Legend has it that a 12 year old from Louisville, Kentucky was drawn to a boxing gym so he could learn to box in order to punish the person who stole his brand new bicycle. He never did find the bike or the thief, but that fateful event set the course for Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, to go on to become one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all-time, as well as an iconic historical figure. But what if his two-wheeled transport hadn’t been absconded with? Would he have gravitated to another sport? Seeing that he also enjoyed drawing, would he have followed in his father’s footsteps and become a sign painter?
Fate is a funny thing. Small events in people’s lives can result in huge consequences. Ali’s life is one example of this. It is also true that all our lives are intertwined with one another. What happens to one person can effect many others, even millions. This can be positive or negative, and I am sure you can pretty quickly come up with names both good and evil that have, by a stroke of happenstance, caused someone to achieve a position of power or a place where they can influence events.
I will not go into the ramifications on all of mankind for such things. Rather I will focus on what may have happened in the career of one man had the events surrounding a stolen bicycle of another had not occurred.
The Fastest, Prettiest Man On Two Wheels
After the retirement of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in 1955, there was a void in boxing’s most cherished title. As often happens when a great champ steps down, his shadow lingers, making it difficult for the excitement to return to boxing. In the case of the post Rocky days, this was exacerbated by the fact that the man who became recognized as his successor refused to take on the leading contenders.
After winning the vacant title with a suspicious kayo over Archie Moore, Floyd Patterson was protected by his manager Cus D’Amato against anyone who might prove a real challenge to the tile holder. Instead of giving shots to such men as Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, and Cleveland Williams, Cus chose to put him in with the likes of Pete Rademacher who was getting a title shot in his first professional fight, as well as two unranked challengers in Brian London and Tom McNeeley. Hardly the opposition expected of a world heavyweight champion.
Brought Together By Fate
Most notable among those being avoided was Charles Sonny Liston. In fact, Liston was fast becoming the de facto champion by facing and beating the top heavyweights. He beat Cleveland Williams twice, Eddie Machen, Zora Folley, and Nino Valdez. Everyone, including Floyd, knew Sonny was long deserving of a title shot.
The public also knew Liston deserved a chance at the crown, but they also were not in love with him as he had a pretty shady background. Of course, boxers have never been graduates of finishing schools, but Sonny was a rough customer even by pugilistic standards.
Sonny would eventually get his chance and prove his superiority by knocking out Floyd in one round in 1962 and then again in 1963, also in the opening round.
As 1963 was closing out, Liston was looking at a list of top ten contenders that hardly made him nervous. He had already beaten four of them, Cleveland Williams, Zora Folley, Floyd Patterson, and Eddie Machen. He beat Williams and Patterson twice.
The rest of the pack consisted of Doug Jones, Ingemar Johansson, Robert Cleroux, Billy Daniels, Archie Moore, and Henry Cooper. Oh yes, and that kid who was mad about his stolen bike, Cassius Clay.
Out of this group Clay had beaten Jones and Daniels. Moore and Johansson would soon retire, Cleroux would lose to Folley, and, as he wrote in his autobiography years later; Cooper said he would never have fought Liston because he knew he had no chance against him and feared being seriously injured.
Nobody Stole Sonny’s Bike
It was slim pickings and nothing to excite the fight fans. Clay did manage to stir interest in a challenge to Sonny by the shear force of his powerful personality. History was made as Clay, soon to become Ali, scored one of the biggest upsets in boxing history to win the title. It turns out the fate that set him on the road to boxing stayed with him in the fight with Liston. Boxing history would be changed forever.
But what if things had been different? What if Clay had not become a boxer? What would a Liston championship reign had looked like. It can be conjectured that another upset may have occurred. Perhaps Sonny would have underestimatedone of the contenders and come in out of shape and been taken. Looking at the opposition he would have been faced with over the next few years, I’m doubtful even an out of shape Liston would have been beatable. A Cassius Clay is not someone who comes along everyday. This was a very rare human being who combined skill, athleticism, and supreme confidence.
Liston would have ended up fighting many of the same men as Ali did with the exception of Henry Cooper. He would not have stepped in with three of those who faced Muhammad, Williams, Patterson, and Folley because he had already twice stopped Cleveland and Floyd, and kayoed Folley once.
That leaves George Chuvalo, Brian London, Karl Mildenburger, and Ernie Terrell, the other four men, bedsides Liston, that Ali defended against.I doubt anyone believes any of these challengers would have stood a chance if put in with Sonny. The only one I see possibly going the distance is Terrell, and that would be in a fight that would have had a lot of grabbing and holding by the challenger.
No doubt, London and Mildenburger would go out early. Chuvalo likely would have had his first loss by stoppage on account of cuts and swollen eyes.
By now Liston would have been aging, but the next group to face him would have been not terribly experienced and not ready for prime time. Would a young Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier, Oscar Bonavena, or Thad Spencer have had a chance. Not likely, unless Sonny had started to really falter.
This may surprise you, but the one out of that young crop of fighters at that time whom I believe would have had the best chance was Jimmy Ellis. Ellis is a vastly underrated heavyweight who had the speed to give Liston trouble along with a tremendous right hand that would have given Sonny pause. Set this fight at around 1968 and it proves interesting. I’m going to give it some thought and perhaps explore what would have happened in afuture column.
In the meantime, don’t be afraid to tempt fate; you never know where it may lead you.
A Silver Lining In The Cloud Over Ali’s Suspension
By Bobby Franklin
Muhammad Ali And Joe Frazier In 1967
With the recent passing of former heavyweight champion George Foreman, we are hearing much said again about the 1970s being the Golden Age of Heavyweight Boxing. To be sure, it was an exciting time for the division, and boxing fans have a lot of fond memories of that time. But how and why did it happen?
Muhammad Ali was back on the scene after having been banned from the sport in 1967 for refusing induction into the United States Army. He was sidelined for three years before returning in 1970. In 1971 he took on Joe Frazier who now was recognized as the champ. Their epic battle lived up to its billing as The Fight of The Century. This started a decade of very interesting and exciting fights.
At first it appeared that the ban on Ali performing in the ring would hurt boxing. In fact, in a backwards way, it was a shot in the arm for the heavyweight division. Before he was denied access to the ring, Ali had been cleaning out the ranks of top heavyweights. His blinding speed and phenomenal reflexes were too much for the slower moving contenders. There was really no one left who was considered a serious threat to the champion.
Ali was a very active champ. After defeating Sonny Liston for the title in 1964, he didn’t remain idle. He put the championship on the line nine times. He had five defenses in 1966 alone, and started 1967 with two fights by March before being suspended.
Ali had finished off most of the old guard of the division with his wins over Sonny Liston, Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell, and Zora Folley. He traveled to Europe where he took on the best that continent had to offer in Brian London, Henry Cooper, and Karl Mildenberger. He crossed the border to Canada to win over George Chuvalo. Who was left?
Promoters would have had to start rushing the younger contenders into challenging the champ. None were ready to go up against Ali.
