Ernie Terrell

Ernie Terrell
Ernie Terrell
Born	April 4, 1939; Belzoni, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	December 16, 2014 (aged 75); Evergreen Park, Illinois, U.S.
Nationality	American
	Statistics
Weight(s)	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 6 in (198 cm)
Reach	82 in (208 cm)
Stance	Orthodox
	Boxing record
Total fights	55
Wins	46
Wins by KO	21
Losses	9

Ernie Terrell (April 4, 1939 – December 16, 2014) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1957 to 1973. He was the first WBA (previously named the NBA) heavyweight champion, having held the title from 1965 to 1967, and was one of the taller heavyweights of his era, at a height of 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). Terrell was the older brother of The Supremes' early 1970s lead singer Jean Terrell. In the 1960s, Jean sang with his group Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights.^[1]

Professional career

In his early career, Terrell defeated some good contenders, including Cleveland Williams (Terrell won the rematch by decision after losing to Williams in their first fight by knockout), Zora Folley, and future Light Heavyweight champion Bob Foster. But he's best remembered for his challenge to World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali, on February 6, 1967—a bout in which he was badly beaten.

Ali was scheduled to fight WBA champion Ernie Terrell (the WBA stripped Ali of his title after his agreement to fight a rematch with Liston) on March 29, but Terrell backed out and Ali won a 15-round decision against substitute opponent George Chuvalo. World Boxing Association matched Terrell and Eddie Machen for the vacant crown. Terrell defeated Machen to win the belt on March 5, 1965. He held it until February 6, 1967 when he lost to Muhammad Ali. During this time, most in the boxing world continued to recognize Ali as the legitimate champion, since he had not lost his championship in a boxing match. The WBA's rival, the World Boxing Council, had also continued to recognize Ali as champion.

During his reign as WBA Champion, Terrell defended the title twice, beating Doug Jones and George Chuvalo.

In February 1967, Ali and Terrell met to end the debate about who was the legitimate heavyweight champion. Before the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali by his birth name. He said later that he had known Clay for years in the amateurs and hadn't gotten used to calling him another name. Ali took offense to this, and vowed he would punish Terrell. For his part, Ali further stoked the prefight ill will by labeling Terrell "an Uncle Tom nigger who is going to get his ass whupped."^[2]

Ali won a lopsided 15-round decision, reclaiming the undisputed championship. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the resulting fight was "the nastiest display of Ali's celebrated ring career", recounting how he seized Terrell in a headlock and dragged Terrell's eye along the top rope, and declared, "The fight will be remembered for Ali's constant taunts of 'what's my name?' to an opponent he was apparently content not merely to defeat, but also to belittle and humiliate."^[2] The fight is recounted by the film Ali starring Will Smith.

Terrell lost an upset 12-round decision later in 1967 in the WBA Heavyweight Tournament which was organized after Ali was stripped of his title in April 1967. He left the sport for three years following the loss, but returned in 1970, winning seven consecutive fights before losing to Chuck Wepner by decision (the Wepner decision was highly controversial and most who saw the fight thought Terrell had won).

In 55 professional fights, Terrell earned a record of 46 wins (21 by knockout), nine losses and no draws. After retiring from boxing in 1973 following a knockout loss to Jeff Merritt, he began a career as a record producer in Chicago, in the city where he had attended Farragut Career Academy.

Terrell ran unsuccessfully for alderman of Chicago's 34th ward in 1987. He finished second in the primary but lost to Lemuel Austin in a runoff. Terrell died on December 16, 2014 in a hospital at Evergreen Park, Illinois. He had been suffering from dementia.^[3]

