Cassius Clay Vs Doug Jones 13.3.1963 w/ mid fight analysis featuring Burt Sugar & George Chuvalo

In honor of the memory of the recently departed Muhammad Ali I will be uploading 3 of his lesser known or forgotten fights. Watch a young Cassius Clay in his first real challenge against Doug Jones. It was this fight which hinted at Clay's yet to be seen recuperative abilities. More info below...

Doug Jones at this point in his career was the number 5 ranked heavyweight in the world. He turned pro in 1958 and was undefeated in his first 19 fights which included victories over 1956 Olympics gold medal winner Pete Rademacher and former World Middleweight Champion, Bobo Olsen. In 1961 he suffered his first defeat losing a 10 round decision to Eddie Machen. In 1962 Jones fought Harold Johnson for the vacant World Light Heavyweight title but lost a 15 round decision. Jones then lost to Zora Folley in a close fight over 10 rounds and was unlucky in receiving a draw against undefeated German Heavyweight and European Light Heavyweight Champion, Erich Schoppner. Although Jones had lost 3 fights in a row he had lost them to world rank opponents so his reputation was still strong. Jones would bounce back with 2 KO wins in quick succession over Bob Foster and Zora Folley in a rematch. He entered the fight with Clay holding a 21-3-1 record. He was seen as the first real threat Clay would face in his illustrious career. Jones had a long reach but he preferred to fight in close and was known as a good counter puncher.

Clay was 17-0 at this point in his career and had won his previous 9 fights by KO. Although Clay owned victories over some experienced boxers like Willi Besmanoff and Archie Moore, both of those guys were seen to be past their prime and Doug Jones was going to be his first real threat against an opponent who was still in serious contention for the World Heavyweight title.

The fight was exciting to watch and it was the first time Clay had to dig deep to pull off a win. Early in the first round Clay got tagged by a right hook which sent him tumbling into the ropes however Clay would recover quickly enough. Clay struggled to find a way to deal with the pressure Jones was applying early on however in round 3 Clay was able to get through with some snapping lefts. Rounds 4 through 8 were even but in rounds 9 and 10 Clay opened up and was landing a barrage of punches to edge the final 2 rounds. After 10 rounds of action Clay was declared the victor and the Ring magazine named it the fight of the year for 1963.

Jones remained active after the loss and in 1966 he finally earned himself a World Heavyweight title shot against WBA Champion Ernie Terrell, but lost a 15 round decision. Following KO losses to Joe Frazier and Boone Kirkman in 1967, Jones retired with a 30-10-1 record.

Clay's win against Jones was not a good performance. He may have dug deep to win however the fight should never have been that close, Clay was capable of far better performances. His next fight against Henry Cooper did him no favors either as he boxed flat footed and was even knocked down for the first time on camera, although he would eventually win by 5th round TKO. When Clay entered the ring against Sonny Liston for the World Heavyweight title in 1964 however, he made sure not to make any of the same mistakes he did against Jones and Cooper, and ended up putting on a boxing clinic to make the champion retire on his stool after 6 embarrassing rounds. The rest as the say, is history... Ali will forever be remembered as one of the greatest of all time. Critics may debate who was the most skilled boxer of them all, but Ali was without a doubt the most popular. May his legacy and memory live on for others to enjoy.

Видео Cassius Clay Vs Doug Jones 13.3.1963 w/ mid fight analysis featuring Burt Sugar & George Chuvalo канала Classic Boxing Matches