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KF5JRV > TODAY 25.02.25 11:33l 62 Lines 2926 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Feb 25
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On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocks the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston
in a seventh-round technical knockout. Former champ Joe Louis called it "the biggest upset in the history of boxing."
The dreaded Liston, who had twice demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8-to-1 favorite. However, Clay p
redicted victory, boasting that he would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and knock out Liston in the eighth roun
d.
The fleet-footed and loquacious youngster who would later become known as Muhammed Ali needed less time to make good on his cla
imListon, complaining of an injured shoulder, failed to answer the seventh-round bell. A few moments later, a new heavyweigh
t champion was proclaimed.
Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. was born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1942. He started boxing when he was 12 and by age 18 had amasse
d a record of over 100 wins in amateur competition. In 1959, he won the International Golden Gloves heavyweight title and in 19
60 a gold medal in the light heavyweight category at the Summer Olympic Games in Rome. Clay turned professional after the Olymp
ics and went undefeated in his first 19 bouts, earning him the right to challenge Sonny Liston, who had defeated Floyd Patterso
n in 1962 to win the heavyweight title.
On February 25, 1964, a crowd of 8,300 spectators gathered at the Convention Hall arena in Miami Beach to see if Cassius Clay,
who was nicknamed the “Louisville Lip,” could put his money where his mouth was. The underdog proved no bragging fraud, and
he danced and backpedaled away from Listons powerful swings while delivering quick and punishing jabs to Listons head. L
iston hurt his shoulder in the first round, injuring some muscles as he swung for and missed his elusive target. By the time he
decided to discontinue the bout between the sixth and seventh rounds, he and Clay were about equal in points. A few conjecture
d that Liston faked the injury and threw the fight, but there was no real evidence, such as a significant change in bidding odd
s just before the bout, to support this claim.
To celebrate winning the world heavyweight title, Clay went to a private party at a Miami hotel that was attended by his friend
Malcolm X, an outspoken leader of the African American Muslim group known as the Nation of Islam. Two days later, a markedly m
ore restrained Clay announced he was joining the Nation of Islam and defended the organizations concept of racial segregatio
n while speaking of the importance of the Muslim religion in his life. Later that year, Clay, who was the descendant of a forme
rly enslaved person, rejected the name originally given to his family by the owner of enslaved peoples and took the Muslim name
of Muhammad Ali.
73 de Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email KF5JRV@gmail.com
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