Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Banks

Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Banks

Ali knocked down by Banks
Date	February 10, 1962
Venue	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York
Tale of the tape
Boxer Cassius Clay Sonny Banks Nickname "The Louisville Lip" Hometown Louisville, Kentucky Birmingham, Mississippi Pre-fight record 10–0 (7 KO) 10–2 (9 KO) Age 20 years 21 years, 7 months Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) Weight 194 lb (88 kg) 191 lb (87 kg) Style Orthodox Orthodox Recognition The Ring No. 9 Ranked Heavyweight 1960 Olympic light heavyweight Gold Medallist
Result
Clay won by TKO in 4rd round (0:26)

Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Banks was a professional boxing match contested on February 10, 1962. ^{[1] [2]}

Background

Clay, who was a 5 to 1 favourite going into the bout, predicted a fourth round stoppage. ^[3]

The fight

Clay won the fight through a technical knockout when the referee stopped the fight in the fourth round.

The event is remembered for being the first professional boxing match in which Ali was officially knocked down in the ring by his boxing opponent. ^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [note 1]}

Aftermath

Speaking after the bout Clay said "As you know, I think that I'm the greatest and I'm not supposed to be on the floor, so I had to get up and put him on out, in four as I predicted." ^{[9] [10] [11] [12]}

Undercard

Confirmed bouts: ^[13]

Broadcasting

Country	Broadcaster
United Kingdom	BBC

Notes

1. Although it has gone down as a knockdown in the records, some commentators opine that Ali had slipped on water splashed in a corner during this fight. ^[8]

References

1. "Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Banks". boxrec.com. BoxRec. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
2. "Muhammad Ali's ring record". ESPN. 19 November 2003. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
3. "Clay Arrives In Town, Speaks Of Many Things". Sumter Daily Item. 5 February 1962. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
4. "Mississippi's Sonny Banks was the first pro boxer to knock down Muhammad Ali". Sun Herald. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
5. "Clay Predicts Early Knockout". Toledo Blade. 10 February 1962. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
6. "Cocky Clay finds Banks Tough Foe". The Spokesman Review. 12 February 1962. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
7. Ferdie Pacheco (2003). A View from the Corner. Birch Lane Press. pp. 61–4.
8. Stephen Brunt (2002). Facing Ali. The Lyons Press. p. 223.
9. Thomas Hauser (1991). Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times . Simon & Schuster. pp.  43–6.
10. David Remnick (1998). King of the World . Random House. pp.  121.
11. Felix Dennis; Don Atyeo (2003). Muhammad Ali: The Glory Years. miramax books. p. 62.
12. "The Muhammad Ali I knew: A tribute by the late Bill Gallo". Daily News. 5 June 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
13. "BoxRec - event".

Preceded by vs. Willi Besmanoff	Cassius Clay's bouts 10 February 1962	Succeeded by vs. Don Warner
Preceded by vs. Clay Thomas	Sonny Banks's bouts 10 February 1962	Succeeded by vs. Young Jack Johnson