Cassius Clay’s last bout of 1963 was on June 18 vs. Henry Cooper, at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Cassius weighed in at 207 lbs. compared to Cooper’s 185 1/2lbs., and was an 8-1 favorite. Clay had been in the habit of predicting the round he would knock his opponent out in, and called the fifth round as the one he would stop Henry in.
The fight was going along as predicted, until a whistling left hook dropped and badly hurt Cassius in the fourth. His trainer Angelo Dundee revived him with smelling salts, and also got the refs to replace his fighter’s gloves because he found a small tear in one. Refreshed after an extended rest, Clay came out strong in the fifth, pounded Cooper with enough blows to cut him worse, ending it at the 2 minute and 15 second mark.
After the close call, the Liston title shot was signed for February 25, 1965 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Liston was an 8-1 underdog, with most sportswriters predicting an early knockout for the champ. I of course was a little kid at the time, but have seem the tape of the historic bout many times. It was obvious from the opening bell however, that Clay was taller than Liston, and far quicker. He was easily outboxing the slower and plodding Liston, proving he belonged in the ring with Sonny. After the fourth round, Cassius complained to his corner that his eyes were burning, and it’s a given fact now that Liston’s cornermen had smeared liniment on his gloves, and it was blinding Clay. Dundee cleared his fighter’s eyes as best he could with water, and told him to run around in the fifth to clear his head.
Clay did as told, and as his eyes cleared, he took command of the action. He landed jabs and quick combinations, frustrating a tiring Liston. After the sixth, the champ refused to come out for the seventh, and incredibly the 8-1 underdog was the new Heavyweight Champion of the World! Clay ran to the edge of the ring, shouting at all of the sportswriters who had called him a fraud, and holding his hands up in victory.
Liston had quit in disgrace, but had been outclassed by the tremendously talented 22 year old Cassius Clay. Immediately after the amazing victory, Clay announced he was now a Muslim, and his new name was Cassius X. A month later he was given the name Muhammad Ali by the Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, which caused instant controversy, and turned many Clay fans off. Few had heard of the “Nation of Islam”, that Clay said he now was a member of, and his stunning victory was now clouded in controversy.
FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
LISTEN TO MY PODCAST ON SPOTIFY AT kensoldtimeboxingchat
