway
Loss 80-12-4 Avenamar Peralta TKO 8 1975-01-18 Hamburg, Germany
Loss 5-0 James "Great" Scott UD 10 1974-04-23 Miami Beach, Florida, United States
Loss 26-6-4 Victor Galindez KO 2 1974-02-16 Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina Anderson knocked out at 1:23 of the second round.
Draw 39-9-3 Jimmy "The Cat" Dupree PTS 10 1973-11-28 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Loss 32-5-1 Jorge Ahumada TKO 8 1973-08-13 Felt Forum, New York City, United States
Win 50-16-14 Miguel Angel Paez PTS 8 1973-03-12 Palais des Sports (Paris), Paris, France
Loss 13-15-2 Roy "Cookie" Wallace SD 10 1973-02-14 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 90-7-8 Gregorio Peralta PTS 10 1972-06-09 Madrid, Spain
Loss 9-1-1 Ba Sounkalo PTS 10 1972-03-27 Paris, France
Loss 23-6-1 Joe "Cigarette" Burns KO 9 1972-01-15 New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Win 3-10 JD McCauley KO 7 1971-11-10 Akron, Ohio, United States
Loss 42-5 Bob Foster UD 15 1971-04-24 Curtis Hixon Hall, Tampa, Florida, United States WBC World Light Heavyweight Title. 140-145, 139-148, 138-149.
Win 25-2 Hal Carroll PTS 10 1970-11-18 Ashland, Ohio, United States
Loss 13-3 Johnny "70s" Griffin UD 10 1970-09-14 Akron, Ohio, United States
Loss 12-3 Johnny "70s" Griffin PTS 10 1970-08-03 Norton, Ohio, United States
Loss 12-6 Charley "Devil" Green TKO 1 1970-04-28 Felt Forum, New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:36 of the first round.
Draw 27-7-2 Allen "Bibliophile" Thomas PTS 10 1970-03-30 Chicago, Illinois, United States
Win 2-3-1 Hydra Lacy KO 4 1970-01-27 Orlando, Florida, United States
Loss 5-0 Ted Gullick KO 9 1969-12-10 Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Win 14-9-2 Joe Hopkins KO 1 1969-11-21 Rapid City, South Dakota, United States
Win 9-5 Ed Ostapovich KO 1 1969-11-13 Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, Washington, United States
Win 10-6 Joe "Nice Guy" Byrd TKO 1 1969-11-06 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 27-6 Karl Zurheide UD 10 1969-10-06 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States
Win 46-15-1 Pete Riccitelli KO 5 1969-08-11 Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States
Win 49-50-12 Billy "Boggy" Marsh KO 3 1969-07-23 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 7-10-1 Roy "Cookie" Wallace PTS 10 1969-06-03 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Win 15-34-11 Frank "Snakebite" Niblett UD 10 1969-05-27 Oakland, California, United States 8-1, 7-2, 8-1.
Win 9-7-5 Willie McIntyre KO 2 1969-04-01 Orlando, Florida, United States
Win 26-17-1 Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor TKO 2 1969-03-23 Canton, Ohio, United States
Win 15-13-2 Willie Tiger TKO 1 1969-03-05 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 26-16-1 Marion "Thunderbolt" Connor UD 10 1969-01-26 Canton, Ohio, United States Ohio Heavyweight Title.
Win 17-8-2 Hubert "Happy Wanderer" Hilton TKO 3 1969-01-10 Felt Forum, New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:54 of the third round.
Win 22-8-2 Amos Johnson PTS 10 1968-11-06 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 11-4 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 8-1 Willie "Monster" McMillan TKO 6 1967-07-19 Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States Referee stopped the bout at 2:21 of the sixth round.
Win 0-3 Bobby Lawson KO 2 1967-05-27 Columbus, Ohio, United States Lawson knocked out at 1:42 of the second round.
Win 4-2-1 Francisco San Jose PTS 8 1967-04-28 Stockholm, Sweden
Win 8-7 Vic Brown UD 6 1967-03-15 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 0-5 James Goree KO 2 1967-02-21 Winterland Arena, San Francisco, California, United States Goree knocked out at 1:51 of the second round.
Win 2-1 Tom "Liberty" Bell KO 1 1967-01-15 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 7-11-2 Bob Slaughter PTS 6 1966-12-05 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 10-2-1 Bob "Pretty Boy" Felstein KO 5 1966-10-26 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 7-0 Jimmy McClain PTS 6 1966-06-14 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Win 0-1 Al "Hank" Williams KO 1 1966-05-25 Akron, Ohio, United States Williams knocked out at 1:28 of the first round.
Win -- Al "Hank" Williams KO 1 1966-03-11 Cincinnati, Ohio, United States
Win 0-2 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 1-0 Larry Tatum PTS 4 1965-12-16 Akron, Ohio, United States
Win 0-1 Gene "Ashes to Ashes" Hunt TKO 3 1965-07-14 Akron, Ohio, United States Referee stopped the bout at 1:37 of the third round.

References
  1. Boxing record for Ray Anderson. BoxRec.com.
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