In mid-1967, the World Boxing Association (W.B.A.) held a tournament to replace Muhammad Ali, who had been stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military after being drafted. The tournament was expanded to include eight heavyweights, and did not include Joe Frazier, who had accepted a title belt outside the WBA. When the tournament was expanded, Quarry was included. Quarry's first tournament bout was a rematch of his fourth draw fight earlier that year against former world champion Floyd Patterson. In both matches, Quarry dominated the early rounds with multiple knockdowns of Patterson, but faded in the latter stages. He hung on better in the second bout, and was given a split-decision victory. His second tournament match was a KO win against fellow Californian Thad Spencer, who was highly lauded and ranked coming into the match. In the final against crafty ex-middleweight Jimmy Ellis, Quarry prior to the bout sustained a broken back from an injury on the diving board at a pool that later developed into gangrene. Ellis was wary of Quarry's unorthodox tactic (displayed to great effect against Patterson) of retreating into the ropes then catching his opponent with a sudden two-fisted attack and Quarry--strangely unwilling to take the initiative--lost a majority decision and his best chance of fulfilling his dream of winning a world heavyweight title. After a layoff of six months, Quarry returned after the Ellis loss to post another streak of wins. Notable among these was a lopsided 12-round decision win over 1964 U.S. Olympian Buster Mathis. The win over the ranked (and much bigger) Mathis positioned Quarry for his second title shot.