There were a number of young contenders on the scene at this time. These included Jerry Quarry, Thad Spencer, Manuel Ramos, Oscar Bonavena, Leotis Martin, Jimmy Ellis, and 1964 Olympic Champion Joe Frazier. Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston were still active but there was no interest in seeing Ali face these two former champs again. Ernie Terrell was a bridge from the older contenders to the current ones, but Ali had also beaten him in a one sided fight, so again, not much interest in seeing a rematch.Promoters would have had to start rushing the younger contenders into challenging the champ. None were ready to go up against Ali.
This is where the three year exile of Muhammad comes into play. It allowed these younger fighters to gain experience. While a Joe Frazier/Muhammad Ali fight would have been a draw in 1968 or 1969, it would not have been a fight where Frazier would have been considered to have had much of a chance. By 1971 when the two did finally meet, it was a different story.
Another thing happened during this time. The WBA (World Boxing Association) held a tournament to find a successor to Ali. Joe Frazier refused to take part, but the other leading contenders did. They were Jimmy Ellis, Floyd Patterson, Thad Spencer, Leotis Martin, Ernie Terrell, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, and Karl Mildenberger.
The three men who had challenged Ali didn’t make it out of the quarter finals. Patterson lost to Quarry, Terrell to Spencer, and Mildenburger to Bonavena. In the other quarter final matchbetween two younger fighters, Jimmy Ellis beat Leotis Martin. The semi-finals became a battle of the rising stars with Ellis beating Bonavena and Quarry stopping Spencer.
In the final, Jimmy Ellis won a close 15 round decision over Jerry Quarry. This gave him the WBA Heavyweight Crown. The tournament, which had been broadcast live on home TV, gave all of these young fighters much public exposure. None of them embarrassed themselves, and they all gained fans.
Meanwhile, Joe Frazier had taken on Buster Mathis in a fight that was recognized as being for the title by the commissions in New York and Massachusetts. Frazier proved to be as active a champ as Ali had been. Joe defended his piece of the title six times between June of 1968 and November of 1970. In his fifth defense he fought a unification fight with Jimmy Ellis, stopping the WBA Champ when Ellis couldn’t answer the bell for the fifth round.
At this point, Ali had announced he was retiring and giving up the title since he wasn’t allowed to fight. Ring Magazine, which had stood by Ali, now recognized Frazier as champion. The public also now pretty much accepted Joe as the one champion.
But as with Ali, Frazier was facing a dearth of suitable challengers. He had already beaten Chuvalo, Ellis, Quarry, and Bonavena. Young contenders such as George Foreman and Mac Foster were not considered ready for a shot at the hard punching champion.
Fortunately, in 1970 Ali regained his license to box. He took on Quarry and Bonanvena, defeating both. This led to the showdown between two undefeated men, both of whom had legitimate claims to the title. This had never happened before. Both men also received 2.5 million dollars for the fight, an unheard of sum at the time.
Boxing was now entering a new age of exciting fights and huge paydays. More young contenders joined the current crop. Those who had lost fights were able to reestablish themselves. Often they fought one another in competitive battles. One of the things that made this era so exciting was the fact that with so many of these matchups, no one could be sure who would win before hand. It was the fact that so many of the fighters from that period were on a par when it came to ability that made so many of these contests interesting.
It was a new day for the heavyweight division, one that would last over a decade. But could this have happened if Ali had not been exiled? I very much doubt it.
While not allowing the champ to defend his title while his case was being heard was morally wrong, it did allow for a break in which the division was able to grow. Normally, it would have been seen as a blow to the game, but it turned out better for all involved. Fans got to see competitive fights, the fighters got much bigger paydays, and we still ended up with one recognized heavyweight champion even though the title changed hands a number of times.
I certainly am not trying to justify the taking of the title from Ali, but rather just reflecting on what happened back then to find a silver lining.
“Boxing’s appeal is its drama and grace, a blizzarding grace that amounts to an impromptu, exigent ballet, especially in the lighter and nimbler weights. Hands, arms, feet, legs, head, torso—more is done per moment than in fast ice hockey; and since there is more motion, the athletes in other sports cannot surpass a consummate boxer for grace.”
–Edward Hoagland
‘I’m not a fighter, I’m an artist. Boxing should be beautiful. . . . It should be like ballet dancing.’
Alexis Arguello
International ballet star Edward Villella hitting the heavy bag. Villella possessed the perfect physique for a dancer—or boxer.
Edward Villella began taking ballet lessons at the age of ten. He was an outstanding all-around athlete who also enjoyed boxing. In the mid-1950s he became the welterweight boxing champion of New York’s Maritime College and was undefeated in 20 fights. Several boxing managers expressed interest in signing him to a professional contract, but his love for dance was greater than it was for boxing. Edward Villella eventually gained international fame as one of the world’s premier ballet dancers. He became the lead dancer for the New York City Ballet under the direction of the legendary George Balanchine. Villella has won numerous awards including an Emmy, the National Medal of Arts and Kennedy Center Honors. He is the only American ever asked to dance an encore at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In 1985 he was named founding artistic director of the acclaimed Miami City Ballet and served in that role until 2012.
In 2005 Edward Villella agreed to be interviewed for my first book The Arc of Boxing: The Rise and Decline of the Sweet Science” (McFarland & Company Publishers). I wanted to ask this great artist how boxing compared to ballet since he had experienced and trained in both disciplines. The following is an excerpt from the book:
Mike: I think you will agree that a properly trained boxer is built more along the lines of a buff ballet dancer like yourself rather than a tightly knotted bodybuilder or beefed up football lineman. I have been critical of a recent trend in boxing that emphasizes weight training for boxers similar to how professional football athletes use weights in order to increase poundage and add extra muscle to their physiques. I’d like to read you a quote from an old school trainer who disdained the use of weight training for his boxers: “Old time fighters had a sleek shape. They were not carrying extra weight through muscle. Fighters in the 1920s through the 1950s, heavyweights included, were trimmed down. They had long smooth muscles. There was no need to oxygenate big muscles.” Have you ever recommended weight training for your dancers?
“Boxers and dancers are finely tuned instruments. Lifting weights would not be good for them. It’s like putting sand in the gas tank of a Ferrari.”
Edward: I have never asked my dancers to do weight training. As dancers, we have long use of the muscle tone. We don’t want to short the muscle tone. We want speed and elasticity. I don’t think that you have to dismiss all weight training. You can exercise with four or five pounds, and you’d be surprised what that will do for you. When I was a dancer I’d occasionally put a one or two pound weight on either ankle. And then when I took them off my speed was just terrific, and my feet moved so quickly. And that’s what we need to do; we need our feet to move. Our feet are like a fighter’s hands. My great mentor George Balanchine said, ‘the floor upon which we dance is the music’, which is the timing…it’s the phrasing. The dancer does not stay in one rhythm. You have to move in and out, in and out, up and down, slow, fast, set it up, go, go, go.
Mike: That is very similar to how a boxing match develops.Why do you think so many of the new breed of boxing trainers are bringing in “strength coaches” from other sports and are having the fighters lift weights far exceeding four or five pounds in the belief the added muscle will increase the fighter’s punching power?
Villella, like all professional ballet dancers, was a superbly conditioned athlete.
