Word: cassius
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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Sonny Liston could not whip Cassius Marcellus Clay with his fists, but the bureaucrats and hypocrites of the World Boxing Association are about to beat the new champion with a ballot...
Describing Cassius as, "a detriment to the boxing world," WBA president Ed Lassman announced yesterday that he had asked the WBA Executive Committee to remove Clay's title and drop him from the heavyweight ratings. A poll of the Commissioners will be completed by Friday and Lassman has already declared "I am certain the title will be vacated...
Lassman's action is a thinly-disguised political attack on Clay's Black Muslim affiliation. And if the 20 Boxing Commissioners have any common sense, or interest in the future of professional boxing, they would be well advised to leave Cassius his title, and to relieve Mr. Lassman...
They might love Cassius at the U.N. -but not in the newspapers. Sportswriters were still not satisfied that Champion Clay's seven-round victory over Sonny Listen in Miami two weeks ago was strictly on the up and up. "A sordid mystery," sneered one. "A malodorous mess," sniffed another. Some skeptics hinted that Listen's camp had engineered a betting coup-though Las Vegas bookmakers insisted no "smart money" had been bet on Clay. If it had, the odds would not have increased from 7-1 to 8-1 on the day of the fight...
Others suggested that Listen had thrown the fight to build up the gate for a return match. That made no better sense: as challenger, Listen would collect only half the champion's share. Still others, including Michigan Senator Philip A. Hart, saw something suspicious in the fact that Cassius had signed a $50,000 "contingency" contract with Intercontinental Promotions Inc. before the fight-giving Intercontinental the right to pick the opponent and site for his first title defense. The opponent naturally figured to be Sonny Liston; he owns 22½% of Intercontinental Promotions...