Looking Back In Time Before Cassius Clay Became Muhammad Ali Quite a lot of stories has been written about Muhammad Al's great grand father some saying that his grandfather was a runaway slave. On this site there is a story about the original Cassius Marcellus Clay a man who gave his name to Cassius Clay, to the grandfather of the boxer, Cassius Clay. On this page we look back to the early life of Muhammad Ali before he changed his name from Cassius Marcellus Clay. We head back to the time of Cassius Clay (aka Muhammad Ali) when aged 22 leading up to the challenge for the world heavyweight title which was held by a giant of a man; Sonny Liston who at the time of his reign seem totally invincible and unbeatable, feared and looking a monster amongst men in the boxing ring. But there was one brash kid in town who was kicking up a rocket with his loud mouthing of Sonny Liston the awesome looking man mountain. No one knew exactly, what to make of the young 22 year old Cassius Clay who hailed from the town of Louisville, Kentucky. Even the boxing experts were baffled, they had never witnessed anything like the Louisville loud mouth Cassius Clay. No One Could Figure Out The Young Kentucky Brash Kid Black athletes of the 60's era in general were expected to be polite and respectful. But Cassius Clay loved to blow his own trumpet by bragging how great he was. Clay had the quick hands to back up his boasts, after all said and done he won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics in Rome by defeating the more experienced Polish amateur Pietrzykowski in the finals and then quickly entered the professional boxing arena upon returning to the United States. Instead of serenely discussing his opponents before a bout, Clay would publicly denounced them. Before battling Henry Cooper, the scrappy British champion, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) shouted at a reporter: “Henry Cooper is nothing to me! If this bum goes over five rounds, I won’t return to the United States for 30 days, and that’s final! I’m not even worried about this big bum. Henry Cooper will only be a warm up until I get to that big ugly bear Sonny Liston!” Clay had a very smart trainer in Angelo Dundee. British Boxer Cooper Left Hook 'Ammer Floored Clay (Muhammad Ali)Sure enough as days meets nights, Cassius Clay won by technical knockout in the fifth round but the win was not without controversy. Henry Cooper knocked Clay to the canvas with a perfectly timed hook just as the fourth round concluded. Cassius Clay’s long-time manager and friend, Angelo Dundee, intentionally put a slit in the left hand gloves of Clay's to buy some time which was used as a delaying tactic to provided Clay (Muhammad Ali) with some much needed extra time to recover from the Cooper's left hook 'Ammer. Henry Cooper was quite a decent fighter and easily the best British boxer of the 1960's, but cuts quite easily above the eyes. The damage of Clay's gloves gave Clay enough time to recover as they had to look for a new pair of gloves. In round five Clay rapid machine gun rat-ta-tat-tat punches opened gruesome cuts on Henry Cooper’s battle scarred face forcing the referee to stop the fight minutes later. Yes, Angelo Dundee had undoubtedly saved Cassius Clay's bacon, as we in the United Kingdom would say. Cassius Was Now Ready To Take The Big Bad BearThis was the first time but certainly not the only time that controversy followed this brash fighter the Louisville lip from Louisville, Kentucky USA in and out of the ring. After beating Henry Cooper in his back yard it was time to go get the big bad bear Sonny Liston for the world heavyweight title. Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) began to stalk Sonny Liston for nearly a year through the television media and in public. The two came close to engaging in fissure at an airport when Sonny Liston overheard Clay’s (Muhammad Ali) taunts and insults. Even though Sonny Liston was widely believed to be unbeatable by the press and conventional public, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) remained supremely confident. Even after the near scuffle at the airport Cassius Clay still continued to ridicule Liston whenever he was near a camera. |
I Get Into Bed Before the Lights Goes OutIn an interview Clay gave a television reporter just days before he met the “Big Bad Bear” in the ring: Reporter: “Many people believe Clay will be the next heavyweight champion of the world. I saw Sonny Liston a few days ago, Cassius Clay quipped: “Ain’t he ugly?” A rhy-smile came up on the reporter's face. “He’s too ugly to be the world’s champ! The world’s champ should be pretty like me!” Reporter gave Clay a feedback from Sony Liston as he said: “Liston told me to bet my life that you won’t go three rounds.” Clay replied: “Well, if you wanna lose your money, bet on Sonny Liston! I’m too fast! I’m the king!” I am so fast that when I switch off the lights to go to bed, I get into the bed before the lights goes out. | |