Edward:Without a comprehensive understanding of your muscle tone and the purpose of exactly what it is that you want to accomplish with a weight training routine you could end up training against yourself. You don’t want the training to go against your talent.That is the thing you cannot do. You have to understand your talent and know how to feed it. And that is why I don’t want our guys to do that kind of thing. Guys are normally thicker muscle toned than women and I don’t want them to bulk up because they will lose that agility. Boxers and dancers are finely tuned instruments. Lifting weights would not be good for them. It’s like putting sand in the gas tank of a Ferrari.
Mike: I agree. A properly conditioned boxer, or a professional dancer, is a fine-tuned instrument. Interfering with the machinery of that instrument bybulking up and losing agility is to be avoided.
Edward: What we seek is to eliminate tension. If you train against that purpose it’s not going to work for you. For instance, if I were preparing our dancers for a style that requires very quick and light footwork their training would be different than what is needed to dance in the much slower 19th century Russian Grand Imperial style. There is heaviness to that style. The moves have a beginning and an end, and then you start all over again. Whereas in neoclassicism, which George Balanchine provides us with, the moment your heel got to the floor that was your propulsion for the next step, therefore the continuity of it had terrific natural connection. So you didn’t ‘stop, gesture, stop, gesture’.It’s like when you watch a heavyweight. They wind up and throw a big punch but they have no combinations. These guys are huge and they have four yards of left jab but it’s just hanging on ‘em.They can’t go low, high, down. They can’t get that jab working. Pump that jab. Work those combinations…boom, boom, boom (demonstrates by shadowboxing and throwing combinations). I relate to that kind of attack and speed.
Mike: That is an interesting analogy.
Edward: There is a whole connection about the approach to any physical gesture that we are about. It’s all totally connected and if you can be relentless in the way you approach these rotations, so that they are there and available for you any given second, you begin to dance instead of just doing a trick. And for me that is what differentiates fine dancing and fine fighting. It’s not enough that you’ve got a heavy right hand and a neat left hook and you throw two punches. There is more to it than that.
Mike: I wasn’t aware there were so many different styles of ballet.
Edward: My dancers have a repertoire where we have to dance in probably five, six, seven different styles, seven different periods, seven different choreographic approaches. They have the variety and they have the broader horizon. That was the beauty of my growing up at the New York City Ballet, which had a phenomenal repertoire. I danced everything from Swan Lake to Tarantellas. You can’t get further away from being Oberon in Mid Summer’s Night’s Dream to being the Prodigal Son, or Apollo. So unless you can counter and balance off all of these other things you become a one trick pony.
Mike: Unfortunately, there are too many “one trick ponies” in boxing today who continue to follow the same pattern round after round without knowing how to make the necessary adjustments due to a lack of experience and quality instruction.
Edward: Dancing, as George Balanchine said, is a conversation; I offer a hand, somebody gives me their hand. Do I hold the hand, or do I just use what is necessary?For instance, if we are having a conversation I’m not going to shout at you the whole time. Nor am I going to talk like this (speaks haltingly). So you have to have all of those ups and downs, sideways, expansions, extensions, all of this kind of flexibility that constitutes the purpose that you are about.
Mike: It sounds like you are referring to athletic intelligence which every great boxer must possess. I assume that is also true for a great dancer?
“You need dance intellect just as you need boxing intellect if you are going to reach your potential. You need the intelligence that relates to your talent. And if you can combine that talent and that intelligence you are so far ahead of the game.”
Edward: It’s really your mind driving your talent. So you need the talent and you need the mind that comes with the talent. It’s not like you’re trying to be a brain surgeon, but you need dance intellect just as you need boxing intellect if you are going to reach your potential. You need the intelligence that relates to your talent. And if you can combine that talent and that intelligence you are so far ahead of the game. So it becomes this mental exercise. I’m fond of saying our physicality is ‘mind driven’. It’s not just the talent. It is the mind analyzing the talent, and all of the nuances that are available can be used.
Mike: Both boxers and ballet dancers share fundamental requirements that include balance, coordination, rhythmic and fluid movement and precise timing. The most graceful boxer I have ever seen is Sugar Ray Robinson. At his best he possessed an almost ballet like grace and is generally acknowledged to be the greatest boxer of the 20th century. In fact, after his first retirement, Sugar Ray Robinson had a brief career as a professional dancer and he was pretty good at it.
“Dancing, like boxing, is moving through balance…My favorite boxers are the ones who move and are beautiful to watch. The way Sugar Ray Robinson executed his combinations…the speed and accuracy…the timing aspect of it.”
Edward: Dancing, like boxing, is moving through balance. And the athlete that you remember is the beautiful dancing athlete. I once took a bunch of athletes and intercut them with dancers and made it into a whole one-hour show. It was called “Dance of the Athletes”. Joe DiMaggio covering center field. His swing when he was at bat. Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Frank Robinson. These, to me, were the athletes who were the dancers. My favorite boxers are the ones who move and are beautiful to watch. The way Sugar Ray Robinson executed his combinations…the speed and accuracy…the timing aspect of it…the way a good defensive fighter could stand in front of somebody and bob and weave and pull their chin back, maybe just a quarter of an inch, and the punch would miss them. To me, that is absolute talent, which is so practiced, so rehearsed, so completely understood it becomes a conditioned reflex.”
Mike: You mentioned growing up in New York City in the 1940s and 1950s and that you were a fight fan. Do you still keep up with the sport?
The perfectly balanced Sugar Ray Robinson jabs Tommy Bell with ballet like grace during their 1946 title bout.
Edward: Unfortunately, with my schedule, I rarely get to watch the fights today, and I can’t follow them. There was a fight on the other night, but it was all one sided. Let’s face it; a lot of the matches today are awful. They’re mostly mismatches, and it’s all setting up for the big payday, and to me that’s not what it’s all about.
Mike: What are your earliest memories of boxing when you were growing up?
Edward: My father ran a trucking business in the garment center and his two closest buddies were former professional fighters. And they used to have poker games every Friday night and in the middle of the poker games the Friday Night Fights came on. Everybody stopped to watch the fights on TV and when it was over they went back to the poker game. I remember seeing great fighters like Willie Pep and Sandy Saddler, Tony Zale, Rocky Marciano, Carmen Basilio, Kid Gavilan and his ‘bolo punch’. I can’t even think of all the names now.
Mike: Did all the years you had ballet training give you an advantage when you boxed.
“When I was an amateur boxer in college I had a tremendous advantage because I had trained as a ballet dancer for about seven years. Therefore, my legs were mine. They were in terrific condition for boxing.”
Edward: When I was an amateur boxer in college I had a tremendous advantage because I had trained as a ballet dancer for about seven years. Therefore, my legs were mine. They were in terrific condition for boxing. I’d wait until the third round and by then my opponent would be standing on spaghetti legs (laughs).
Edward Villella and Mike Silver meet after a performance by the Miami City Ballet at the Tilles Center in Long Island in 2008.
