Have Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?

Yes. Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali met once on November 17, 1971, and Muhammad Ali won by UD.

Who has the better record, Mathis or Ali?

Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Muhammad Ali has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Ali?

Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Muhammad Ali has more.

Do Mathis and Ali have any common opponents?

Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali share 5 common opponents: Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle and Chuck Wepner (and 2 others). Muhammad Ali fared better against 4 of them.

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

This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Buster Mathis vs Muhammad Ali — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Muhammad Ali

Buster Mathis (30-4) and Muhammad Ali (56-5) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met once. They share 5 common opponents.

Mathis

Wins21 KO · 70%

Losses

Draws35 tracked bouts

Ali

Wins37 KO · 66%

Losses

Draws61 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Ali leads 1–0

Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali have met 1 time; Ali leads 1–0.
Met	1971Nov 17	Series
Buster MathisFighter A	LLost	0–1W–L
Muhammad AliFighter B	WWon	1–0W–L
Result	UDAli vs Mathis	1Meeting

Ali vs Mathis · Nov 17, 1971

The Numbers

Mathis 3 · Ali 5 of 8 measurable rows

MathisEdge = longer wingAli

Record: 30-456-5 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 88.2%
91.8% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 37: 21
37 (edge)
KO rate0–100%: 70% (edge)
66.07%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 71% (edge)
66%
Times stopped^†max 2: 2
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 9: 0
9 (edge)
Bouts per year^‡max 4.8: 4.8 (edge)
2.9
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 61: 35
61

† 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

HeightLevel: Buster Mathis: 6′3″; Muhammad Ali: 6′3″
Reach+2″: Buster Mathis: 76″; Muhammad Ali: 78″ (edge)
Agenot comparable: Buster Mathis: Died aged 52; Muhammad Ali: Died aged 74
Stance: Buster Mathis: Orthodox; Muhammad Ali: Orthodox

Buster Mathis left, Muhammad Ali 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%

Muhammad Ali56 wins · from 61 tracked bouts

37 by KO/TKO 66%19 on the cards 34%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Buster Mathis 35, Muhammad Ali 61 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

5 shared

5 shared · Mathis better on 1 · Ali better on 45 shared · Buster Mathis better on 1 · Muhammad Ali better on 4

MathisBuster Mathis

Opponent

AliMuhammad Ali

Buster Mathis
Loss, TKO 11
1968Mar 1968
FrazierJoe FrazierUnited States 32–4–1 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–1 to 0–1
Muhammad Ali
2–1 against
Win, RTD 14
1975Oct 1975
Win, UD
1974Jan 1974
Loss, UD
1971Mar 1971
Buster Mathis
Loss, KO 2
1972Sep 1972
LyleRon LyleUnited States 43–7–1 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 1–0 to 0–1
Muhammad Ali
Win, TKO 11
1975May 1975
Buster Mathis
2–0 against
Win, TKO 3
1966Jan 1966
Win, TKO
1966Jan 1966
WepnerChuck WepnerUnited States 36–14–2 · HeavyweightMathis betterBuster Mathis better — 2–0 to 1–0
Muhammad Ali
Win, TKO
1975Mar 1975
Buster Mathis
Loss, UD
1969Mar 1969
QuarryJerry QuarryUnited States 53–9–4Ali betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 0–1
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, TKO 7
1972Jun 1972
Win, RTD 3
1970Oct 1970
Buster Mathis
Win, UD
1969Feb 1969
ChuvaloGeorge ChuvaloCanada 73–18–2 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 1–0
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, UD
1972May 1972
Win, UD
1966Mar 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

Muhammad Ali has lost two straight, after one straight win. Ali last boxed on Dec 11, 1981.WLWLL

Shavers Sep 1977Spinks Feb 1978Spinks Sep 1978Holmes Oct 1980Berbick Dec 19812.9 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?: Yes. Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali met once on November 17, 1971, and Muhammad Ali won by UD.
Who has the better record, Mathis or Ali?: Buster Mathis is 30-4 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Muhammad Ali has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Mathis or Ali?: Buster Mathis has 21 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Muhammad Ali has more.
Do Mathis and Ali have any common opponents?: Buster Mathis and Muhammad Ali share 5 common opponents: Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle and Chuck Wepner (and 2 others). Muhammad Ali fared better against 4 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Mathis and Ali?: This comparison is drawn from 35 bouts tracked for Buster Mathis and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Buster Mathis vs Muhammad Ali — record, stats and common opponents compared

Buster Mathis

Muhammad Ali