1962 ~ Cassius Clay goes from #10 Ranking to #2 ~ "What the F***"

[Bill Paxtom]

May 1962

Upcoming Bouts for Cassius Clay

At first, the LSG Management Team was trying for Boston club-fighter Claude Chapman.

Claude was a tough Boston Brawler with a record of 29-8-0 {13 KO's}. He was the 'perfect'
opponent, as he was old {Age; 33 years, 11 months} and slow. He did pack a decent
wallop, but he was nothing more than a club-fighter.

There was talk of Cassius taking on former Title Challenger - Tom McNeeley, another
New England Heavyweight.

Tom {Age; 25 years, 2 months} had a record of 24-2-0 {18 KO's}, and had a 'name'.
But he was really nothing more than a 'fringe contender', and had nothing more than a
punchers chance against Cassius.

Tom was demolished {LTKO 11} by Floyd Patterson on December 4, 1961 ~ and then was
'upset' {L Dec 10} by Don Prout on January 22, 1962.

Tom defeated {W Dec 10} Don Prout in a rematch on March 16th.

But, the Clay Team felt that Tom was 'too tough' at this time.