Chicago and the world lost a true World Class Champion yesterday ...A man who stood tall (6' 6 1/2" with a 82" reach) l in many ways. Ernie "The Clutch" Terrell who was a Heavyweight World Champion who will mostly be remember for work in the ring with Muhammad Eil at the Astrodome on February 6th, 1967. I never asked him but Im sure Ernie would probably admit that it was not a good idea to get Ali pissed off before and during the match. What Ernie did before and during the match was to keep calling Muhammad Eli his birth name of Cassius Clay.
Ali answer to being called Cassius Clay was to keep yelling "Whats my name" as Ernie some how stood on has feet for 15 punishing rounds.
Terrell Quotes after the match ..
[on what he learned after the Muhammad Ali fight] When the fight was almost reaching the end, I was out on my feet, I was blind from the two eyes, I was bleeding from my nose, mouth and ears, Ali kept shouting, "What's my name?" and, hoping that he would just finish me and end my suffering, I answered to him, almost begging. "It's Muhammad Ali, it's Ali, please, enough!". The most poignant thing during the beating wasn't the punches or Ali screaming to me, but the fact that I knew that my wife and family were watching at that ringside, the humiliation hurt more.
[talking about the damage Muhammad Ali inflicted on him during their match] I had a great chance to win that fight. I was bigger than Ali at that point. But during the second round of the fight, we got caught in a headlock and he took his thumb and poked it in my eye. And my eye slits like it's an egg, that's what the doctors explained to me.
Ernie's record before his match with was 39 Wins with 4 loss's , few years after his Ali match he finished his Boxing career with 46 Wins ( 21 KO's) and nine loss's.
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Ernie Terrell with "Chi-Towns Boxing Best" Dec-2006
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Ernie you made your mark in this crazy world will be remember by many as one of the great World Champions.....Rest peacefully ...
Tomba