Have Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow ever fought each other?

Yes. Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow met once on April 30, 1968, and Buster Mathis won by TKO.

Who has the better record, Mathis or Turnbow?

Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Mel Turnbow is 0-7 across the 7 bouts Kill The Body has tracked. Buster Mathis has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.

Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Turnbow?

Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Mel Turnbow has 0. Buster Mathis has more.

Do Mathis and Turnbow have any common opponents?

Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow share 3 common opponents: Ron Lyle, George Chuvalo and Joe Frazier. Buster Mathis fared better against 1 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Mathis and Turnbow?

This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 7 bouts tracked for Mel Turnbow. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Buster Mathis vs Mel Turnbow — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Buster Mathis

Mel Turnbow

Buster Mathis (30-4) and Mel Turnbow (0-7 across 7 tracked bouts) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 3 common opponents.

Mathis

Wins21 KO · 70%

Losses

Draws35 tracked bouts

Turnbow

Tracked record

0–7

counted from 7 bouts Kill The Body has ingested

Heads up: at least one of these records is a tracked record — the wins and losses Kill The Body has ingested so far, not an independently verified career total. Treat the comparison as a read on the bouts we hold, not a settled ledger.

Head to Head

Mathis leads 1–0

Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow have met 1 time; Mathis leads 1–0.
Met	1968Apr 30	Series
Buster MathisFighter A	WWon	1–0W–L
Mel TurnbowFighter B	LLost	0–1W–L
Result	TKOMathis vs Turnbow	1Meeting

Mathis vs Turnbow · Apr 30, 1968

The Numbers

Mathis 5 · Turnbow 0 of 5 measurable rows

MathisEdge = longer wingTurnbow

Record^†: 30-4 (edge)0-7
Win %0–100%: 88.2% (edge)
0%
Wins by knockoutmax 21: 21 (edge)
0
KO ratenot comparable: 70%—
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^‡not comparable: 71%—
Times stopped^‡max 6: 2 (edge)
6
Title reignslevelmax 0: 0
0
Bouts per year^§max 4.8: 4.8 (edge)
1.1
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 35: 35
7

† One or both records are tracked, not career-verified. · ‡ Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · § Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Buster Mathis: 6′3″; Mel Turnbow: No height on file
Reachnot held: Buster Mathis: 76″; Mel Turnbow: No reach on file
Agenot held: Buster Mathis: Died aged 52; Mel Turnbow: No date of birth
Stance: Buster Mathis: Orthodox; Mel Turnbow: Not recorded

Buster Mathis left, Mel Turnbow right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Buster Mathis31 wins · from 35 tracked bouts

22 by KO/TKO 71%9 on the cards 29%

Mel Turnbow0 wins · from 7 tracked bouts

No tracked wins for Turnbow yet.

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Buster Mathis 35, Mel Turnbow 7 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

3 shared

3 shared · Mathis better on 1 · even on 23 shared · Buster Mathis better on 1 · even on 2

MathisBuster Mathis

Opponent

TurnbowMel Turnbow

Buster Mathis
Loss, KO 2
1972Sep 1972
LyleRon LyleUnited States 43–7–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 0–1 both
Mel Turnbow
Loss, TKO 4
1972May 1972
Buster Mathis
Win, UD
1969Feb 1969
ChuvaloGeorge ChuvaloCanada 73–18–2 · HeavyweightMathis betterBuster Mathis better — 1–0 to 0–1
Mel Turnbow
Loss, KO 7
1966Aug 1966
Buster Mathis
Loss, TKO 11
1968Mar 1968
FrazierJoe FrazierUnited States 32–4–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 0–1 both
Mel Turnbow
Loss, KO 1
1966Jan 1966

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Buster Mathis had won one in a row before losing by stoppage to Ron Lyle. Mathis last boxed on Sep 29, 1972.WLLWL

Chuvalo Feb 1969Quarry Mar 1969Ali Nov 1971McBride Sep 1972Lyle Sep 19724.8 tracked bouts per year

Mel Turnbow last boxed on May 10, 1972 — 19,885 days ago. Turnbow had lost seven straight.LLLLL

Chuvalo Aug 1966Mathis Apr 1968Bodell Aug 1968Foreman Dec 1970Lyle May 19721.1 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow ever fought each other?: Yes. Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow met once on April 30, 1968, and Buster Mathis won by TKO.
Who has the better record, Mathis or Turnbow?: Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Mel Turnbow is 0-7 across the 7 bouts Kill The Body has tracked. Buster Mathis has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.
Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Turnbow?: Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Mel Turnbow has 0. Buster Mathis has more.
Do Mathis and Turnbow have any common opponents?: Buster Mathis and Mel Turnbow share 3 common opponents: Ron Lyle, George Chuvalo and Joe Frazier. Buster Mathis fared better against 1 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Mathis and Turnbow?: This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 7 bouts tracked for Mel Turnbow. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Buster Mathis vs Mel Turnbow — record, stats and common opponents compared

Buster Mathis

Mel Turnbow