Sonny Liston - Ernie Terrell Exhibition

Liston is the most underrated Heavyweight by far. He had the tools to be the GOAT. Prime Liston eats Clay alive.

 

Ali sure ate Terrell alive.

"What's my name?" BANG!

"What's my name?" BANG!

"What's my name?" BANG! BANG! BANG!

 

I wouldnt ever bet agsinst a prime and motivated Night Train. Bad idea. And if someone chimes in that he was too slow thats nonsense. Floyd Patterson was an ultra fast heavy and Sonny kicked his ass twice.

 

Sonny is taking a lot of shots there. I do not see him or any slugger prime vs. prime vs. Ali.

 

I would not class Sonny a slugger, he was a box-puncher, but I agree he is outboxed here. Maybe he was not fully fit? It's just sparring and Sonny seems to be generous with Ernie not following up when he clips him. He looks heavy handed and is one of those fighters who can only connect with a fully weighted shot. He can't find an opening without using full leverage even in sparring but sonny is behaving like a gentleman here.

Ernie looks a good boxer here. He has the room to work and size to compete with that reach. Would have been a good real fight. Didn't Sonny referee Ernie once too?

 

As part of his pro development young Clay sparred a few rounds with Ingo Johansen on the way to Ingo's title winning fight with patterson (as i recall ) and young clay was reported to have made a ****** out of him....

i think it was in the run up to the Ali - Terrell fight that the Ring Magazine featured - with Photo's an earlier sparring session between Clay and Terrell, circa 62 i think, and it was reported that Terrell pretty much Dominated with the Jab,

 

This was an interesting clip. Does anyone know when it happened?

 

I read an article that said Terrell traveled with Sonny Liston and sparred over 1000 rounds with him.

Bill Carlin quote:

"Try and dig up some dirt on Ernie. You can't. Ernie's never been a drinker or smoker. He's religious. He's a vegetarian. You can't come up with anything bad on Ernie".

"Ernie is part of the forgotten era of heavyweights. He traveled with Sonny Liston and sparred over 1000 rounds with him."

"Ernie once told me: "Liston paid me my biggest compliment. Sonny was talking about me and didn't know I was listening. He asked his trainer, "Am I sparring Terrell today? Man I gotta duck down to his kness not to get hit."


:deal Not sure when the clip in question happened though.

 

Never saw this. Terrell wasn't bad and...he had the tools to win fights. Big guy, good jab, a numbing right when he landed it but, IMO, he fought only to win, not to give paying customers a good fight. What an 'octopus', as Ali called him. If you weren't lucky enough to land a clean bomb on him, he'd tie you up ALL nite!
Didn't Williams TKO him in the late 50's early 60's? Not sure about that. Yet another scrap that's not available.
Despite his crap style Mom and Dad Terrell have to be proud of their offspring. Son a WBA 'champ' and daughter a member of the Supremes!

 

Great footage both men have moments.

 

Williams stopped Terrell in 7 in early '62, and the referee none other than Sonny Liston.

Terrell avenged the Williams loss a year later.

 

I met Earnie in our gym in Minneapolis in '73 and he talked about being thumbed by Ali in the first round and showed me how he did it. I had no reason to doubt him, on film theres an early clinch where he says it happened and if so it would seem Ali intended to do this and early. Earnie told me the fight was over at that point and that everthing was a visual blur the entire 15 rounds, all he could do was keep his gloves in front of his face. There were a number of scribes before the bout who thought Terrell's jab and right hand were both better then Ali's but he almost used neither and this was his reason why.

 

George Chuvalo gives the impression in his book and in interviews that Terrell was solidly mobbed up.

 

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=/&gl=GB#/watch?v=A2UGEiwYFhI