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The Myth Of “What’s My Name:” RIP, ERNIE TERRELL
On February 7, 1967, WBA heavyweight title holder Ernie Terrell (39-4) fought world champion Muhammad Ali (27-0) at the Hoston Astrodome, known as the “Eighth Wonder of the World” back then.
Terrell, like former WBA champ Jimmy Ellis, is the other contender from the 1960s who became a title holder during the era due to Ali being stripped of the WBA belt twice, between 1964 and 1967.
The main reason Terrell became relevant was because after Ali beat reigning champ Sonny Liston for the undisputed title in early 1964, the WBA stripped Ali of their belt because he signed to give Liston an immediate rematch in violation of the WBA’s rule against return title bouts. So in March of 1965, two months before Ali would meet Liston in a rematch, Terrell won a 15 round unanimous decision over top contender Eddie Machen in Chicago to win the vacant WBA title. Terrell successfully defended the title twice, against George Chuvalo and Doug Jones, and by early 1967 Ali and Terrell together pretty much cleaned out the division and were the last two standing.
Ernie Terrell was a pretty unique guy. He played the guitar and led a singing group called “The Heavyweights,” which also featured his sister Jean.
In 1970, Jean became the lead voice of The Supremes after the departure of Diana Ross.
Terrell also knew Ali as Cassius Clay from their amateur boxing days and for a short time Ernie was trained by Angelo Dundee, who was Ali’s head trainer. In fact Dundee often joked that the reason why Terrell didn’t have much of a right hand was because he wore it out playing the guitar.
Not much stood out about Terrell as a fighter other than his height, 6’6” and 82 inch reach. He had a long left jab that he used offensively and defensively and that was usually enough to get him by most of the other ranked contenders of the era. Ernie wasn’t much of a puncher but he had enough pop to keep his opponents from taking their liberties with him, even Ali. He also took a really good shot and was a tough minded and confident fighter, something that aided him for the 15-rounds he spent in the ring with Ali.
With Terrell’s passing at age 75 last week, much has been written about his title bout against Ali 47 years ago. The fight is most noted for Ali yelling at Terrell “what’s my name?” during the eighth round of the bout. At the time the name Muhammad Ali wasn’t as accepted then as it became a few years later. In fact many writers and periodicals referred to Ali as Cassius Clay instead of his adopted Muslim name Muhammad Ali until the late 1960s.
Terrell knew Ali as Cassius Clay and referred to him as such in the lead up to their fight. He even went as far as to write a song using the name “Cassius Clay” and then sang it on the Hollywood Squares show that aired on February 4th 1967, three days before the fight. In one line of the song Terrell sings “ain’t it a shame you changed your name – I’ll change your features too.” Before that Ali and Terrell got into a scuffle at ABC studios in New York during an interview with Howard Cosell. When Terrell kept referring to Ali as Cassius Clay, Muhammad called Ernie an “Uncle Tom” and the physical altercation ensued. Ali promised that Terrell would call him by his Muslim name during the fight.
On November 23, 2009 Terrell gave an interview to Michael Falgoust of USA Today and spoke about the title fight with Muhammad Ali.
What do you remember from that experience?
What he did was grab me around the neck and started poking his thumb in my eye until he broke a vein in my eye. One eye was following him around and the eye he broke the vein in was standing in one spot. It just messed the fight up. I’m not making no excuse. I’m just telling you what happened. If that doesn’t happen, I just go ahead in and beat him. If that don’t happen, I think I just go in and beat him. It changed my style.
You both had animosity toward each other before the fight, and a scuffle on national TV during a faceoff in front of Howard Cosell.
I had no animosity. I understood it’s a fight. What he say, all that don’t count. That was his way of promoting a fight.
Would you still call him Clay, or Muhammad Ali?
If I was going to fight him, then I would call him Clay. If he don’t like it, so? I did it on purpose. We were fighting. What was I supposed to do, give him Christmas gifts?
As most boxing fans know, and if you don’t..the Ali-Terrell bout wasn’t much of a contest. Ali probably won no less than 13 of the 15 rounds they fought and there’s a good case he won every round except the second. Ali did whatever he wanted against Ernie and whenever he wanted to do it. Ali looked incredible during patches of the bout, Terrell clearly had no answer for Ali’s speed (you can actually see it register on his face), and by the fourth round both guys reverted to pretty much what you’d expect of each of them.
