Thad Spencer ~ 'Why Did Cassius Clay Avoid Fighting Him'

[Bill Paxtom]

Thad Spencer

'Why Did Cassius Clay Avoid Fighting Him'

At one time, there was an agreement that Cassius would defend his
Championship against Thad in Oakland, California or Tokyo, Japan.

But Cassius 'side-stepped' Thad, and did not want to fight him. Instead,
Cassius took on the 35 year-old 'cement-shoed' Zora Folley in March at
Madison Square Garden.

The West-Coast pundits stated that, 'Cassius did not want to fight a young
and fast fighter like himself, especially out in California."
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October 14, 1966

Cow Palace ~ Daly City, California

The West Coast Sensation - 23 1/2 year-old Thad Spencer took on 'veteran'
Doug Jones. Thad was the #4 WBA Heavyweight, but questions were
still out there. Could he handle a top World-Class Heavyweight.

Doug Jones, the 29 1/2 New York Heavyweight was regarded as one of the
trickiest Heavyweights in the Division.

At the time, Doug was the #5 WBA Heavyweight, and had just come off a 'tough'
15-Round Decision loss to WBA Champion - Ernie Terrell on June 6, 1966.

Doug was installed as a '7-5' Betting-Favorite, and was expected to give Thad
all that he could handle.

Well, Thad Spencer gave Doug Jones a 'one-sided' beating over 10-Rounds. The
West-Coast Sensation pitched a 'shut-out' and impressed all at Ringside.

Afterwards, San Francisco Matchmaker - Benny Ford and British Promoter - Mickey Duff
wanted to stage a Cassius Clay vs. Thad Spencer bout.

Mickey Duff >
"This kid is the only fighter out there who is faster than Clay. And he has
the perfect style to beat him. He is a beautiful fighter with as much talent
as anybody that I have ever seen."

"He gave Doug Jones one of the worst beatings that I have ever seen. This
is the same guy who beat Clay, but got 'screwed' in the Decision."

[Bill Paxtom]

As of October 15, 1966

Thad 'Babe' Spencer
Age....... 23 years, 7 months
Height... 5' 11 1/2"
Reach... 75"
Weight.. 197 lbs.
Record.. 31-5-1 {13 KO's}

The impressive win over #5 WBA-ranked Doug Jones pushed Thad up one-slot
to the #3 Heavyweight, only behind >

*** Cassius Clay
#1. Ernie Terrell
#2. Zora Folley

Manager - Willie Ketchum >
"I'm sure Clay will 'easily' dispose of that German {Karl Mildenberger} next month.
After that, he should defend his Championship against an American fighter. Enough
with these Foreign guys who can't fight."

"And, nobody wants to see Clay against Ernie Terrell. That will be a 'run-and-hold' fight,
with a lot of clutching. All arms and neck holds. And Zora Folley is old and too slow.
He can't get out of his own way."

"My suggestion, is to have Ernie Terrell defend his WBA Championship against Thad
in January 1967. Then with the winner to get Clay in April."

[Dark Lord Al]

Bill I dislike Clay myself , however if you dislike him so much why the hell do you keep writing threads about him ?
Get over it.

[Bill Paxtom]

Doctor Al

This thread is about Thad Spencer.

The 'West Coast Sensation'

[beenKOed]

Doctor Al

This thread is about Thad Spencer.

The 'West Coast Sensation'

Oh, hell yes! Do you really think we believe that?
Who knows why Ali did anything? Maybe Spencer said something Ali didn't like; Ali might have had a bad dream about Spencer, maybe Ali couldn't think of a good nickname for the dude, maybe Ali didn't want Spencer to have good payday?
Anytime you put Ali in a thread with an also ran, the thread is going to wind up about Ali.

[Bill Paxtom]

If You Do Your Homework

You will see that Cassius Clay's Manager {Herbert Muhammad} did sign an agreement
for his fighter to defend the Title against Thad Spencer.

But, Cassius pulled out and fought Ernie Terrell instead.

Then, they signed up 35 year-old Zora Folley {cement shoes and glass jaw} next
for March 1967.

While Thad played the 'good guy', Cassius was behind the scenes trying to line
up another easy bout for April 1967 with Floyd Patterson again.

Thad Spencer >
"I know he's running. We have a name for him at the Chinese Restaurants here in
San Francisco, "Chicken Clay with Running Sauce".

"He wants to fight Floyd Patterson. Wasn't he the 'weak-chinned' Champion from
the 1950's or something. Who's next ....... Ezzard Charles."