Zora Folley

Zora "Bell" Folley (May 27, 1931 – July 7, 1972) was an American heavyweight boxer who was a top 10 contender for eleven years in a row from 1956 to 1966 and a nine-time top 5 contender throughout his career, reaching a peak as number 1 contender in 1959.^[2][3] He beat top contenders such as Eddie Machen, George Chuvalo, Oscar Bonavena, Henry Cooper, Bob Foster, Nino Valdez, Doug Jones, Johnny Summerlin, Bob Cleroux and drew (tied) against Karl Mildenberger.^[4]

Zora Folley
Born	Zora Folley (1931-05-27)May 27, 1931 Dallas, Texas, US
Died	July 7, 1972(1972-07-07) (aged 41) Tucson, Arizona, US
Other names	Bell
Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach	77 in (196 cm)[1]
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	96
Wins	79
Wins by KO	44
Losses	11
Draws	6

Folley fought once for the world heavyweight title, losing to Muhammad Ali.

Early life

Born in Dallas, Texas on 27 May 1931, Folley moved with his family to Chandler, Arizona in 1942, where he grew up playing baseball. Upon joining the U.S. Army in 1948, he began boxing and won the 6th Army Championship within a year, going on to win the All-Army and All-Service titles. He saw active service during the Korean War, earning five battle stars, and was discharged from the U.S. Army with the rank of Sergeant in 1953.

Boxing career

In the mid-1950s Folley 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 in six rounds with a suspected broken jaw after being knocked down three times. Despite being considered a top contender, Folley never faced heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson. This was partly due to his points loss to Henry Cooper in England, in September 1958 (which was later avenged in December 1961 by a two-round knockout).

Major Bouts

Folley beat contenders Eddie Machen, George Chuvalo, Bob Cleroux (twice), Oscar Bonavena (the first match was one sided with Bonavena being decked but Bonavena won the rematch three years later) and Doug Jones. He also had draws with Karl Mildenberger and Eddie Machen (their first fight), and defeated Mike De John, Alex Miteff, Pete Rademacher and Willi Besmanoff. Between 1960 and 1962 Folley was knocked out by Sonny Liston, Alejandro Lavorante,Doug Jones (in the rematch) and outpointed by Brian London.

Title Shot

It was not until March 22, 1967, aged 36, that he faced world heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali. Before their fight, Ali joked that Folley was such a nice man that it posed a real problem because he could not possibly get mad at him.^[5] Folley was one of the first to call the champion by his Muslim name instead of Cassius Clay. Ali stated he respected Folley and was nervous before the match. Folley was the last man to face Ali before Ali's three-year exile from boxing in 1967. Folley was knocked out in the 7th round. Folley fought for three more years afterward before being knocked out by Mac Foster in 1970.

Personal life

Folley served as a member of the Chandler City Council, and raised a family of nine children with his wife Joella (1933–2011).

Grave of Zora Folley

In mysterious circumstances^[which?], Folley suffered severe head injuries in a motel swimming pool while visiting a friend in Tucson, Arizona on July 8, 1972, and died at the age of 41 in a local hospital shortly afterwards. The death was officially ruled to be accidental. Folley's body was buried in the City of Mesa Cemetery, Mesa, Arizona.

The city of Chandler dedicated Zora Folley Memorial Park in his honor.

