A Young Cassius Clay Answered

That Question Early In His Career

by Bobby Franklin

When Cassius Clay exploded on the professional boxing scene after winning a gold medal at the 1960 Olympic games in 1960, the public knew they were witnessing the rise of not just a very talented young boxer but also seeing a figure who was going to make boxing interesting and colorful again. This was in his pre Black Muslim days when he was known for his braggadocio rather than his political views.

Young Cassius had watched how professional wrestlers would attract crowds by putting on a show before the matches. They would brag about what they were going to do to their opponents, and in the case of one who had a particular influence on Clay, Gorgeous George would talk about how pretty he was. Cassius, with his outgoing personality, good looks, and gift of gab was a natural for this approach. It also didn’t hurt that he was an extremely talented boxer.

Of course, this bragging didn’t sit well with all boxing fans. Some did, as he knew would happen, pay to see him get beaten. They felt the loudmouth deserved to have his big trap shut by a knockout blow.

Another thing that irked those rooting against him was the fact that he moved fast and was very difficult to hit with a solid shot. Cassius played on that as well by saying

Those who wanted to see him take a licking came to believe that if he was finally tagged he would not be able to take a punch, and that he really wasn’t tough enough to deal with being in a serious slugfest. They questioned his heart. If only an opponent could reach his jaw this big mouth would be finished. He was just talk but would never be able to back it up in a real fight.

This question about Clay’s ability to take a punch lingered for years, but he proved his mettle in only his 11^th fight against the hard punching Sonny Banks. Not only could he take a punch, but he also showed he could fire right back when hurt.

Sonny Banks came into the fight with a record of 10 wins and 2 losses with 10 his wins coming via knockout. He was another young prospect and, even this early in his career, was known for his punching power.

The two met on February 10, 1962 at Madison Square Garden in a ten round main event. Clay had predicted he would stop Banks in the 4^th round, but the fight almost ended much earlier then that and not in Clay’s favor.

In the opening round Cassius came out dancing. He was circling Banks and throwing jabs. As was his usual form, Clay had his hands down and was avoiding punches by moving his head and staying mobile.

Not long into the round Cassius back Sonny into a corner. Clay squared up with Banks and Banks fired a solid left hook that caught Clay flush on the jaw dropping him. It was a sold punch and Cassius went down on his back. It should also be mentioned that shortly before the hook was landed Clay was also on the receiving end of a solid right hand.

It can be argued that Clay went down because he was somewhat off balance when he was hit, but make no mistake about it, this was a hard left hook to the jaw.

So, how did Clay react now that he had finally been tagged? He got to his feet at the count of two. He took the mandatory 8 count and then he changed his style. There was no quit in him at all, quite the contrary. When the action resumed Clay steadied down and began throwing very hard shots at Banks. Sure, he was still circling, but he was more flat footed now and throwing hard punches with great accuracy. He was also throwing them with tremendous speed. He was angry that he had been decked and was now taking that anger out on Sonny.

In the second round he dropped Banks with a lightening fast right/left combination. He then battered him constantly and referee Ruby Goldstein was about to step in and stop the bout when the bell rang ending the third round. The doctor was called in to examine Banks before the start of the fourth and allowed the fight to continue. It didn’t last much longer as Cassius unloaded a fusillade of punches causing Goldstein to jump in and stop the fight at 26 seconds of the round.

For those paying attention at the time, they would have seen a number of things in young Cassius that had champion written all over them. He was able to take a great shot to the chin and survive it, and not only survive but not even be flustered by it. His first thought when hitting the canvas was to get right back up again and get back into the fight. He also showed the heart of a champion by fighting back with an intense fury. He adapted his game plan and would not be hit another good shot for the remainder of the bout.

Any talk about Cassius Clay’s heart and ability to take a punch should have ended that night in Madison Square Garden, but many were so blinded by their dislike of the brash youngster they would not give him the credit he earned in that fight. He would go on to prove the critics wrong time and time again.

