Ron Stander

The highlight of Stander's pro career came on May 25, 1972 when he challenged for the world heavyweight championship in Omaha, Nebraska. Stander lost to champion Joe Frazier by fifth-round technical knockout when the ring doctor stopped the fight after the fourth round. Prior to his unsuccessful match versus Frazier, Stander had scored a fifth-round knockout victory over hard-punching Earnie Shavers in 1970, and a decision win over contender Thad Spencer in 1971. An award-winning documentary titled "The Bluffs Butcher," after his adopted hometown of Council Bluffs, Iowa, produced by journalism student Andrew Batt, was released in 2004. The documentary tells the story of Iowa's arguably best shot at a World Heavyweight Boxing Title and chronicled Stander's journey from virtual unknown to boxing's largest stage.

Stander was largely an unknown commodity when he was given the opportunity to fight for the world heavyweight title in Omaha. The fight prompted Stander's then wife Darlene Stander, to famously compare it to putting a Volkswagen to compete at the Indianapolis 500 race, when she said "You don't take a Volkswagen into the Indy 500, unless you know of a hell of a shortcut". It marked the first time a world heavyweight title fight had been held in Nebraska. Stander had a solid 23-1-1 record entering the bout and was clearly the fans' favorite based on the huge, enthusiastic ovation he received when he was introduced. Frazier was the undefeated champion and entered the ring as a 10-1 betting favorite. He was booed after being introduced. Both men employed the same aggressive fighting style of pushing forward and fighting at close quarters, which made for an exciting contest. Stander was quite competitive in the first round, even buckling Frazier's knees with one blow late in the round. However, by the second round, Frazier's superiority in class began to show and the champion was getting the better of the frequent exchanges. In the third round Frazier opened a cut on the bridge of Stander's nose and severely staggered him late in the round. Stander was not knocked down, however. By the fourth round Stander was bleeding profusely from the cut and again was badly staggered towards the end of the round as Frazier landed numerous telling blows to Stander's face. Between rounds four and five the fight was stopped by veteran referee Zack Clayton on the advice of the ring doctor. Officially Frazier was credited with a victory by a fifth-round technical knockout.

Stander died from complications of diabetes on March 8, 2022, at the age of 77.