Cassius Clay vs Tunney Hunsaker (partially found footage of boxing match; 1960)
On 29th October 1960, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) faced Tunney Hunsaker in a professional heavyweight boxing match. Occurring in front of 6,180 at the Freedom Hall in Louisville, it was Clay's first professional fight, with him winning the six-round encounter via a unanimous decision.
Background
Even before his first ranked fight, Cassius Clay had already gained boxing accolades.[1][2][3][4] At the 1960 Summer Olympics, he defeated Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to win gold in the light heavyweight division.[1][2] In contrast, Tunney Hunsaker, a 30-year-old who was the Fayetteville, West Virginia police chief, had suffered a poor run of form, losing six consecutive fights including against then-world title contenders Tom McNeeley and Ernie Terrell.[5][2][1][3] According to BoxRec, his professional fight record was at 17-9-1 prior to this clash.[5] Nevertheless, while Clay was considered the favourite going in, Hunsaker maintained that he still believed he had a chance of winning, stating "I heard he won the Olympics, so I knew I was fighting a tough bird, but I don't think there was ever a fighter - not a good one anyway - who went in the ring thinking he was gonna get beat. I know I never did."[3][2] All net revenue generated from the encounter would be directed to the Kosair Crippled Children's Hospital.[6] Hunsaker also recalled that he and Clay met at a sports store to promote the fight, noting that while Clay was messing around with a basketball, he displayed signs of nervousness and apprehension.[3][2]
The Fight
The bout took place at the Freedom Hall with around 6,180 in attendance.[1] Considering Clay's later career, it perhaps came as no surprise when the 18-year-old proceeded to dominate throughout the encounter.[3][2][1] Hunsaker recalled that Clay proved incredibly agile for his size, praising him as a heavyweight with the speed of a middleweight.[1][3] Hunsaker harnessed a variety of maneuverers and techniques to try and unbalance the younger boxer.[3][2][1] However, this only intensified Clay, enhancing his overall performance.[3][2][1] From every position, he was able to land blows without sustaining hits himself. By the third round, several Clay blows inflicted a nosebleed, with Hunsaker suffering a cut to his right eye in the fourth.[1] Despite the match's brutality, Hunsaker held on for all six rounds, sustaining swollen and near-shut eyes by the time the fight ended.[2][1] Clay won all six rounds and achieved victory via a unanimous decision.[1][2][3][4][5]
Post-bout, Hunsaker predicted Clay would be a future world champion.[3][2] This proved true when on 25th February 1964, Clay defeated Sonny Liston to win the World Heavyweight Championship.[7][1][2][4] Muhammad Ali has since been declared as one of the greatest boxers of all-time, with a professional record of 56-5.[7][1][2][4] Hunsaker meanwhile competed until a KO loss to Joe Shelton on 6th April 1962 caused him to suffer a brain hemorrhage and require two subsequent brain operations, forcing his retirement from the ring.[1][2][5] Nevertheless, Hunsaker and Ali remained in touch, the latter even appearing at the police chief's retirement party in 1992.[2][1]
Availability
A cameraman was present during the Clay-Hunsaker fight, with a newsreel showcasing some in-ring action and Clay's hand being raised upon being declared the victor. However, as the recording was intended for a newsreel with a limited runtime, most footage of the six-round event was cut from the final product. Thus, only key highlights of Clay's first-ever professional bout is publicly available with the uncut tape's fate remaining unknown.
Gallery
Image
Footage
See Also
- Barbara Buttrick vs Gloria Adams (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1959)
- Bill Lewis vs Freddie Baxter and Archie Sexton vs Laurie Raiteri (lost television coverage of boxing matches; 1933)
- Corbett and Courtney Before the Kinetograph (partially found early boxing film; 1894)
- England vs Ireland (lost television coverage of boxing matches; 1937)
- Evander Holyfield Championship Boxing (lost build of cancelled Game.com boxing game; 1999)
- Exhibition Boxing Bouts (lost early television coverage of boxing matches; 1931-1932)
- The Fighting Marine (lost Gene Tunney drama film serial; 1926)
- Gene Tunney vs Jack Dempsey (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1926)
- Gene Tunney vs Jack Dempsey (partially lost radio coverage of "The Long Count Fight"; 1927)
- Georges Carpentier vs Ted "Kid" Lewis (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1922)
- Heavyweight Champ (lost SEGA arcade boxing game; 1976)
- Jack Dempsey vs Billy Miske (lost radio report of boxing match; 1920)
- Jack Dempsey vs Georges Carpentier (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1921)
- Jo-Ann Hagen vs Barbara Buttrick (lost radio and television coverage of boxing match; 1954)
- Johnny Ray vs Johnny Dundee (lost radio coverage of boxing match; 1921)
- Len Harvey vs Jock McAvoy (partially found footage of boxing match; 1938)
- Leonard-Cushing Fight (partially found early boxing film; 1894)
- Marcel Cerdan vs Lavern Roach (lost footage of boxing match; 1948)
- Rocky (lost deleted scenes of boxing drama film; 1976)
- Super Punch-Out!! (lost beta builds of SNES boxing puzzle game; 1994)
- Title Defense (lost build of cancelled boxing simulation game; 2000-2001)
- Uncle Slam and Uncle Slam Vice Squad (lost iOS presidential boxing games; 2011)
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 ESPN summarising the bout and noting its brutality. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 The Herald Scotland summarising the encounter and Hunsaker's recollection of it. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times detailing the bout and Hunsaker's full comments surrounding it. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 BoxRec detailing Ali's fight record. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 BoxRec detailing Hunsaker's fight record. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ Fight poster sold on Heritage Auctions. Retrieved 24 Jan '23
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 History detailing Clay's win over Liston for the World Heavyweight Championship. Retrieved 24 Jan '23