Looking back on that February night in 1962 I would say Cassius answered his critics and the smart money should have been on him after that.

by Bobby Franklin

Had Louis On The Canvas, But That Was Not His Best Round

Two Ton Tony Galento was the only opponent Joe Louis ever really disliked. When Joe fought Max Schmeling his fury was based on his wanting to avenge his loss as he felt he would not be the true champion until he defeated the German who had previously knocked him out. He was also was representing the United States in a symbolic battle against the evils of Nazis Germany.

With Galento it was a very different case. Tony had repeatedly made disparaging comments about Joe, his most famous being “I’ll moider da bum.” The Brown Bomber did not take kindly to being called a bum. At one point during training Joe asked a reporter, “Why that little fat man keep calling me a bum?”

Today’s fans may not see what the big deal was in such comments being made, but in the era of Joe Louis fighters, showed respect for one another.

Sure, there were plenty of colorful characters around back then, but they rarely launched personal attacks on their opponents. Their was a mutual respect that existed among those in the sport, and Louis felt Galento had stepped way over the line. This was the only time Joe entered the ring where he was angry at his opponent. He said he wanted to punish him. Even years later when both Joe and Tony appeared together on Curt Gowdy’s program “The Way It Was” to watch clips of and discuss the fight you could see Louis still didn’t care for Galento. He said on the program that he wanted to carry the New Jersey brawler for ten rounds before knocking him out in order to inflict damage on him first. So, why didn’t he?

Galento had a big mouth and was obnoxious in his comments before the bout, but he had the punch, heart, and skill, yes, I said skill, to give the champion a fight. Tony was  rated the number one contender for the title by Ring Magazine, and he had earned his shot with a winning streak of eleven straight fights against top contenders. Make no mistake about it, while he hardly looked the part of a great boxer with his rotund figure, he was very talented at fighting out of a crouch and counterpunching. He also had a lethal left hook that was instrumental in his scoring knockouts in 57 of his 80 victories. Tony was also one of the dirtiest fighters to enter the ring. He was well schooled in using his head, elbows, and thumbs.

On June 28, 1939 Joe and Tony entered the ring at Yankee Stadium. In front of a crowd of 34,852 they received their prefight instructions from referee Arthur Donovan. Even at this point Tony couldn’t resist acting up. There was a problem with the amount of Vaseline Galento had on his face, so the referee had his handlers wipe it off. Tony then reached over and rubbed his hand over Joe’s head. This only added to the champion’s anger.

At the bell for round one Galento came out of his corner in a very low crouch and was leaning to his right in order to be on the outside of Joe’s left jab. By doing this he was putting himself into Joe’s blind spot. It was a very good tactic as Joe was known to have some difficulty  with fighters who fought out of a crouch. Tony slipped the jab and landed some decent left hooks to Joe’s body. Joe was making the mistake of punching down at Tony instead of bending at the knees to get on an even plane with the challenger. At one point Galento slipped Louis’s jab and landed a solid left hook to Joe’s chin hurting him and driving the champion to the ropes. Joe looked a bit hurt but maintained his composure. Galento, emboldened by what he had accomplished, went after the champion and got a bit wild. The first round went to the challenger, and the crowd was very excited by what they had just witnessed.

In round two Tony was not crouching down as much and Joe was now bending his knees and finding the range. Tony had abandoned what was a good strategy and was now just bulling his way forward. He was also using his head and elbows on the inside. Joe dropped the challenger with a beautiful right left combination that would have knocked out many another man, but Tony was up at the count of two and still full of fight.

