Editing Bob Foster (boxer) (section)

===Ali vs Foster===
Foster and Rondon met in [[Miami]] on April 7, 1972, in a unification bout. Foster became the undisputed world champion once again, by knocking Rondon out in the second round. In his next fight, he used what many critics have called one of the best punches in history to retain his title by a knockout in four against [[Mike Quarry]]. Foster then went up in weight and faced former and future world heavyweight champion [[Muhammad Ali]], on November 21, 1972, in what was legendary referee [[Mills Lane]]'s first bout of note as a referee. Foster lost to Ali by a knockout in the eighth, after being knocked down 7 times.

In 1973, Foster retained his title twice against [[Pierre Fourie]], both by decision. Their second fight had a distinct social impact because it was fought in [[apartheid]]-ruled [[South Africa]], Foster being Black and Fourie being White. Foster became a hero to South African Blacks by beating Fourie the first time around, and in their rematch, the first boxing fight in South Africa during apartheid featuring a White versus a Black, he cemented that position by defeating Fourie on points again.

Piet Koornhoff was the South African Minister of Sport at that time and he had to be persuaded to allow the fight. He had to amend the regulations relating to the prohibition of "mixed sport" in order to do so. Foster was allowed into the country on condition that he refrain from making any political comments or speeches. In a post fight interview he diplomatically responded to a question that he liked the country and would be willing to come back again. This explains the sentiment of [[Mark Mathabane]] as noted in his [[autobiography]] ''[[Kaffir Boy]]'', that South Africa's black population felt betrayed by Foster since he did not address apartheid during his time in South Africa.

His last defense as world light-heavyweight champion came in 1974, when he was dropped by [[Argentina|Argentinian]] [[Jorge Ahumada]], but managed to keep the title with a draw. After that, he announced his retirement, leaving the world's light-heavyweight championship vacant.<ref>{{cite news|title=Foster Keeps Title on Draw|date=June 18, 1974|access-date=January 13, 2010|publisher=St. Petersburg Times|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=scYNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SXMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5922,2878802&dq=jorge+ahumada+foster&hl=en|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120721224451/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=scYNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=SXMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5922,2878802&dq=jorge+ahumada+foster&hl=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 21, 2012}}</ref>

Foster returned to boxing in 1975, before retiring from the sport in 1978 at the age of 36.