Addendum:
The best “dancer” among today’s top fighters is the current 135 pound champion Vasyl Lomachenko. He is a throwback to an era when mobile footwork was taught and emphasized as an essential element for offense and defense. Lomachenko and Villella have something else in common. Ironically, Loma’s father wisely insisted that his young son take ballet lessons for several years with a Ukranian dance company before being allowed to box. That experience gave the youth a “leg up” on the competition, so to speak. Loma’s amateur record was spectacular. He lost only one of 397 amateur fights and won consecutive gold medals in the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. He has also held multiple professional world championships from featherweight to lightweight. Perhaps all aspiring professional boxers should consider donning ballet slippers and start practicing pirouettes before learning how to jab and hook.
Mike Silver’s newest book, When in Doubt, Stop the Bout: A Revolutionary Approach to Boxing Safety and Reform(Hamilcar Publications) will be available in December 2024. Mike’s previous books include The Arc of Boxing: The Rise and Decline of the Sweet Science; Stars in the Ring: Jewish Champions in the Golden Age of Boxing; The Night the Referee Hit Back: Memorable Moments From the World of Boxing.
Urinetown: The Musical
The Lyric Stage Boston
140 Clarendon Street,Boston
Through October 20
Reviewed By Bobby Franklin
Photos By Nile Hawver
Bobby Strong (Kenny Lee)
Urinetown: The Musical was an unlikely hit when it first appeared at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2001. Not only did it have, as the character Little Sally says, an awful title, it had been scheduled to move from Off-Broadway to Broadway just nine days after the attacks of 9/11. Many plays had folded or been canceled before opening when the theaters had to shut down due to that horrific attack.
Not only did Urinetown: The Musical open, it became a huge hit running for 965 performances and garnering three Tony Awards. It has worn well with time, though the lens through which it is seen has changed. Given that, it’s still a play that makes you both laugh and think.
The current run at the Lyric Stage in Boston is in keeping with that theater’s long standing success in bringing large scale productions to a small stage. As has been so often the case, the Lyric team often improves on the work while adding an intimacy that can only take place in a small theater. Urinetown: The Musical is no exception.
Director Courtney O’Connor, along with musical director Dan Rodriguez and choreographer Christopher Shin have worked their magic, along with some wonderful ingenuity, to give Boston a musical that is not to be missed.
“Not only funny, but highly entertaining and quite clever.”
So, what do you call a play with that awful title, that includes suffering, unbridled greed, government corruption, police brutality, and people struggling to come up with cash so they can use the public facilities to relieve themselves? Funny! Not only funny, but highly entertaining and quite clever. It is also not what it may appear to be at first.
The people of an unnamed city are suffering under the heavy hand of Caldwell B. Cladwell (Christopher Chew), the head of Urine Good Company, a corporation that controls the limited water supply. Because of the water shortage, people are forced to pay large fees for The Privilege To Pee.
Caldwell B. Cladwell (Christopher Chew)
Chew is terrific in portraying the greedy Cladwell with a caricature that both conveys the joy he brings in making money off of the misery of others while treading a line of making him almost likable. This comes across inDon’t Be The Bunny where Cladwell tries to teach his daughter Hope (Elliana Karris) how to make it in the world.
Bobby Strong (Kenny Lee) works at the public facility under the watchful eye of Penelope Pennywise (Lisa Yuen). It is a dirty job but has its privileges, if you get what I mean. Ms Yuen’s Pennywise sets down the law with an iron fist in “It’s A Privilege To Pee”. You’d better have your money when it’s time for you to use the public facility or you will be sent to Urinetown, a place from where no soul returns.
Bobby begins to question his work when his father (Remo Airaldi) is sent to Urinetown as punishment for breaking the anti public peeing laws. It is upon learning of the elder Strong’s gruesome demise that Bobby is pushed over the edge and is compelled to stand up to the powers that pee, I mean be.
“Mr. Lee commands the stage in his role as Strong. His singing is sublime and his comic timing impeccable.”
Strong and Hope Cladwell fall in love while singing Follow Your Heart. Mr. Lee brings down the house while leading the cast in the gospel inspired Run Freedom Run. Both numbers bring laughs while also touching a deeper chord.Mr. Lee commands the stage in his role as Strong. His singing is sublime and his comic timing impeccable.
Bobby Strong (Kenny Lee) And Hope Cladwell (Eliana Karris)
Elliana Karris is amazing in her ability to bring huge laughs using just her eyes. This was necessary in one scene because her character was bound and gagged while being held hostage. Yes, I’m not kidding, it really is a funny play.
While Kenny Lee is a powerful force on the Lyric Stage, the rest of the cast is solid as well. There is not a weak performance among them. Lisa Yuen is commanding as Miss Pennywise. Paige O’Connor and Anthony Pires, Jr. as Little Sally and Officer Lockstock respectively serve as chorus in addition to their roles within the story. They are hilarious as they have constant back and forth about what makes a good musical. “You don’t want too much exposition.” Ms O’Connor is clearly in her element as Sally, while Mr. Pires can be scary as the heavy handed Lockstock, yet you can’t help but like him.
Officer Lockstock (Anthony Pires, Jr.) And Little Sally (Paige O’Connor)
Urinetown: The Musical is both social commentary and satire. You will catch many take offs on musicals past, most notably Les Miz. There are also touches of Brecht and even William Shakespeare. Add into the mix that it is an ambiguous work as well.
Throughout the first act the story seems to be a pretty formulaic one of evil corporations exploiting the helpless people of the city. However, as the story progresses we find it is more complicated than that. The challenge of dealing with a shortage of natural resources coupled with government corruption makes me think of how so many make sure a crisis should never go to waste. In fact, a crisis, when properly exploited, can be quite profitable for many.
In the twenty plus years since it has first appeared, trillions of dollars have been spent on dealing with climate change making billions of dollars for the well connected both in and out of politics. Has this solved the problem? As seen now, I believe that question can be one of the take aways from this musical. What at first glance was a fairly simple story really leaves the audience with much to ponder. It is not preachy, but rather provoking.
“Get to the Lyric Stage before it’s too late.”
Most importantly, Urinetown: The Musical is great fun. You will leave the theater humming the tunes you have heard as well as feeling connected to the characters. It’s a rare feat to portray not one, but two executions in a way that has the audience breaking into side-splitting laughter, but it happens here. What a terrific musical! Get to the Lyric Stage before it’s too late. You won’t be disappointed. And don’t worry, there won’t be too much exposition. Little Sally promises that to you.
Urinetown: The Musical
At The Lyric Stage, 140 Clarendon Street,Boston
Through October 20
617.585.5678
www.lyricstage.com
I have written about Jack Dempsey a number of times. Looking at his fights against Jess Willard and Tommy Gibbons I commented on his defensive skills. My take on the Willard fight surprised a few people as they stayed focused on the tremendous beating Dempsey handed out to Willard. What I tuned in on was the way Jack set the champion up to be hit with those fierce blows. He didn’t just run at Jess while throwing punches. He bobbed and weaved while feinting. He stepped in and back out again while circling and searching for an opening. Jack wasn’t looking to go toe to toe with a man who outweighed him by over 60 pounds. He was actually fighting defensively and strategically while setting up his assault. If it had just been a slugfest Dempsey would have been hit more than he was.
