eight fights with Dundee were on an Ali undercards. By the mid-1960s, Ellis was fighting heavyweights. Being a tall natural athletic build he'd had increasing trouble keeping down to middleweight. Dr. Ferdie Pacheco, who worked with both Ali and Ellis throughout their careers, called Ellis's development from middleweight to heavyweight one of the most dramatic he could recall. WBA heavyweight title eliminator matches By 1966, Ellis was fighting as a heavyweight. When Ali was stripped of the world title for refusing to enter the military, the World Boxing Association staged an eight-man tournament that featured most of the top heavyweight contenders. Ellis, who was ranked eighth in the world after eight consecutive wins, was invited to be in the tournament. Joe Frazier, ranked second by the WBA, chose not to participate in the tournament. Instead, Frazier fought for the vacant New York State Athletic Commission World Heavyweight Championship, which he won with an eleventh-round knockout of Buster Mathis. In the opening round of the tournament, Ellis fought Leotis Martin on August 5, 1967, in Houston, Texas. Ellis, the betting underdog, battered Martin's face into a bloody mask, and the referee stopped the fight in the ninth round. Ellis met Oscar Bonavena in the second round of the tournament. The fight took place on December 2, 1967, in Louisville, Kentucky. Ellis, once again the underdog, dropped Bonavena with a right once in the third round and once in the tenth. After twelve rounds, Ellis was awarded a unanimous decision. This fight was regarded as one of the best of his career. He seemed to be in control for most of the fight apart from the ninth round. Ellis advanced to the tournament final. WBA heavyweight champion In the tournament final, Ellis faced Jerry Quarry, a slight betting favorite, on April 27, 1968, in Oakland, California. In a dull fight, Ellis fought what Sports Illustrated called "a tactical masterpiece". A cautious Ellis won a 15-round split decision to capture the vacant WBA Heavyweight Championship. Quarry said, "If they'd given me the decision, I'd have given it back. I didn't deserve it." Title reign In his only successful title defense, Ellis defeated Floyd Patterson by a controversial 15-round decision on September 14, 1968 in Stockholm, Sweden. Ellis, who suffered a broken nose in the second round, was awarded the decision by the referee, the sole judge. Many in the crowd of 30,000 disagreed