Buster Mathis, Former Ali Opponent, Dies at 51

Buster Mathis, a heavyweight boxer who lost to Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali before retiring in 1972, died in Grand Rapids, Mich., Thursday at 51. He had been in poor health for years.

Mathis was found unconscious by his wife at their home. Relatives and emergency workers tried to revive him, but a hospital spokeswoman said he arrived in full cardiac arrest.

His son, Buster Mathis Jr., is to fight former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in Las Vegas on Nov. 4. The younger Mathis said his father’s death will not affect plans for that bout.

Mathis’ health problems began after his weight rose as high as 550 pounds. As a national amateur champion and later a heavyweight contender, he frequently weighed more than 260 pounds.

Mathis had high blood pressure and diabetes, and two strokes had left him with limited motor control on his left side and forced him to use a walker. He also had suffered kidney failure three years ago, and had a pacemaker installed after a 1993 heart attack.

Basketball

NBA players turned out in large numbers to complete voting on the proposed union decertification, with opposing sides in the dispute optimistic about winning. The results are to be announced Tuesday.

Among the players voting in Los Angeles were Reggie Miller, who backs decertification, and Shaquille O’Neal, who supports the union.

To encourage voting, the NBA offered to pay transportation costs for players to vote at any of the 47 sites across the country and in Puerto Rico.

Dennis Rodman said he will sit out this season if he doesn’t receive a contract extension from the San Antonio Spurs or any team that might trade for him. Rodman has a year left on a contract that pays him $2.5 million a season.

“I’d play in L.A., the Lakers,” said Rodman, who led the NBA in rebounding. “That’s my town. A lot of people say it’s because it’s wild, it’s Hollywood. But it’s because they’d accept the kind of guy I am.”

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The Coos County district attorney in Oregon has decided not to prosecute James Robinson of the Portland Trail Blazers in connection with a sexual assault allegation because of a lack of evidence and because the woman who accused Robinson has accepted a civil agreement. . . . Herb Brown, the brother of Indiana Pacer Coach Larry Brown, has been hired as an assistant coach by the Pacers. Herb Brown has spent the last two years as a European scout for the Pacers while coaching teams in Spain. He was the head coach of the Detroit Pistons in 1976-77. . . . The Boston Celtics and the NBA will not stop Dominique Wilkins from playing next season in Greece, where he has signed for two years for a reported $8 million, the Boston Globe reported.

Golf

Russ Cochran birdied the final hole from the back bunker for a six-under-par 66 at Glen Abbey in Oakville, Canada, and a one-shot lead over New Zealand’s Grant Waite in the wind-swept first round of the $1.3-million Canadian Open.

There were six players at 68, among them Bill Glasson and Andrew Magee.

Jim Gallagher Jr., a two-time winner this season, was in a large group at 69. Hawaiian Open winner John Morse shot a 70, and Fred Couples shot 71. Defending champion Nick Price and Lee Janzen, a three-time winner this season, were among those at 72.

Tiger Woods is recovering from a stomach ailment but should be ready to lead the U.S. team against Britain and Ireland in this weekend’s Walker Cup at Porthcawl, Wales.

Woods, 19, the two-time U.S. Amateur champion, was expected to be ready to play Saturday for the 10-man American squad. The Americans have won 30 of the 34 previous meetings, including a lopsided 19-5 victory two years ago in the United States.

Names in the News

Terry Labonte edged Geoff Bodine by less than two feet to win the Fas Mart SuperTruck Shootout at Richmond (Va.) International Raceway. . . . The Mighty Ducks and right wing Todd Ewen agreed to a one-year contract worth $478,500. Ewen, the Ducks’ top enforcer since Stu Grimson was traded to Detroit last season, had been a restricted free agent, but the Ducks had the right to match any offer.