The Gibbons fight was a different story as the challenger was intent on lasting the fifteen rounds without getting kayoed, so Jack had to rely more on his boxing skills than his power. This is not to say Dempsey’s power did not play a part in his victory. It was that power that had Gibbons in such a defensive posture.
I’m not implying Gibbons just ran or spent fifteen rounds covering up. He boxed beautifully. However, Dempsey proved to be the superior boxer. While not the most watched of Jack’s fights, it is the one that gives fans a great look at Dempsey’s skills as a keen tactician.
Jack Dempsey will always be put into the slugger category, but he was not one to take two punches to land one. He may have been a knockout artist, but he was very savvy in there.
Recently, I came across a photo of the Dempsey vs Gibbons fight that illustrates the skills of both men. It is amazing what can be gleaned from a photo, a split second moment from a fight.
Tommy Gibbons vs Jack Dempsey
In the photo, Gibbons is throwing a hard left jab at the champion. His head is down and his chin is protected by his left arm and shoulder while his right hand is in position to defend against Jack’s left hook counter. This is a punch Tommy is anticipating. Both of Tommy’s knees are bent a bit, the left more than the right which allows him to deliver the jab with force. It is an excellent execution of a left jab.
Now to Dempsey. As good as the Gibbons’ left jab is, Jack is parrying it. Note that Dempsey has not reached out to stop the punch. Instead he is catching it just as it reaches him. This allows him to be in position to throw the counter hook. If he had reached out to stop the punch he would have been vulnerable to be hit by a left hook. He has his left hand poised to let it go. Jack’s left foot is a bit off the mat because he was stepping in when the jab was thrown by Tommy. I say this because of the positioning of Jack’s right foot and leg which appear to be propelling him forward. If there were photos from the next second or two I believe you would see Jack firing that hook as his foot settles onto the canvas. It is likely Tommy tried to slip inside of it and probably attempted to clinch.
Back when boxers were well schooled, they would focus very much on how their opponents would respond when they threw a punch. As boxer was at his most vulnerable when throwing a punch, this was very important. It is also why all good fighters were counterpunchers. It’s why feinting, a long lost skill, was employed so often.
Jack Johnson was probably the most noted heavyweight champ when it came to using feints, but Jack Dempsey was no slouch in that department.Yes, he may have been a slugger, but he used feints to create the openings for his great combinations.
Boxing has been called physical chess, and that’s what it was. In chess you have to think a few moves ahead. You have to anticipate how your opponent will respond to the moves you make and then you have to plan accordingly. The same was true of boxing. It was a game of anticipation.
One other thing I noticed in the photo is how intently the fans are watching the fight. Of course, in a Dempsey fight a knockout could occur at any moment so that is one possibility for their focus. I also believe they understood what was happening in the ring and appreciating the skills being displayed.
I maintain that not only were the fighters better schooled in boxing’s Golden Age, but the fans were too. The majority of them understood the intricacies of the game.
One last thing. Check out the shadows cast by Jack and Tommy. It is almost surreal. Art cast by two men practicing the art of boxing. Cool.
Heavyweight Champ Fought Top Middleweights In Early Years Of His Career
By Bobby Franklin
Jimmy Ellis Middleweight
Jimmy Ellis is best remembered for his career as a heavyweight. In 1968, he defeated Jerry Quarry in the final match of the WBA tournament to crown a successor to Muhammad Ali. Ali had been stripped of his title by the various boxing commissions and sanctioning organizations because of his refusal to join the military (Ring Magazine was the notable exception, continuing to list Ali as Champ in their ratings).
What is overlooked is Jimmy’s career as a middleweight. He began fighting professionally in the lighter division, debuting in 1961 when he kayoed Arley Seifer. That fight was the beginning of a 20-fight run as a middleweight, during which he fought many of the top contenders.
Ellis was not managed very carefully during that time. He was put in with much more experienced pros early on. In just his fourth fight, he was matched with Wilf Greaves, a veteran who had 54 fights. Greaves had beaten Charley Cotten and Dick Tiger. He also broke Gene Fullmer’s jaw in a fight where he lost a very close decision. Ellis lost a majority decision in the fight.
Just two fights later, he was tossed in with Holly Mims. With 84 fights under his belt at that time, Mims was a cagey fighter who outboxed Ellis over ten rounds.
Ellis’s opponents at that point had a total of 255 fights, while Jimmy had six or less. None had a losing record. This was all in his first year as a professional
Ellis’s opponents at that point had a total of 255 fights, while Jimmy had six or less. None had a losing record. This was all in his first year as a professional. At this point in his career, a talented young fighter should have been guided carefully to develop his skills and confidence. Instead, he was tossed in with whomever the promoters offered.
Ellis could have ended up ruined, but he was a survivor. In 1962, in his seventh fight, he beat Rory Calhoun, a fighter with a record of 45/14/2. That year would prove to be a good one for the young middleweight as he won seven fights, including a win in a rematch with Mims. His only loss was by decision to Henry Hank.
After the loss to Hank, Jimmy laced together a few more wins before losing a one sided decision to Rubin Hurricane Carter. At this point, his career seemed to have peaked, and he was looking to be more on the road to being an opponent than a contender. Jimmy closed out 1964 with losses to Don Fullmer and George Benton. Both fights were close, but not the wins he needed to move forward. What happened next was surprising and life-changing for Ellis.
Jimmy Beefing Up
Jimmy had been plagued with chronic tonsillitis for years. In 1965 he had them removed. After the surgery he began to put on weight. He was not getting fat. For some reason the surgery had changed his metabolism and he began to build up muscle. For the Benton fight he had weighed 160 pounds. In his next fight, just five months later, Ellis was up to 176 pounds. By the start of 1966 he had grown into a heavyweight.
Not only had Jimmy Ellis gotten bigger, he also went on a winning streak that would lead him to the WBA Heavyweight title. In fact, he would remain undefeated for the next five years. It wasn’t until 1970 that he would lose, and that was to Joe Frazier.
Jimmy was able to retain his middleweight boxing skills while facing the bigger men. He scored wins over Billy Daniels, Johnny Persol, Leotis Martin, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, and Floyd Patterson. Ellis also retained his punching power. He was able to floor the rock-chinned Bonavena in their fight, something Joe Frazier couldn’t do in two fights against the Argentine.
Why was Ellis so much more successful as a heavyweight than he was when fighting in the middleweight division? The answer lies in his ability to retain his middleweight boxing skills. His speed and accuracy were not unusual when fighting the smaller men, so it was not a great advantage as his middleweight opponents possessed those same attributes.
Ellis Land A Right On Leotis Martin
Jimmy’s weight gain while unusual was natural. He didn’t bulk up by lifting weights or using steroids. His body had a natural reaction to his tonsillectomy. Yes, Ellis would have slowed down a bit from his time as a middleweight, but he was still much faster and sharper than the vast majority of heavyweights. He had also honed his boxing skills against men like Benton and Mims.
