Joe Frazier defended his world titles against Ron Stander

Date: May 25, 1972

Venue: Civic Auditorium, Omaha, Nebraska

Frazier stance: orthodox

Stander stance: orthodox

Joe Frazier won the vacant WBA and WBC world heavyweight titles in his first fight against Jimmy Ellis. His first defence was against the reigning light heavyweight champion, Bob Foster. After Frazier despatched Foster in just two rounds, Foster went back down to light heavyweight and continued his reign as world champion in that division. The next defence for Frazier was against Muhammad Ali, in what was billed as 'The Fight of the Century'. Frazier's next defence was ten months later against Terry Daniels, who is perhaps best known for being one of five opponents George Foreman fought on the same night. Daniels was stopped in four rounds.

The fourth defence was against Ron Stander. The challenger was quite a small heavyweight, at 5'11" and a 70" reach. He entered the ring with a record of 23-1-1, with 15 KOs. The only loss on his record had been a split decision over three years earlier. The biggest win on Stander's record was a stoppage in the fifth round over Earnie Shavers. Most of Stander's fights had taken place in Omaha, Nebraska, and he had home advantage for this world title bout. Frazier was a solid 10:1 betting favourite, and Stander's wife Darlene probably summed up what was to come best when she said "You don't take a Volkswagen into the Indy 500, unless you know of a hell of a shortcut".

For an in depth look at their respective records, visit:

Joe Frazier - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/147

Ron Stander - https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/240