Round three was interesting for one reason. By now Galento had completely abandoned his crouch and counterpunch tactics and was standing straight up in front of the champion while throwing wild punches. He was hoping to get lucky and land the big one. Mid round, while Louis was throwing a left hook to the body, Tony landed a left hook to Louis’s head that caught the champion off balance. Louis went down more embarrassed than hurt and was up almost immediately. For the rest of the round he pummeled Tony. While this is the punch Galento will be remembered for, it was not nearly as damaging, other than to Joe’s pride, than the hook he landed in the first round. The hook in the opening round was an excellent counter punch that was executed with great skill. The knockdown blow was more of a lucky punch.

As the bell rang for round four it was now Joe’s turn to abandon his fight plan. No, he would not get wild, but he no longer was going to punish Tony for ten rounds before knocking him out. He was now going for the kill. I believe it was Max Baer who once said “Fear is looking across the ring at Joe Louis and knowing he wants to go home early.”

Well, Joe had decided it was time to go home, and if Galento had any sense he would have been scared, but Two Ton Tony came out ready to go down fighting. He took a horrific beating during the two minutes and twenty-nine seconds that elapsed until Arthur Donovan stepped in to stopped the carnage. Galento was beaten to a pulp and would receive forty stitches to his face after the bout.

In the post fight interview Joe Louis did not gloat. As much as he disliked Tony Galento, he praised his ability and called him a great fighter. Joe Louis was always the definition of class.

This fight will always be remembered for the fact that Galento dropped the great Joe Louis, but Tony’s greatest moments came in the first round when he had the champion hurt.

by Bobby Franklin

I have been around boxers all my life, and I’ve gotten to know hundreds of fighters and have spent quite a bit of time speaking with them, getting to know them, and making friendships with them. In the past couple of years as we have gotten older the conversations I have with them have become more reflective. One of my favorite topics is discussing what their motivation was for first stepping into a boxing gym. The answers vary, but I did seem to find a common theme among a number of them.

Just about every other sport available to young men involves joining a team; Little League Baseball, Pop Warner Football, hockey, and so on. All, of these are good ways for youth to learn the lessons of working together, sharing responsibility, and being a part of something bigger than themselves. It also allows for the sharing in victories as well as failures. Sure, there are times when one player will get the glory for pulling out a victory for the team, or get the blame for blowing it (just ask Bill Buckner), but it still comes down to the team working together to make things happen. It is said over and over again that there is no “I” in team.

Boxing is very different, it is all about “I”. When a young man first walks into a boxing gym he knows he is not there to join a team. What he is going to have to do is confront himself. He is going to have to deal with his fears; his victories and his failures all on his own. If he losses a fight or even has a bad sparring session he will not be able to point the finger at a teammate. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat are owned by the individual.

Alan Sillitoe wrote a book published in 1959 titled “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner”. I often think of how appropriate a similar title would be to describe a boxer; “The Loneliness of the Boxer”. When that bell rings and the lights go down and the boxer steps forward to face his opponent, there is no other sport that comes close to invoking the emotions that erupt within him. He moves forward with no team to look back on for help or support. He is in the ring with only two other people; his opponent who wants to knock him senseless and the referee who is on nobody’s side. This isn’t about moving the ball up the field or striking out a batter. This is comes down to the most basic of human instincts: survival.

Many of the guys I have talked to about their motives for taking up boxing told me they were shy kids who didn’t feel comfortable playing on a team. They felt insecure and wanted to face their fears. The boxing gym seemed like the best place to go for that. Just about every one of these former boxers have told me their lives were changed because of their experiences with boxing. That they learned more about themselves through the Manly Art of Self Defense than in any other activity they took part in.

A boxing gym is truly a paradoxical place. It is a venue where controlled violence is taught. the participants spend hours practicing moves and conditioning themselves so A may inflict head trauma on their opponents. It is a place where a young man will have to deal with his fear and his fight or flight response to it. Where he will inflict and feel pain.

But, the boxing gym is also oddly Zen like. Boxing forces a person to become self reflective, to look deep within himself, too confront his demons, and oddly enough, to find a certain inner peace. It is a violent world but also one of serenity. This may all sound a bit strange, but if you have been there you will know what I mean.