The thought of many today, especially those who never saw the fight, is that Ali carried Terrell and that’s why it went the distance thus Ali earning an overwhelming unanimous decision. Sure, Ali clearly handled and got the better of Ernie. As fighters they were on different levels. Ali circled and hit Terrell at will with blistering combinations and even went to his body more than normal. In the seventh round he really opened up and had Terrell visibly shook, but he couldn’t finish him. In the eighth round Ali started yelling “what’s my name” after each succession of punches, with no response from Terrell.
For the remainder of the fight Muhammad pot-shotted Terrell at will. Every so often he would go in and try to finish him and end the fight, but every time he was on the verge of really seizing control, Terrell would fire back with all he had and Ali would let up. The process would repeat itself with Ali always sensing that he wasn’t going to get the stoppage and resorted back to boxing and picking Terrell apart.
In summation, Terrell took a good shot and Ali wasn’t a great finisher when he had to work for it. When Ali really opened up and the opponent was no more than bewildered, he’d back off and make it look as if he could end it whenever he wanted but chose not to. He’d rather go rounds and make it look as if he was playing with his opponent instead of working hard for the stoppage unless it came to him.
No, Ernie Terrell wasn’t a great fighter, but he fought everybody and he was fearless. And yes, he legitimately went the distance with Muhammad Ali in what was Ali’s eighth successful title defense. And it wasn’t because Ali carried him. It was because when Ali tried to stop Terrell and knock him out he just couldn’t, so he settled for dominating the fight, which he did. But don’t ever believe the reason Terrell went 15 rounds with Ali is because Muhammad allowed him to or carried him just to punish him for constantly calling him Clay….accept the reality that there wasn’t anything Ali could do to shorten the fight after he had his fun for the first eight or nine rounds.
Ali did vs. Terrell what he often did when he fought a guy he was beating easily but couldn’t knock him out: periodically he’d turn up the heat to see whether a.) The guy had changed his mind about quitting or b.) He could con the referee into stopping it. If those things didn’t work, he’d go back to what he was doing. Larry Holmes did the same thing.
It’s a myth that Muhammad Ali carried Ernie Terrell for 15-rounds. And from the TSS family, rest in peace, Ernie.
Frank Lotierzo can be contacted at GlovedFist@Gmail.com
Claressa Shields blasted her way to the undisputed heavyweight championship and nearly knocked out challenger Danielle Perkins in the final seconds, but settled for a win by unanimous decision on Sunday.
Yes, Shields can punch.
“I just feel overwhelmed and so happy.” Shields said.
Shields (16-0, 3 KOs) proved that even the super athletic Perkins (5-1, 2 KOs), a true heavyweight, could not stop her from becoming an undisputed world champion in a third weight division at Dort Arena in Flint, Michigan, her home town.
In the opening round it was easy to see the size difference. Shields calmly measured Perkins long right jabs then countered with rocket rights through the guard. The speed was evident in Shield’s punches. Perkins used jabs to work her way in but was caught with counters.
“That girl was strong as hell,” said Shields describing Perkins.
Perkins, a southpaw, was somewhat confident that she was the stronger puncher and the stronger fighter overall. But when Shields connected with 10 rocket overhand rights in the third round the power moved Perkins several feet backward.
Suddenly, Perkins realized that indeed Shields has power.
Perkins became more cautious with her approaches. Though the true heavyweight was not frozen in fear, she was wary about getting caught flush with Shields rights. But bullet jabs and lightning combinations still rained on Perkins.
Finding a way to nullify Shields speed was crucial for Perkins.
The former basketball player Perkins continually proved her athleticism with agile moves here and there, but Shields just was superior in every way.
When Perkins became focused too much on the right, a Shields left hook caught the New York native flush. Suddenly there was another Shields weapon to worry about.
Many critics of Shields had focused on her lack of knockouts. But in her previous fight against another heavyweight, the two-time Olympic gold medalist surprised Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse with knockout power. It’s the same power Shields showed Perkins as if firing a fast ball by powering her right with leverage by using her left leg to produce momentum and an explosive punch.
