Bob Foster (boxer) Bob Foster (boxer) Robert Lloyd "Bob" Foster (December 15, 1938 – November 21, 2015) was an American professional boxer who fought as a light heavyweight and heavyweight. Known as "The Deputy Sheriff", Foster was one of the greatest light heavyweight champions in boxing history. He won the world light heavyweight title from Dick Tiger in 1968 via fourth-round knockout, and went on to defend his crown fourteen times in total from 1968 to 1974. Foster challenged heavyweight kings Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali during his career, but was knocked out by both fighters (the fight with Ali was not for
Bill Tate (boxer) decisions, winning six, losing nine and drawing twice. Bill Tate (boxer) Big Bill Tate (September 19, 1896 – August 10, 1953), a native of Montgomery, Alabama who fought out of Chicago, was an African American boxer who fought from 1912 to 1927. Tate was a regular sparring partner of heavyweight champion Jack Dempsey, yet Dempsey denied him a shot at the title. Tate graduated from Alabama's Normal School for Colored Students, a state-supported teacher's college for African Americans, in 1905. He reigned as the World Colored Heavyweight Champion from 25 January 1917, when he beat Sam Langford, to 25 May