Cassius Clay ~ "He Never Really Shined In the Big Apple {New York City}"

[Bill Paxtom]

Cassis Clay

1st Professional visit to Madison Square Garden.

Saturday ~ February 10, 1962

Attendance..... 2000

Cassius Clay ~ 10-0-0 {7 KO's}
vs.
Lucien 'Sonny' Banks ~ 16-2-0 {14 KO's}

The 'Jabbering Clay' is heavily favored {5-1} over the hard-hitting left-hooker
from Detroit.

Cassius {Age; 20 years, 1 months} is already ranked as the #9 Heavyweight, and
has issued challenges to Sonny Liston, Ingemar Johansson and Eddie Machen.

The 6' 3" ~ 194 lb. Cassius has been 'chirping' that he expects to take out Sonny Banks
in 4-Rounds.

Cassius Clay >
"I'm a ranked Heavyweight. If I lose to Sonny, then I'll leave this country and retire.
He's a pretty good fighter, but he's not World Class. I hear he's been knocking out
quite a few boys in Detroit with his left-hook. He'll have to bring more than that into
the Ring if he wants to beat me."

Cassius has been working out at the City Parks Gym in New York City, and has been
impressive with his speed. But, he looks amateurish in his defense and has been getting
tagged by his sparring partners. Trainer - Angelo Dundee said that he was 'a bit worried'
because Sonny Banks packs a good wallop with his left-hook.

Cassius is coming off an impressive {TKO 7} win over 29 year-old veteran Willi Besmanoff
on November 29, 1961 in Louisville, Kentucky.

Angelo Dundee >
"I keep telling Cassius, right-hand up. He has a tendency to pull back with his hands down,
and he's vulnerable to a wide left hook. But, he's so fast, that he can avoid them
by a whisker. I'm still worried though."

Lucien 'Sonny' Banks >
The 6' 2" ~ 191 lbs. banger from Detroit. Lucien {Age; 21 years, 7 months} who goes by the
moniker of 'Sonny', has also been called 'Six Gun', 'KO' and 'The New Young Joe Louis".
Sonny is ranked at #17, and is a dangerous puncher.

Sonny is a popular 'house fighter' at the Graystone Ballroom in Detroit.

Ted Ewald {Manager} >
"We have nothing to lose here in New York. That's the way we like it, with Sonny as
an Underdog. If my kid catches Clay with just one left hook, he'll drop him. We can't
match Clay in speed or boxing skills, but we can out-slug him. Sonny will nail him for
sure, then we'll see if this kid can get up."

Sonny Banks >
The young slugger is strictly an offensive fighter who throws wide bombs, especially
with the left-hand. Sonny has a good hand-speed, and fires a quick-and-wicked
left hook with awesome power.

But, Sonny has slow footwork and his defense is porous. Sonny usually comes in
straight forward and with his hands held a bit too low, and is easily tagged.

Sonny is the Michigan State Heavyweight Champion {Won title on August 7, 1961} by
stopping {TKO 7} 'Big Willie' Coleman. Sonny has also scored win over {KO 2 ~ Tunney Hunsaker},
the same fighter who took Cassius 6-Rounds in his Professional Debut.

And, only 2-weeks earlier {January 27, 1962} Sonny defeated {KO 2} the highly regarded
'Showboat' Clay Thomas who had a record of 19-3-2 {7 KO's}.

[Bill Paxtom]

Saturday ~ February 10, 1962

Madison Square Garden

Cassius Clay vs. Lucien 'Sonny' Banks.

A 'slim' crowd of only 2100 showed up for this Saturday Night Heavyweight scrap
between two young fighters.

"The Fight"

Cassius came out fast, and started firing away with a flurry of lefts-and-rights at
Center-Ring. Sonny Banks was bewildered by the speed of Cassius' punches, and
was forced to the defensive-mode.

By the {1:00 Mark} Sonny had to back away, and was still on the defensive. At the
{1:35 Mark}, Sonny had to finally back up to the front-left Ring area as Cassius
continued to pour it on.

As Cassius came charging, Sonny ducked low to avoid the punches, and slid to his
right, to the front-left Neutral-Corner at the {1:43 Mark}.

As Cassius kept firing, Sonny came up with a picture perfect left-hook to Cassius' jaw at
the {1:47 Mark}.

"BOOM", Cassius was dumped on his 'ASS' near the front-center Ropes.

Cassius got up quickly at the '2-Count' and bounced on his legs at Center-Ring. As
Referee - Ruby Goldstein stepped in to give the 'Mandatory 8-Count', Cassius backed
up to the back-left Corner on 'a bit shaky legs'.

Cassius suffered a 'delayed' dizziness as he stood in the Corner and draped his long
arms over the top Rope strands.

The Referee had to yank at Cassius' arms after the '8-Count' to get him to step forward
at the {1:56 Mark}.

[Bill Paxtom]

Cassius Clay

"1st Career Bouts in New York"

Saturday Night ~ February 10, 1962 ~ Madison Square Garden

Lucien 'Sonny' Banks ~ 16-2-0 {14 KO's}

* Cassius is caught on the chin by a Sonny Banks counter-punch left hook.
* Cassius is dropped on his 'ASS' for a '2-Count' the 1st-Round, and is 'visibly' shaken.
* Cassius clears the the 'cob-webs' and is back in the fight at the end of Round 1.
* Cassius rallies strong in the 2nd-Round, and scores a 'flash-knockdown' on Sonny.
* Cassius has a very good 3rd-Round, and shakes Sonny several times with jarring punches.
* But, Sonny scores with some 'wild-hooks' from way outside, and stuns Cassius late.
* Cassius rallies at the end of Round 3, and 'stuns' Sonny just before the Bell.
* Cassius shakes Sonny at the beginning of Round 4 with a flurry.
* Sonny recovers, and moves forward to attack.
* Cassius then catches Sonny with a 'grazing' right-hand to the temple.
* Sonny 'wobbles' to the front-center Ropes.
* Referee - Rudy Goldstein 'jumps in' and stops the bout at 0:26 of Round 4 Sonny Banks on his feet.

* The slim crowd of 2100 'vehemently' boo the quick stoppage.

Overall Grade 'B'

Cassius took a 'wicked-ass' punch to the chin, and nearly got his 'Ass' dusted in the 1st-Round.

But Cassius recovered, and by the end of Round 1 he had cleared the 'cob-webs' and
was beginning to take control of the bout.

Cassius proved to those who questioned as the whether he could 'take-a-punch'. He
took a solid heavy punch from Sonny Banks, and came back to win.

[ruthless rocco]

Hey @Bill Paxtom. Can't you just email these to yourself or read them out loud while standing in front of a mirror?

[Bill Paxtom]

I Would Say

That Cassius Clay's 1st-Bout in New York City was not overly impressive.

It was a 'good win' over another young Heavyweight who was a dangerous
puncher.

But, it was not as one-sided as the TKO 4 @ 0.26 indicated.

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