In the 10th and final round Shields and Perkins exchanged blows. Perkins was looking to connect with one of her power shots when suddenly Shields countered with a perfectly timed right to the chin and down went Perkins with about 10 seconds remaining. She beat the count to finish the round.
“I showed I was the bigger puncher and better boxer,” said Shields. “I knew I could do it because I’m really strong at heavyweight.”
All three judges favored Shields 100-89, 99-90 and 97-92.
It was another convincing performance by Shields. So what is next for the best female fighter pound for pound?
“I want to fight Franchon Crews, Hanna Gabriels,” said Shields also naming a few others. “Flint, (Michigan) I love you all so much.”
Other Bouts
A heavyweight clash saw why there is a rule against holding. Brandon Moore (17-1) and Skylar Lacy (8-1-2) punched and held throughout their eight rounds. Referee Steve Willis finally disqualified Lacy when he tackled Moore and took him through the ropes and on to table below.
No, holding and clinching is not part of the fight game. Now you know why.
Moore was ruled the winner by disqualification due to unsportsmanlike conduct by Lacy at 1:35 of the eighth. No need to describe the fight.
A battle between undefeated welterweights saw Joseph Hicks (12-0, 8 KOs) stop Keon Papillon (10-1-1, 7 KOs) at 1:35 of the seventh round. Hicks stunned Papillon at the end of the sixth, then unloaded in the seventh round to force a stoppage.
Joshua Pagan (12-0) out-battled Ronal Ron (16-8) over eight rounds to win the lightweight match by unanimous decision.
Samantha Worthington (11-0) defeated Vaida Masiokaite (10-27-6) by decision after eight rounds in a super lightweight bout.
Featherweight Caroline Veyre (9-1) out-boxed the shorter Carmen Vargas (5-3-1) to win by decision after six rounds.
Super bantamweight Asheleyann Lozada (1-0) won her pro debut by unanimous decision over Denise Moran (3-1) in a four-round fight.
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David Benavidez showed fans why they call him “El Monstro” as he plowed through Cuba’s heavy-punching David Morrell to retain a number one ranking in the light heavyweight division by unanimous decision on Saturday.
Not even a flash knockdown for Morrell could make a difference.
Phoenix native Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) gave Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) his first loss as a professional in front of more than 15,000 fans at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. No one needed to hear the judge’s decision.
“I prepared for everything. I know he’s a great fighter,” said Benavidez. “I thought he was going to hit harder, but he didn’t.”
Before the fight, Morrell was almost an even bet according to oddsmakers, but that was not the case once the fight commenced.
Immediately Benavidez pounded the body and exposed the weaknesses of Morrell’s peek-a-boo defense by using his own left glove to push down the Cuban’s guard. Then immediately firing a crushing right to the jaw.
For the first four rounds Benavidez pounded away on the left and right side of Morrell’s body. And when the openings came the uppercuts caught Morrell’s chin. But he absorbed the blows.
Morrell didn’t waver in trying to find a solution. Though Benavidez connected often to the body and head, the Cuban fighter who moved up from super middleweight displayed a very solid chin.
In the fourth round during a furious exchange Morrell beat Benavidez to the punch that stunned him momentarily. But the blow seemed to spark outrage and a storm of blows followed from Benavidez.
It must have seemed like a nightmare for Morrell.
At times the Cuban fighter would connect perfectly with a right hook and pause. Then Benavidez would return fire with massive blows.
The look on Morrell’s face bore traces of disappointment.
As the rounds continued Benavidez became emboldened by his success. Soon the Mexican Monster began launching lead right uppercuts through Morrell’s guard especially in the sixth round.
“He was easier to hit than I expected,” Benavidez said.
During the breaks Morrell’s corner asked him to pressure Benavidez. It was a fruitless suggestion. How do you corner a Monster?
Benavidez continued to stalk Morrell who never stopped swinging but could not seem to hurt the Monster. In the 11th round Morrell managed to catch Benavidez perfectly with a right hook and down went Benavidez. He immediately got up and the two fighters unloaded on each other. Morrell fired one punch after the bell and was deducted a point by referee Thomas Taylor. That negated the extra point gained from the knockdown.
“I wasn’t really hurt,” said Benavidez. “That bullshit knockdown caught me off-balance.”
