Zora Folley (
27 May 1932–
July 9,
1972) was an
African-American heavyweight
boxer.
Born in
Dallas,
Texas
, he moved with his family to Chandler,
Arizona
in 1942, where he grew up playing baseball.
Upon joining the
U.S. Army in 1948, he entered the boxing ring, and won
the 6th Army championship within a year, eventually earning the
All-Army and All-Service titles. He fought in the
Korean War, earning five battle stars, and was
discharged in 1953.
He then signed a professional boxing contract, winning his first
pro fight against Jimmy Ingram, then after a draw, won seventeen
straight victories until losing to Johnny Summerlin. Despite being
considered a top contender, Folley never faced heavyweight champion
Floyd Patterson. This was partly due
to his loss by decision to
Henry
Cooper in September 1958 (which was avenged in December 1961).
Folley beat such contenders as
Eddie
Machen,
George Chuvalo, Bob
Cleroux,
Oscar Bonavena, and
Doug Jones. He also had draws with
Karl Mildenberger and
Eddie Machen (their first fight). Between 1960
and 1962 Folley was knocked out by
Sonny
Liston, Alejandro Lavorante, and Doug Jones (the
rematch).
It wasn't until March 22, 1967, that he faced the world heavyweight
champion, who at this point was
Muhammad
Ali. Folley was knocked out in the 7th round. Folley fought for
three more years afterward before being knocked out by
Mac Foster in 1970.
Folley served as a member of the
Chandler City Council, and raising a
family of nine children with his wife Joella. Before their fight,
Ali joked that Folley was such a nice man that it posed a real
problem because he couldn't possibly get mad at him. Folley was one
of the first to call the controversial champion by his Muslim name
instead of Cassius Clay.
Under
mysterious circumstances, Folley suffered severe head injuries in a
motel swimming pool while visiting a friend in Tucson, Arizona
on July 8, 1972, and died at a Tucson hospital
within hours. The death was officially ruled to be
accidental, but conspiracy theories regarding his death
persist.
The city of Chandler dedicated Zora Folley Memorial Park in his
honor.
Zora Folley's final career statistics were 79 wins, 11 losses, and
6 draws, with 43 wins by knockout.
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