Professional boxing record

55 fights	46 wins	9 losses
By knockout	21	2
By decision	25	7

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
55	Loss	46–9	Jeff Merritt	TKO	1 (10), 2:42	Sep 10, 1973	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
54	Loss	46–8	Chuck Wepner	PTS	12	Jun 23, 1973	Convention Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.	For vacant National Americas heavyweight title
53	Win	46–7	Bill Drover	TKO	1 (10), 2:28	Feb 19, 1973	Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
52	Win	45–7	Jose Luis Garcia	KO	6 (10)	Oct 23, 1972	Caracas, Venezuela
51	Win	44–7	Roberto Davila	UD	10	Jul 24, 1971	Playboy Club, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, U.S.
50	Win	43–7	Luis Faustino Pires	UD	10	May 10, 1971	International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
49	Win	42–7	Vic Brown	UD	10	Apr 28, 1971	Cleveland Arena, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
48	Win	41–7	John Hudgins	TKO	1 (10), 1:58	Apr 3, 1971	Playboy Club, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, U.S.
47	Win	40–7	Sonny Moore	UD	10	Dec 15, 1970	The Eagles Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
46	Loss	39–7	Manuel Ramos	UD	10	Oct 14, 1967	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico
45	Loss	39–6	Thad Spencer	UD	12	Aug 5, 1967	Astrodome, Houston, Texas, U.S.
44	Loss	39–5	Muhammad Ali	UD	15	Feb 6, 1967	Astrodome, Houston, Texas, U.S.	Lost WBA heavyweight title
43	Win	39–4	Doug Jones	UD	15	Jun 28, 1966	Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.	Retained WBA heavyweight title
42	Win	38–4	George Chuvalo	UD	15	Nov 1, 1965	Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto, Ontario, Canada	Retained WBA heavyweight title
41	Win	37–4	Eddie Machen	UD	15	Mar 5, 1965	International Amphitheatre, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Won vacant WBA heavyweight title
40	Win	36–4	Henry Wallitsch	RTD	6 (10), 0:01	Oct 23, 1964	St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
39	Win	35–4	Bob Foster	TKO	7 (10), 0:58	Jul 10, 1964	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
38	Win	34–4	Jefferson Davis	UD	10	Jun 17, 1964	Municipal Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
37	Win	33–4	Gerhard Zech	UD	10	Mar 6, 1963	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
36	Win	32–4	Zora Folley	UD	10	Jul 27, 1963	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
35	Win	31–4	Cleveland Williams	SD	10	Apr 13, 1963	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
34	Win	30–4	Herb Siler	TKO	3 (10)	Mar 7, 1963	Little River Auditorium, Miami, Florida, U.S.
33	Win	29–4	Young Jack Johnson	UD	10	Jan 5, 1963	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
32	Win	28–4	Young Jack Johnson	UD	10	Dec 14, 1962	Chicago Coliseum, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
31	Win	27–4	Reiniero Rey Lopez	KO	3, 2:15	Sep 25, 1962	Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
30	Win	26–4	Eddie Jackson	TKO	2 (10), 2:54	Aug 24, 1962	Grand Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
29	Win	25–4	Amos Lincoln	UD	6	Jun 9, 1962	Madison Square Garden, New York City, New York, U.S.
28	Loss	24–4	Cleveland Williams	TKO	7 (10), 1:43	Apr 3, 1962	Sam Houston Coliseum, Houston, Texas, U.S.
27	Win	24–3	Herb Siler	PTS	10	Feb 28, 1962	Exhibition Hall, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S.
26	Win	23–3	Ernie Cab	RTD	3 (6), 0:01	Dec 4, 1961	Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
25	Win	22–3	Chuck Garrett	UD	10	May 15, 1961	Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
24	Win	21–3	Willie Coleman	KO	1 (8)	Apr 17, 1961	Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
23	Win	20–3	Ernie Cab	TKO	8 (10)	Feb 6, 1961	Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
22	Loss	19–3	Wayne Bethea	SD	10	Dec 5, 1960	Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
21	Win	19–2	Joe Hemphill	UD	8	Jul 20, 1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Won Illinois heavyweight title
20	Win	18–2	Frankie Daniels	KO	7 (10)	May 18, 1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
19	Win	17–2	Lee Williams	UD	10	Mar 30, 1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
18	Win	16–2	Clay Thomas	KO	1 (6)	Jan 6, 1960	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
17	Win	15–2	Chuck Garrett	PTS	6	Nov 11, 1959	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
16	Win	14–2	Tunney Hunsaker	PTS	8	Jul 24, 1959	Freedom Hall, Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
15	Loss	13–2	Johnny Gray	SD	8	Feb 25, 1959	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
14	Win	13–1	Willie Coleman	PTS	8	Jan 14, 1959	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
13	Win	12–1	Sid Peaks	UD	8	Nov 3, 1958	Joe Louis Gymnasium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
12	Win	11–1	John Hobart	KO	1	Oct 7, 1958	East Chicago, Indiana, U.S.
11	Win	10–1	Joe Hemphill	TKO	1 (6)	Sep 24, 1958	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
10	Win	9–1	Billy Pickett	KO	2 (8)	Jul 1, 1958	Midwest Gymnasium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
9	Loss	8–1	Johnny Gray	SD	8	Apr 30, 1958	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
8	Win	8–0	Johnny Harper	TKO	1 (8)	Mar 11, 1958	Midwest Gym, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
7	Win	7–0	Emil Brtko	TKO	2 (8)	Feb 4, 1958	Joe Louis Gym, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
6	Win	6–0	Calvin Butler	SD	6	Jan 8, 1958	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
5	Win	5–0	Ted Poole	TKO	1 (6)	Oct 30, 1957	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
4	Win	4–0	Neal Welch	UD	6	Aug 21, 1957	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
3	Win	3–0	Ray Griggs	KO	1 (4)	Jul 24, 1957	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
2	Win	2–0	Andy Bond	TKO	1 (4)	Jun 26, 1957	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
1	Win	1–0	Norman Bolden	UD	4	May 15, 1957	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.	Professional debut