The final round saw both resume their efforts to knock the other out. Both showed great chins and the ability to trade. Benavidez was simply better. Even Morrell didn’t wait for the decision to be read as he raised the arm of the Monster at the final bell. All three judges scored in favor of Benavidez 115-111 twice and 118-108.
“He knows this is Monstro’s world. Big shout out for Morrell, he’s a tough fighter,” Benavidez said.
Other Bouts
In a fight dedicated to honor the late Israel Vazquez, the ultimate Aztec warrior, super lightweights Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz (27-3-1) and Angel Fierro (23-3-2) battled like demons for 10 nonstop rounds. Cruz was ruled the winner by unanimous decision.
With little resemblance of defense, Cruz and Fierro whacked each other relentlessly with shots that might have stopped a moving car. Cruz was tagged by a right cross on the top of the head that staggered him momentarily. Fierro was driven back four feet by an overhand right to the chin early in the fight.
Both fighters took cruel and unusual punishment and never wavered more than a few seconds. It was brutal war and fans were the winners after 10 rounds of violent and savage action.
All three judges saw Cruz the winner 96-94, 97-93, 98-92.
“I’m so happy I gave the fans a great fight,” Cruz said.
Fulton Wins
Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) defeated Brandon Figueroa (23-2-1, 19 KOs) again and took the WBC featherweight title by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. He had previously defeated Figueroa in 2021 for the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles.
Most of the action took place in nose-to-nose fashion where Fulton landed the cleaner shots especially with uppercuts. Figueroa had his moments but was unable to hurt the challenger who lost to Naoya Inoue by knockout 17 months ago.
Fulton landed clean shots but as his record shows he lacks the power with only eight knockouts on his record. But Figueroa was unable to hurt or knock down Fulton. After 12 rounds all three judges saw Fulton win by scores of 116-112 twice and 117-111,
“It feels good. I’m champion again,” said Fulton.
Ramos Wins
Jesus Ramos (22-1, 18 KOs) won by technical knockout over former world champion Jeison Rosario (24-5-2) in the eighth round of a middleweight fight. Both fighters attacked the body but by the sixth round Ramos was the busier fighter and began to dominate the fight. At 2:18 of the eighth round referee Robert Hoyle stopped the fight.
“I like to throw a lot of body punches. It’s kind of my style,” said Ramos.
Photos credit: Al Applerose
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Undercard Results from Las Vegas where Mirco Cuello Saved his Best for Last
Premier Boxing Champions was at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas tonight with a card topped by a battle between undefeated light heavyweights David Benavidez and David Morrell. Six prelims preceded the four-bout PPV portion of the show airing on Prime Video PPV and PPV.com.
David Benavidez’s older brother Jose Benavidez Jr kicked things off with a fifth-round stoppage of Danny Rosenberger. It was odd to see the older Benavidez fighting an 8-round contest in a nearly empty arena. Heading in, he was 28-3-1 (19) with his only setbacks coming in bouts with Terence Crawford, Jarmall Charlo, and Danny Garcia. But Benavidez Jr, fighting as a middleweight in the sunset of his career, was too good for Youngstown, Ohio’s self-managed Rosenberger (20-10-4).
Unbeaten in his last 15 starts which included a draw with Nico Ali Walsh that was changed to a no-decision when the Ohioan tested positive for a banned substance, Rosenberger was on his feet and wasn’t badly hurt when the referee waived it off, it but to that point it had been a one-sided fight.
Cuello-Olivo
The marquee fight of the prelims, so to speak, pit Argentina’s Mirco Cuello, an Olympic bronze medalist in Tokyo, managed by Sampson Lewkowicz, against Christian Olivo in a 10-round featherweight contest. The Argentine, undefeated in 14 starts with 11 KOs, was a heavy favorite over his Mexican adversary and yet very nearly came a cropper, getting off the deck to pull the match out of the fire in the final round.
In the second round, Olivo knocked Cuello to his knees with a left-right combination and Cuello found himself on the canvas for the first time in his career. From that point on, this was a competitive, fan-friendly fight, seemingly closer than the judges’ scores which became moot when Cuello took the fight out of their hands, decking Olivo twice, both left hooks to the solar plexus, which motivated referee Chris Flores to step in and stop it with heavy underdog Olivo (22-2-1) ahead by 6, 4, and 2 points through the completed rounds. The official time was 2:01.