The fact is, most heavyweights were not very good boxers. The best were the ones who started out in smaller weight divisions and never got really large. Ellis is a fine example of this. The most successful heavyweights were those who could fight with the skills of middleweights. Speed and accuracy are always important in a fighter. In a heavyweight those skills made an enormous difference. Dempsey, Tunney, Louis, and the young Ali dominated because they fought like middleweights. While Jimmy Ellis would not be considered an all-time great, he was still hugely successful. Had he stayed fighting as a middleweight he never would have gone to the top, but as a heavyweight he was a force to reckon with.
Jerry Quarry Vs Jimmy Ellis
After his loss to Frazier, Ellis started working his way back to a title shot. He defeated Roberto Davila, Tony Doyle, and George Chuvalo before facing his old friend Muhammad Ali in 1971. Jimmy was stopped in the twelfth and final round of that fight.
Jimmy once again worked his way back into contention winning eight straight fights over the next two years. Most of these fights were against opponents and journeymen.
In 1973 he stepped in with Earnie Shavers at Madison Square Garden. A win would put him back into title contention. At the opening bell Ellis came out and took the fight to Shavers. Earnie was hurt, and it appeared he might be on the way to being kayoed when he caught Jimmy with a powerful right uppercut that put Ellis on the canvas for the ten count.
Jimmy Ellis would have another seven fights before calling it quits. Out of the seven, he had only one win. He retired in 1975 after losing the sight in one of his eyes.
Historically, Ellis is underrated. He was an outstanding boxer/puncher who went far. His career is all the more remarkable when considering that he was fading as a middleweight, yet he was able to resurrect his career and become a heavyweight champion.
In his peak years in the heavyweight division his only losses were to Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali. As a middleweight Jimmy had 15 wins and five defeats. As a heavyweight, he went 24 and 7 with one draw. Most of his heavyweight losses were at the end of his career.
On May 6, 2014, suffering from dementia brought on by his years in the ring, Jimmy Ellis died at the age of 74.
Roy Harris, who in 1958 fought for the Heavyweight Title, passed away on August 8th. He was 90 years old. He died peacefully at his home in Cut and Shoot, Texas surrounded by his children and large family. Mr. Harris was born in Cut and Shoot on June 29, 1933, and he lived his entire life there.
When Roy was eight years old, his bother Tobe traded a couple of wild ducks for a pair of boxing gloves. Their father gave the boys boxing lessons. This was the start of the long road that led to Roy getting a shot at the Heavyweight Championship of the World.
Roy and his brothers would spend their free time sparring in a makeshift ring. Eventually, Harris would move on to an amateur boxing career where he won four consecutive Texas State Golden Glove Championships. He then turned pro in order to earn money for college tuition.
Young Roy Getting Pointers From His Father
In the professional ring, Harris reeled off 23 consecutive wins. With victories over Charley Norkus,Bob Baker, Willie Pastrano, and Willi Besmanoff, Roy was deemed worthy of a shot at champion Floyd Patterson. The fight took place on August 18, 1958 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, California.
The gate of 21,680 fans set an attendance record at the time for the state of California. In addition to the live gate, another 200,000 people watched the fight on closed circuit television. The fight also put the town of Cut and Shoot in the spotlight as reporters descended on the challenger’s hometown.
The fight didn’t disappoint when it came to action. Though the people in Roy’s hometown were disappointed he wasn’t able to bring the title belt home, they were and remain proud of the battle he put up.
Floyd Patterson And Roy Harris At Weigh In
In the second round Harris landed a solid uppercut on the Champion’s chin that dropped Patterson. When Floyd got up he was hit with a left hook that he later admitted “dizzied” him.
As the fight entered the seventh round, Patterson began to hit his stride and dropped Harris. In the eight round he floored the challenger two more times, and in the twelfth round floored the very game Harris one more time.
Roy was willing to come out for the next round, but his trainer Bill Gore stopped the fight before the bell rang. It was the right thing to do. The man from Cut and Shoot had given it his all but Patterson was just too much for him.
Harris would continue fighting hoping to earn another shot at the crown. He added some impressive wins to his record including victories over Charlie Powell, Joe Bygraves, and Alejandro Lavorante. While not getting another title bout, he was matched with the number one contender. Unfortunately, that meant stepping in the ring with Sonny Liston. Liston was at his deadly prime at this point. Patterson was avoiding him and the future champ was mowing down the top contenders.
Roy Teaching Fourth Graders
Outweighed by eighteen pounds, Harris took the fight to Sonny. He just did not have the fire power to hang in there with the ferocious Liston, and was dropped three times in the first round. The fight was stopped because of the three knockdown rule which automatically meant the bout was over.
Roy had three more fights before retiring in 1961. His professional record is 30 wins and 5 losses. Most importantly, he quit boxing with his faculties fully intact.
While his boxing career may have been over, he was just beginning his life’s work which included becoming a school teacher and then a lawyer. While in college Harris also was in the ROTC and earned the rank of Captain in the Army.
On top of his teaching, military, and law careers, Roy was also elected Montgomery County Clerk, a position he served in for twenty-eight years. He was always there for his friends and family. Anyone in need knew they could count on Cut and Shoot Roy.
Roy Gets A Good Luck Kiss From Wife Gloria
On September 24, 1955 Roy married the love of his life, Gloria Jean Groce. Together they raised six children. He never completely recovered from the loss of Gloria Jean who passed away in 2008. He loved her deeply. His family has always remained close and have lived by the values Roy instilled in them.
He remained active in the community for the rest of his life. Helping neighbors, supporting family members, and even taking time to give boxing lessons at the local gym.
Also known as “The Battler From The Backwoods”, Roy Harris was the epitome of what a real man is. He was a soft spoken Southern Gentleman, handsome and physically imposing. While all business in the ring, he was a kind and gentle man when not wearing the gloves. He devoted his life to helping others, never left where he came from both physically and in the values he lived by.
Roy Enjoying A Full Life
Boxing fans mostly know Roy Harris by his losses to Patterson and Liston. He should also be remembered for his many victories in the ring, but mostly for the exemplary life he lived. His family and the people of Cut and Shoot, Texas will never forget his grace and goodness. He may not have won the Heavyweight Title, but the Championship he possessed was much bigger than that. Roy Harris was a true Champion and the best of role models in the way he lived his life. The world would be a better place if there were more people like him in it.
On December 20, 1963 Emile Griffith and Ruben Hurricane Carter stepped into the ring to face each other at the Civic Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Griffith was the reigning welterweight champion who wascampaigning as a middleweight seeking a title shot. Carter was ranked number two in the middleweight division. A win by either man would be a big step towards getting a shot at champion Joey Giardello.
At the time of the fight Griffith had won seven out of nine against middleweights including wins over Denny Moyer, Yama Bahama, Don Fullmer, and Holly Mims.
Carter had twenty-one fights at this point in his career with four losses and seventeen wins. He had scored 11 kayos including a one round devastation of Florentino Fernandez. In his last fight before facing Griffith he lost a very close split decision to Joey Archer.
The fight in Pittsburgh didn’t last long and the ending was quite a surprise. After Griffith had been dropped to the canvas twice in the first round referee Buck McTiernan stopped the contest and raised Carter’s hand. The stoppage was a good call as Emile was clearly unsteady and could have been seriously hurt had the fight continued.
