Clay Overcomes Bonavena With TKO In 15th

NEW YORK -- Cassius Clay, a matador gored and butted by the bull he hoped to kill cruelly and methodically, stopped Oscar Bonavena on a TKO with just 57 seconds left Monday night in the 15-round heavyweight bout. For nearly 15 rounds the bull had charged the deposed champion, but a right hook toppled the hulking Argentine midway through the last round. Bonavena staggered to his feet, but was chopped down again only moments later and a towel from his corner came fluttering in from his ring as a sign of defeat.

However, referee Mark Conn ignored the signal and allowed the fight to continue. Once again Clay stabbed out with a combination to drop Bonavena and end the bout at 2:03 of the final round. Until the last minutes, however, it looked like Clay would fail in his knockout bid. Bonavena had shrugged off the punches of Clay and bloodied his mouth in the ninth round. Drew Bundini Brown screamed from the corner, "You're gonna lose this one, champ, you're gonna lose." And at the end of the 12th round Brown, Clay's assistant trainer, wept bitterly as Clay returned to his corner with blood dripping from his mouth.

The victory, although whistled and booed, set up a $10 million title showdown with Joe Frazier, who became Clay's successor after Clay was stripped of the title and banned from boxing in 1967. Frazier had fought Bonavena twice for a total of 25 rounds in winning two decisions. Bonavena also knocked down Frazier twice in the second round of their first meeting. Bonavena never had been knocked out before. He came over to congratulate the victor, saying, "You are a great champion."

Going into the final round, referee Mark Conn had Clay ahead 12-2. Judge Joe Eppy had it 10-3-1 for Clay and Judge Jack Gordon 8-5-1 for the ex-champion. The victory kept Clay's record unblemished. He has 31 consecutive victories, 25 by knockout. The 28-year-old Bonavena suffered his seventh loss in 53 fights. The sellout crowd of 19,417 that had paid $615,401 started by cheering Clay but by the fifth round the cheer had turned to "Ringo, Ringo" -- Bonavena's nickname.

With all of the receipts including closed-circuit television, Ali could earn about $750,000 on his 42½ percent, and Bonavena close to $400,000 on his 22½ percent. It was Ali's second fight in six weeks since he ended a 3½ year exile from the ring. On Oct. 26, he returned to action and stopped Jerry Quarry in three rounds on cuts. He took on Bonavena as a tune-up for the long-sought fight with Frazier, who is recognized as champion in most parts of the world now.

Ali, who won the title in 1964, defended it nine times. The last one was a seventh-round knockout of Zora Folley in the old Madison Square Garden on March 22, 1967. Six weeks later Ali refused induction into the Army. The World Boxing Association and New York State Athletic Commission promptly stripped him of his title. He is appealing a conviction and five-year sentence for draft evasion.

[source: upi]