Professional boxing record

79 Wins (44 knockouts, 35 decisions), 11 Losses (7 knockouts, 4 decisions), 6 Draws [6]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	79–11–6	Mac Foster	KO	1	29/09/1970	Selland Arena, Fresno, California	Folley knocked out at 3:04 of the first round.
Win	79–10–6	Billy Joiner	UD	10	05/11/1969	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Win	78–10–6	Tommy Sims	KO	1	16/06/1969	Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona	Sims knocked out at 2:19 of the first round.
Win	77–10–6	Sonny Moore	TKO	4	30/01/1969	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada	Referee stopped the bout at 2:54 of the fourth round.
Loss	76–10–6	Oscar Bonavena	MD	10	06/07/1968	Estadio Luna Park, Buenos Aires
Draw	76–9–6	Al Jones	SD	10	14/05/1968	Miami Beach Convention Hall, Miami Beach, Florida
Draw	76–9–5	Roger Russell	SD	10	11/03/1968	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia
Loss	76–9–4	Brian London	PTS	10	13/11/1967	Liverpool Stadium, Liverpool, Merseyside
Win	76–8–4	Nick Sosa	KO	2	04/10/1967	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	75–8–4	Wayne Kindred	TKO	8	18/09/1967	Silver Slipper, Las Vegas, Nevada
Loss	74–8–4	Muhammad Ali	KO	7	22/03/1967	Madison Square Garden, New York City	For WBC, WBA, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles
Win	74–7–4	Floyd Joyner	KO	1	17/01/1967	Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas
Win	73–7–4	Jefferson Davis	UD	10	13/12/1966	Houston, Texas
Win	72–7–4	Henry Clark	UD	10	25/10/1966	Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, Sacramento, California
Win	71–7–4	Jefferson Davis	KO	8	28/06/1966	Centennial Coliseum, Reno, Nevada
Win	70–7–4	Bob Foster	UD	10	06/12/1965	New Orleans Municipal Auditorium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Win	69–7–4	Oscar Bonavena	UD	10	26/02/1965	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	68–7–4	Gerhard Zech	KO	4	14/11/1964	Westfalenhallen, Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia
Draw	67–7–4	Karl Mildenberger	PTS	10	17/04/1964	Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Hesse
Win	67–7–3	Tod Herring	TKO	7	17/03/1964	Houston, Texas	Referee stopped the bout at 1:34 of the seventh round.
Win	66–7–3	George Chuvalo	UD	10	17/01/1964	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Win	65–7–3	Billy Daniels	UD	10	17/10/1963	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec
Win	64–7–3	Tiger Lynch	KO	5	19/09/1963	Boise, Idaho	Lynch knocked out at 1:49 of the fifth round.
Loss	63–7–3	Ernie Terrell	UD	10	27/07/1963	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	63–6–3	Bob Cleroux	UD	10	23/05/1963	Paul Sauve Arena, Montreal, Quebec
Draw	62–6–3	Dean Bogany	TD	5	02/04/1963	Bakersfield Civic Auditorium, Bakersfield, California	Fight stopped due to an accidental headbut.
Loss	62–6–2	Doug Jones	KO	7	15/12/1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City	Folley knocked out at 1:58 of the seventh round.
Win	62–5–2	Dave Furch	UD	10	19/11/1962	Tucson, Arizona
Win	61–5–2	Al Gonzalez	KO	5	29/08/1962	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Al knocked out at 1:55 of the fifth round.
Win	60–5–2	Doug Jones	UD	10	01/08/1962	Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado
Win	59–5–2	Paul Andrews	TKO	7	12/06/1962	Sacramento, California	Referee stopped the bout at 2:00 of the seventh round.
Win	58–5–2	Bob Cleroux	UD	10	18/04/1962	San Francisco Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, California
Win	57–5–2	Mike DeJohn	KO	3	15/02/1962	Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado	DeJohn knocked out at 2:24 of the third round.
Win	56–5–2	Henry Cooper	KO	2	05/12/1961	Empire Pool, Wembley, London	Cooper knocked out at 1:06 of the second round.