I have watched the Griffith/Carter fight over and over again as it was a shock to see Emile Griffith taken out so fast. It has to be remembered that on top of having not been stopped previous to this match, he also went to the end of his career with only one other kayo loss. That happened in 1971 against middleweight champion Carlos Monzon. Griffith had not been off his feet in that fight, but rather was stopped when he was caught in a corner and unable to respond to Monzon’s barrage of punches. In a career consisting of 112 fights, Monzon and Carter were the only two men to defeat Griffith via a stoppage.
Rubin Hurricane Carter
I have always believed the kayo by Carter was a fluke and that if the two had met a dozen times it would never happen again. So, how did Carter do it. Well, his devastating left hook was, of course, the major factor. Rubin could hit and hit hard. He was a good boxer, but did have flaws. Those flaws, such as throwing his punches a bit too wide should have enabled Emile to avoid getting tagged so seriously. Emile was a master boxer/puncher. Of course, no matter how good a fighter is, if he gets caught with a punch from the likes of a Hurricane Carter it can be lights out.
Recently, I was talking with Mike Silver boxing historian and author of The Arc Of Boxing about this fight. Mike pointed out something very interestingthat might explain how Carter was able to land the left hook that put Griffith down for his first trip to the canvas, a punch he never recovered from. I rewatched the bout after my conversation with Mike and I believe he is onto something.
Here’s what happened in the fight. Griffith weighed 151 1/2 pounds while Carter came in at 157. Griffith was above his welterweight fighting weight while Carter was around his usual poundage.
Before the fight started the referee called the two men to the center of the ring for a final few words on the rules. Among his instructions were “I insist on a clean break”. When you watch the fight remember those words.
At the bell, the men came out of their corners and the action was lively. They traded quite a bit of leather over the first minute with each giving as good as he got. In the first clinch of the fight referee McTiernan called for the men to break, and they both stepped back, obeying his instruction, before resuming boxing.
A short while later the two again were exchanging punches with Carter landing a good left hook to the midsection of Griffith. a couple of seconds later they fell into another clinch. This is where Mike Silver’s shrewd observation comes into play. As with the first clinch, the referee calls for the men to break. Griffith steps back, but Carter, instead of stepping back, immediately jumps in with the left hook that floors Griffith. It is a powerful shot landing on Emile’s chin.
Griffith hit the canvas and got onto his knees while taking a nine count. When he arose he was wobbly and was dropped again. It was at this point the referee stopped the bout. It was all over at 2:13 of the first round.
Griffith On The Ropes Against Carter
Mike Silver makes the point that the blow landed by Carter was thrown and landed on the break when, by the rules, he should have stepped back before starting to fight again. I have watched this over and over and agree with Mike. It was basically a sucker punch and illegal. Did Carter do it on purpose? I think he did. Should he have been disqualified for it. Well, that’s a tough question to answer as it happened so quickly the fans would have certainly been in an uproar as most wouldn’t have seen what took place. Also, the old adage that a fighter must protect himself at all times would have been cited. But that adage doesn’t apply to illegal blows that occur when the referee’s instructions are not obeyed.
Remember, just a few months earlier Carter had lost a close decision to the very slick boxing Joey Archer. In that fight he was not able to land a knock blow on the elusive Archer. Ruben might have gotten it into his head that he had to pounce at any opportunity to get in a power shot on a smooth boxer such as Griffith, and not leave it up to the judges as happened with Archer. He saw his chance when the fighters broke from their first clinch. The referee did not step between them as some do, but rather trusted them to break cleanly on their own. The second clinch is where Carter took advantage of this chance to play by his own rules.
The two never fought again, but I am sure if they did Emile would have been very careful coming out of the clinches. The fight was a major win for Carter and led to him getting a shot at the crown a year later. In his title challenge he lost a fifteen round unanimous decision to Joey Giardello. Ruben put up a great fight and bruised the champion but could not land the power shot to end the fight.
Take a look at the Griffith vs Carter on Youtube. You have to watch closely, but if you do I believe you will see what I’m talking about. After the clinch before the knockdown you will see Carter pounce right on Emile without having stepped back as he was supposed to do. He did not break cleanly and that is how he scored the knockout. He never stepped back, and that is how he landed the punch that won him the fight.
Cassius Tickles The Ivories While Sonny Dreams Of Victory
Clay Hits the Canvas for the First Time, Banks’ Life Ends In Tragedy
By Bobby Franklin
Cassius Clay was making quite the name for himself by the time 1962 had rolled around. He had a stellar amateur career behind him culminating in an Olympic Gold medal, and was undefeated in ten professional fights when he signed to fight Sonny Banks in Madison Square Garden on February 10 of the year.
Clay had already defeated some very respectable heavyweights, and this, coupled along with his self-promotion had drawn a lot of attention to the young man from Louisville, Kentucky. He had wins over the likes of Willi Besmanoff, Alex Miteff, LaMar Clark, and Alonzo Johnson. All were decent opponents.
Sonny Banks had a different career arc. He had not had any amateur bouts, and in his 12 fights leading up to his match with Cassius, he had won 12 and lost 2. He had been kayoed by Joe Shelton and lost a decision to Chuck Garett. He avenged the loss to Shelton with a knockout victory. His level of opposition was nowhere near the level of Clay’s, but he was known for having a solid punch. They had one common opponent, Tunney Hunsaker, whom Clay had beaten by decision in his first pro fight. Banks stopped him in two rounds. Hunsaker was the best Sonny had fought.
On fight night Clay was a five to one favorite. The bout didn’t attract a very big crowd but was on national television. It was a replacement fight for a match between Eddie Machen and Cleveland Williams, which had been postponed.
Clay was not expected to have any problem defeating Banks. He had much more experience, was faster, and was riding high at this early stage of his career. Banks was still getting his footing in the game. However, this was boxing and anything can happen in a fight. Cassius Clay was briefly tested in the early moments of the fight, and how he reacted gave some great insight into what he was made of.
Banks Drops Clay
In the first round of the fight, Clay came out dancing and self-assured. He was taking control early and moving on his feet a lot. Banks was following after him. At one point Cassius backed Sonny into a corner and appeared to have him trapped when suddenly, Banks unleashed a vicious left hook that caught Clay flush on the jaw. The former Olympian went down hard. I have seen this referred to as a flash knockdown, and Clay did get up fast, but make no mistake about it; he was tagged hard and appeared to have lost consciousness right after being hit.
As hard as he was hit, Clay regained his feet very fast. He was sent to a neutral corner by referee Ruby Goldstein while receiving an eight count. Another sign he was hurt was the fact that he put both hands on the ropes while in the neutral corner. Goldstein pulled his arms off the strands and sent him back into action.
Cassius recovered very quickly and was almost immediately on the attack. It was the first time he had been decked as a professional and he was not happy it happened.
Clay now stopped moving as much on his feet and focused on laser focused shots to the head. His hand speed was phenomenal, and he had precision accuracy. Banks began taking a frightful beating. This was quite a first round.
