During a contentious news conference in New York several weeks before their bout, Ali called Terrell an Uncle Tom. Partly because Ali was such a controversial figure, many newspapers were uncertain about which name to use. Facing Ali after his second victory over Liston, Floyd Patterson also used the name Clay and was trounced.) He successfully defended it twice, against Chuvalo and Doug Jones.īy then, Clay was calling himself Muhammad Ali and insisting that his opponents show him respect by eschewing the use of what he called his slave name and addressing him by his Muslim name. Terrell won a unanimous 15-round decision on March 5, 1965, to claim the title. To fill the vacant top spot, the association set up a bout between two contenders, Terrell and Eddie Machen. officials were also offended by Clay’s self-promoting antics before the fight.) But later that year, the World Boxing Association, one of many sanctioning agencies within the sport, stripped him of the crown, saying Clay had violated association rules in scheduling the bout. 6, 1967.Īli, then known as Clay, had taken the heavyweight crown from Sonny Liston in February 1964. But his most memorable bout was the loss to Ali on Feb. In 55 bouts, Terrell had 21 knockouts and a professional record of 46-9, including victories over the heavyweight contenders George Chuvalo, Cleveland Williams and Zora Folley as well as Bob Foster, later the light-heavyweight champion. (By comparison, Ali had a 78-inch reach, Joe Louis’s was 76, Rocky Marciano’s was 68 and Mike Tyson’s was 71.) A solid puncher, he had an 82-inch reach that gave him an especially effective jab. She said he had dementia.Īt 6 feet 6 inches, Terrell was unusually tall for the era in which he fought and was lanky, generally fighting at less than 220 pounds. His sister Lovie Mickens confirmed the death.
Ernie Terrell, who briefly shared the heavyweight championship with the fighter then widely known as Cassius Clay and who later, after refusing to acknowledge that Clay had taken the Muslim name Muhammad Ali, was battered by him in a 15-round grudge match, died on Tuesday in Chicago.
0 kommentar(er)
