Muhammad Ali defended his NABF heavyweight title against Bob Fosterbr br Date: November 21, 1972br br Venue: Sahara Tahoe, Stateline, Nevadabr br Ali stance: orthodoxbr br Foster stance: orthodoxbr br Muhammad Ali suffered the first loss of his pro career in 1971 when he challenged Joe Frazier for the undisputed heavyweight titles that had been stripped from Ali outside the ring. In the following 18 months, Ali had eight consecutive wins and was the NABF champion. While all of his victims had been good opponents, most were a little past their peak. His most recent opponent, Floyd Patterson, was 37, and well past his sell-by date.br br Bob Foster is widely regarded as one of the best light heavyweights of all time, and made 14 successful defences of his titles - the last in 1974. Foster was the reigning undisputed light heavyweight champion at the time he faced Ali. His most recent bout had been a 14th round KO of Chris Finnegan. This was Foster's fifth fight as a heavyweight, and he had lost three of them. His previous venture in that division had seen him challenge Joe Frazier for the undisputed titles and lose in two rounds. Foster then resumed his defences of his undisputed light heavyweight belts.