Clay Opens Up On Banks
In round two, Clay came out ready to end it. He battered Banks around the ring and dropped him near the end of the round. In the third round, the attack continued, and while Clay was not able to drop Banks again, he gave him a terrible going over. It was getting so bad that the referee called the doctor in to examine Sonny between rounds. The doctor told Ruby to keep a careful eye on the fighter and not hesitate to stop the fight.
As the fourth round opened, Clay continued his relentless assault. Referee Goldstein mercifully stopped the carnage after just 26 seconds. Other than the knockdown scored by Banks, this fight was as one sided as they come. However, it did tell us quite a bit about the potential of a young Cassius Clay. It also was the beginning of another tragedy in boxing. This one involving Banks.
Clay showed he could take a really hard punch, could be on the verge of being knocked out, and come roaring back. The fact that he rose from such a serious punch so quickly showed he was made of championship material. Cassius also displayed a killer instinct.
Once he perceived Banks to be a threat, he went to work, taking him apart mercilessly. He didn’t waste any motion, a fault he had throughout his career, and made every move count. He could be a brutal puncher when he put his mind to it. He had power, but more importantly, he had accuracy.
Banks Hits The Canvass
Poor Sonny Banks would end up one of boxing’s victims after the fight. He should never have been in with Clay to begin with. Even though they had similar professional records, Sonny had nowhere near the experience. He had no amateur career behind him and had not been in with the same caliber of opposition. I believe he was called in late to the fight as the promoters were looking to fill in the spot left open when the Machen/Williams bout fell through. Because of this, Banks gained notoriety by ending up on television and also because he had decked Clay. It was the worse thing that could have happened to him.
He was definitely seriously hurt by Clay, and worse, he was now a salable commodity. He would now be elevated to a level that was beyond where he would have been had he not fought Clay and had been brought along at a normal pace for a young prospect. In his very next fight he was matched with Young Jack Johnson. Johnson was a top ten heavyweight and vastly more experience than Banks, having stopped Zora Folley and beaten Willi Besmanoff, Ezzard Charles, and Marty Marshall. He had fought 41 times when he faced Banks. Johnson kayoed Sonny in the fifth round.
Referee Stops The Fight
After the Johnson loss, Banks went back to facing opposition more on his level and put together a number of wins over the next year and a half. He had not shown much improvement but still was a known name. In 1964 he was put in with Cleveland Williams. Williams had over 60 wins at the time with most coming via knockout. He gave Sonny a terrible beating stopping him in the 6th round.
This should have been it for Sonny Banks, but it wasn’t. Eleven months later he was put in with top prospect Leotis Martin. At this point Sonny had already taken at least three serious beatings. Boxing was not a profession he should have been pursuing, but he had a name because of the Clay fight.
It is said Sonny Banks died from injuries incurred in the Martin fight, but the circumstances leading up to his death began three years earlier in Madison Square Garden when he had his moment of glory against Cassius Clay.
Unfortunately, that notoriety cost him his life. In the Martin fight, Sonny was knocked out in the ninth round and died three days later. It is said Sonny Banks died from injuries incurred in the Martin fight, but the circumstances leading up to his death began three years earlier in Madison Square Garden when he had his moment of glory against Cassius Clay. His fame made him marketable for promoters, but he never made anything himself and was killed at the age of 24. A story not unusual in the fight game.
In celebration of the return to live theatre, owner and producer Bill Hanney is proud to present an encore of Theatre By The Sea’s massive hit production of the international sensation, Mamma Mia! which will be presented from August 18 – September 5, 2021.
“We have been overwhelmed with the support from audiences who had been anxiously awaiting the reopening of the theatre after nearly two years!” said Bill Hanney. “The July Concert Series was very well received, and we expect Mamma Mia! to be just as popular, if not more, than it was when we originally produced the Rhode Island Regional Premiere back in 2018.”
Prepare to have the time of your life…again! Sophie, a 20-year-old bride-to-be, is on the search for her father. After reading her mother’s diary, she discovers there are three potential candidates. Unbeknownst to her mother, Donna, Sophie invites each of them to her wedding, in hopes of having one of them walk her down the aisle. As the big day draws near, surprises abound with old flames and old friends. Mamma Mia! is packed with 22 ABBA hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “Super Trouper,” “Take A Chance on Me,” and “The Winner Takes It All.” This worldwide mega hit will have audiences shouting “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” more!
Directed and choreographed by Theatre By The Sea’s Producing Artistic Director, Kevin P. Hill, who directed previous TBTS productions of Mamma Mia! (2018), Smokey Joe’s Café, Sister Act, Young Frankenstein, Mary Poppins, Grease, and Hello, Dolly! (2010); with musical direction by Bob Bray, who returns to TBTS after music directing Mamma Mia! (2018) and Hello, Dolly! (2010); the cast includes Lexie Dorsett Sharp, whose touring credits include School of Rock, Young Frankenstein, The Addams Family and Elf, as Donna Sheridan; Tiffani Barbour,who appeared in Mamma Mia! (2018) at North Shore Music Theatre, as well as on the National Tour,as Rosie; and Merrill Peiffer, who has played every Dynamo in Mamma Mia! and appeared in the 2018 TBTS production, as Tanya. In the roles of Sam Carmichael and Bill Austin are David Elder and Al Bundonis, who will be reprising their roles from the 2018 production. Mr. Elder’s Broadway credits include Curtains, 42nd Street Revival, Kiss Me Kate, Titanic, the Musical, Once Upon a Mattress, Damn Yankees, Beauty and the Beast, and Guys and Dolls, and Mr. Bundonis is well-known to TBTS audience as King Arthur in Spamalot (2014), Horace Vandergelder in Hello, Dolly! (2010), and Lawrence in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2009). In the role of Harry Bright is Jesse Sharp,whose tour credits include The Addams Family, Elf, and Grease. Sara Bartoszek and Markcus Blairwill both be making their Theatre By The Sea debuts in the roles of Sophie and Sky. The ensemble includes Jamie Askey, Morgan Blanchard, Tyler Dema, Yoni Haller, Masumi Iwai, Breia Kelley, Derek Luscutoff, Sami Murphy, Brett Pederson, Kennedy Perez, Gracie Phillips, and Jake Urban.
PLEASE NOTE: In light of the most recent CDC recommendations and for the safety of audiences, actors, and staff, masks will be required for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, while in the theatre. Everyone is encouraged to wear their most creative mask, as prizes will be given at each performance! Theatre By The Sea thanks theatregoers for doing their part to keep everyone safe while celebrating the return of in-person performances.
Mamma Mia!will be presented from August 18–September 5, with performances scheduled for Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00 pm, Thursdays at 2:00 pm, Saturdays at 3:00 and Sundays at 5:00 pm, with special performance times on Sunday, August 22 at 2:00 & 7:00 pm and a special added matinee performance on Wednesday, August 25 at 2:00 pm. The theatre is located at 364 Cards Pond Road, Wakefield. Tickets are $58 – $81 (additional fees may apply). Discount rates are available for groups of 10 or more by calling (401) 782-3800 x112.Tickets are on sale at the box office Monday through Saturday from 11:00 am–5:00 pm, and performance days until curtain, online 24-hours-a-day at theatrebythesea.com and via telephone during normal box office hours by calling (401) 782-TKTS (8587).