Win	55–5–2	Sonny Moore	UD	10	28/09/1961	El Paso County Coliseum, El Paso, Texas
Win	54–5–2	"Big" Ben Marshall	KO	2	30/08/1961	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Marshall knocked out at 2:41 of the second round.
Loss	53–5–2	Alejandro Lavorante	KO	7	11/05/1961	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Folley knocked out at 0:35 of the seventh round.
Win	53–4–2	Norman Letcher	TKO	5	10/02/1961	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Referee stopped the bout at 1:12 of the fifth round.
Win	52–4–2	Willi Besmanoff	UD	10	16/09/1960	SW Washington Fairgrounds, Centralia, Washington
Loss	51–4–2	Sonny Liston	KO	3	18/07/1960	Denver Coliseum, Denver, Colorado	Folley knocked out at 0:28 of the third round.
Win	51–3–2	Clarence Williams	UD	10	05/04/1960	Sacramento, California
Win	50–3–2	Eddie Machen	UD	12	18/01/1960	Cow Palace, Daly City, California
Win	49–3–2	Alonzo Johnson	UD	10	18/11/1959	Caravan Inn East, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	48–3–2	Monroe Ratliff	TKO	2	02/10/1959	San Diego Arena, San Diego, California	Referee stopped the bout at 1:58 of the second round.
Win	47–3–2	Howard King	MD	10	04/08/1959	Sacramento, California
Win	46–3–2	Alvin Williams	KO	4	07/07/1959	Fresno Memorial Auditorium, Fresno, California
Win	45–3–2	Willi Besmanoff	UD	10	07/04/1959	Denver, Colorado
Win	44–3–2	Hank Thurman	UD	10	10/03/1959	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	43–3–2	Alex Miteff	UD	10	29/01/1959	Denver Auditorium Arena, Denver, Colorado
Win	42–3–2	Joe Bygraves	TKO	9	24/11/1958	Granby Halls, Leicester, Leicestershire	Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the ninth round.
Loss	41–3–2	Henry Cooper	PTS	10	14/10/1958	Empire Pool, Wembley, London
Win	41–2–2	Pete Rademacher	KO	4	25/07/1958	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Pete knocked out at 1:15 of the fourth round.
Win	40–2–2	Art Swiden	UD	10	19/05/1958	Las Vegas, Nevada
Draw	39–2–2	Eddie Machen	SD	12	09/04/1958	Cow Palace, Daly City, California
Win	39–2–1	Garvin Sawyer	UD	10	01/01/1958	Capitol Arena, Washington, D.C.
Win	38–2–1	Edgardo Romero	TKO	4	04/12/1957	Albuquerque Civic Auditorium, Albuquerque, New Mexico	Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the fourth round.
Win	37–2–1	Duke Sabedong	KO	4	21/11/1957	Phoenix, Arizona
Win	36–2–1	Monroe Ratliff	UD	10	10/09/1957	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	35–2–1	Edgardo Romero	TKO	6	05/08/1957	Dallas Memorial Auditorium, Dallas, Texas
Win	34–2–1	Jeff Dyer	UD	10	09/07/1957	Phoenix Coliseum, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	33–2–1	Julius Griffin	TKO	4	18/06/1957	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Referee stopped the bout at 2:59 of the fourth round.
Win	32–2–1	Jimmy Wood	KO	2	20/05/1957	Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona	Wood knocked out at 1:20 of the second round.
Win	31–2–1	JD Harvey	KO	4	18/04/1957	Sports Arena, Yuma, Arizona	Harvey knocked out at 2:46 of the fourth round.
Win	30–2–1	Johnny Hollins	KO	2	12/03/1957	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Hollins knocked out at 1:29 of the second round.
Win	29–2–1	Howie Turner	UD	10	11/02/1957	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City
Win	28–2–1	Wayne Bethea	SD	10	09/01/1957	Syracuse War Memorial Arena, Syracuse, New York
Win	27–2–1	Wayne Bethea	SD	10	03/12/1956	St. Nicholas Arena, New York City
Win	26–2–1	Nino Valdes	UD	10	25/09/1956	Softball Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	25–2–1	Roger Rischer	UD	12	15/08/1956	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona	Southwestern Heavyweight Title.
Win	24–2–1	Rocky Robinson	KO	8	28/05/1956	Sports Center, Tucson, Arizona	Robinson knocked out at 1:40 of the eighth round.
