Word: clays
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Clay's one chance of finishing the fifteenth round in vertical position is to hit and run, and mostly to run. Eddie Machen did it four years ago and lasted ten rounds without winning one. Floyd Patterson stood up to Sonny... for a total of four minutes in two fights...
Cocky as he seems outside the ring, Cassius knows the odds and will rely on speed to keep away from Liston in the early rounds. According to the Clay strategy, if Cassius can survive the first half of the fight he will face a tiring and frustrated champ, vulnerable to quick jabs, sharp combinations and perhaps to the Clay favorite, a left uppercut...
There are enough holes in this strategy to sink a small destroyer and more than enough to sink Cassius Clay. For one thing, Liston is not going to stand in the center of the ring for seven rounds and watch Cassius dance around him, nor will he madly chase a fleeting shadow. Sonny stalks his prey with the relentless drive of a Sherman tank. Anyone who saw the second Liston-Patterson travesty noticed that Sonny is not slow; slower than Clay, yes, but certainly agile and savvy enough to catch Cassius in a corner...
Secondly, Clay has two fatal defensive flaws: he fights with fists held far too low to provide adequate protection for his pretty face. Henry Cooper, lacklustre British champion, took advantage of this defect last summer and nearly spoiled Clay's perfect record. Cassius recovered from the Cooper blow and went on to win, but no one recovers from a Liston left hook...
...Clay also has the dangerous habit of leaning back to avoid punches, and, given Liston's two-inch reach advantage, the chances are that Cassius will not be able to lean back far enough...