Buster Mathis Jr. followed in the large boxing footsteps of his father Buster Mathis and fought against boxing legends.
At age 15, Buster Mathis Jr. asked his Hall of Fame father Buster Sr. to teach him how to box. Buster Jr. was overweight, lacked self-confidence and had been bullied, but boxing proved to be the remedy for what he described as low self-esteem. His father and the coaches at Grand Rapids' Pride Boxing Gym developed Buster into a highly ranked amateur boxer.
Despite being smaller than most heavyweights, Buster turned pro in 1991 and won his first 12 professional bouts. This led to a nationally televised match for the vacant United States Heavyweight title against Olympic Gold Medalist Tyrell Biggs. Buster won the belt with a 12-round unanimous decision, which led to a 1994 bout against former Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe. Bowe's blatant foul against Mathis resulted in a no-contest.
At 20-0, Buster qualified for a shot against another former Heavyweight Champion, legendary Mike Tyson, who was trained by legend Cus D’Amato, the same man who had trained Buster Senior.
In a 1995 bout watched by over 43 million viewers, Buster lost to Tyson in the third round by knockout. It was just a few weeks after his father has passed away from heart failure. Buster Junior retired from boxing in 1996, with a career record of 21-2.
At the time of his 2016 induction, he was employed at a mental health facility, helping troubled teenagers, including those who had suffered from being bullied.