Win	23–2–1	Ponce DeLeon Taylor	KO	7	08/05/1956	Phoenix Municipal Stadium, Phoenix, Arizona	de Leon knocked out at 0:03 of the seventh round.
Win	22–2–1	Alex Watson Jones	KO	3	28/02/1956	Phoenix, Arizona	Jones knocked out at 2:01 of the third round.
Loss	21–2–1	Young Jack Johnson	RTD	5	01/12/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	California Heavyweight Title. Folley did not come out for the sixth round due to a broken rib.
Win	21–1–1	Reuben Wilson	KO	8	24/09/1955	Clifton, Arizona
Win	20–1–1	Ted Calaman	TKO	4	08/09/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 1:54 of the fourth round.
Win	19–1–1	Jack Jarrod	TKO	7	28/07/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 1:20 of the seventh round.
Loss	18–1–1	Johnny Summerlin	RTD	6	23/06/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Folley did not come out for the seventh round due to a broken jaw.
Win	18–0–1	Howard King	TKO	1	16/05/1955	Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California	Referee stopped the bout at 2:57 of the first round.
Win	17–0–1	Calvin Brad	TKO	7	07/04/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 2:50 of the seventh round.
Win	16–0–1	Kirby Seals	TKO	5	24/02/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 2:48 of the fifth round.
Win	15–0–1	JD Reed	TKO	8	20/01/1955	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 1:10 of the eighth round.
Win	14–0–1	Kid Zanzibar	KO	7	18/12/1954	Clifton, Arizona
Win	13–0–1	Jimmy Ingram	PTS	10	26/11/1954	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	12–0–1	Georgie Woods	PTS	10	23/10/1954	Madison Square Garden, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	11–0–1	Sandy McPherson	UD	8	01/10/1954	Edmonton Gardens, Edmonton, Alberta
Win	10–0–1	Kid Percy	KO	N/A	28/08/1954	Clifton, Arizona
Win	9–0–1	Kirby Seals	UD	10	13/08/1954	San Diego Coliseum, San Diego, California
Win	8–0–1	Frank Buford	UD	10	12/07/1954	Tucson, Arizona
Win	7–0–1	Johnny Rebel	KO	1	10/06/1954	Phoenix, Arizona
Win	6–0–1	Joe Sandell	TKO	3	13/04/1954	Softball Park, Phoenix, Arizona
Win	5–0–1	Battling Blackjack	KO	1	26/03/1954	Clifton, Arizona
Win	4–0–1	Howard King	TKO	7	26/01/1954	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles	Referee stopped the bout at 2:35 of the seventh round.
Win	3–0–1	Lonnie Malone	TKO	2	07/12/1953	Arena, South Gate, California
Win	2–0–1	Joe Louis Brown	KO	8	17/11/1953	Phoenix, Arizona
Draw	1–0–1	Calvin Chambers	PTS	4	29/09/1953	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles
Win	1–0	Jimmy Ingram	PTS	4	22/09/1953	Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles

Family

Robert Folley, son of Zora Folley, was fighting in the light heavyweight division making his pro debut at the Felt Forum, on June 19, 1986.^[7]

References

1. https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/9384 ^{[bare URL]}
2. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings:_Heavyweight--1960s ^{[bare URL]}
3. https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/The_Ring_Magazine's_Annual_Ratings:_Heavyweight--1950s ^{[bare URL]}
4. https://boxrec.com/en/box-pro/9384 ^{[bare URL]}
5. Dundee, Angelo; Bert Sugar (2009). My View from the Corner: A Life in Boxing. New York: McGraw Hill Books. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-07-162847-1. Retrieved October 2, 2014.
6. "Zora Folley - Boxer". Archived from the original on April 29, 2015. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
7. Berger, Phil (May 28, 1986). "Tyson vs. Berbick Is on the Horizon". The New York Times. p. 21. Retrieved June 12, 2019.

External links

• Boxing record for Zora Folley from BoxRec (registration required) Retrieved on February 5, 2008
• The Rise and Fall of Zora Folley The Sweet Science, September 9, 2005
• After Muhammad, a Graveyard Sports Illustrated, April 3, 1967