This match was billed as a WBA eliminator which puts Cuello in line to fight England’s Nick Ball but, given a choice, Cuello may opt for the Figueroa-Fulton winner later tonight.
Other Bouts
Yoenli Hernandez, a 27-year-old Cuban, TKOed feisty but overmatched Angel Ruiz in the fifth round of an 8-round middleweight affair. Hernandez has now won all seven of his pro fights inside the distance after ending his amateur career with 26 straight wins. He bears watching. Mexico’s Ruiz falls to 19-4-1.
Salt Lake City lightweight Curmel Moton, the 18-year-old prodigy of Floyd Mayweather Jr, advanced to 7-0 (6 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of Frank Zaldivar (5-2).
Milwaukee super middleweight Daniel Blancas, a stablemate of the Benavidez brothers, improved to 12-0 (5) with a unanimous 8-round decision over Victorville, California’s Juan Barajas (11-1-2). Blancas won comfortably on the cards (80-72, 79-73 twice), but Barajas came to fight and was no pushover.
Super middleweight John “Candyman” Easter, a promising prospect, was forced to go the distance for the first time in his young career, but was a clear-cut winner over Portland, Oregon’s Joseph Aguilar in their six-round match, winning by scores of 60-54 and 59-55 twice. The 22-year-old Easter advanced to 8-0. Aguilar dops to 6-3-1.
Check back later for David Avila’s recap of the Benavidez-Morrell fight and the three other PPV bouts.
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Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing
Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce
Don’t Underestimate Gloria Alvarado, an Unconventional Boxing Coach
Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More
Boxing Trainer Bob Santos Paid his Dues and is Reaping the Rewards
Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
Hall of Fame Boxing Writer Michael Katz (1939-2025) Could Wield His Pen like a Stiletto
Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results
Boxing Odds and Ends: Ernesto Mercado, Marcel Cerdan and More
Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More
Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble
Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Benavidez Defeats Morrell; Cruz, Fulton, and Ramos also Victorious at Las Vegas
Undercard Results from Las Vegas where Mirco Cuello Saved his Best for Last
Claressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Claressa Shields Powers to Undisputed Heavyweight Championship
Benavidez Defeats Morrell; Cruz, Fulton, and Ramos also Victorious at Las Vegas
Undercard Results from Las Vegas where Mirco Cuello Saved his Best for Last
Avila Perspective, Chap. 311: Jim Lampley Adds Class to the Benavidez-Morrell Rumble
Hall of Fame Boxing Writer Michael Katz (1939-2025) Could Wield His Pen like a Stiletto
Boxing Odds and Ends: Ernesto Mercado, Marcel Cerdan and More
Ringside at the Cosmo: Pacheco Outpoints Nelson plus Undercard Results
Najee Lopez Steps up in Class and Wins Impressively at Plant City
Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue is Headed to Vegas after KOing Ye Joon Kim
Eric Priest Wins Handily on Thursday’s Golden Boy card at the Commerce Casino
Avila Perspective, Chap. 310: Japanese Superstar Naoya Inoue and More
Skylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing
Mizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce
Avila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More
Boxing Trainer Bob Santos Paid his Dues and is Reaping the Rewards
Bygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
Jai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoR.I.P. Paul Bamba (1989-2024): The Story Behind the Story
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoSkylar Lacy Blocked for Lamar Jackson before Making his Mark in Boxing
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoJai Opetaia Brutally KOs David Nyika, Cementing his Status as the World’s Top Cruiserweight
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoBygone Days: The Largest Crowd Ever at Madison Square Garden Sees Zivic TKO Armstrong
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoMizuki Hiruta Dominates in her U.S. Debut and Omar Trinidad Wins Too at Commerce
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Featured Articles4 weeks agoDon’t Underestimate Gloria Alvarado, an Unconventional Boxing Coach
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Featured Articles2 weeks agoAvila Perspective, Chap. 309: 360 Promotions Opens with Trinidad, Mizuki and More
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Featured Articles3 weeks agoBoxing Trainer Bob Santos Paid his Dues and is Reaping the Rewards