Jimmy Ellis: Boxing peer of Muhammad Ali
1940-2014
JIMMY Ellis, who began his boxing career with Muhammad Ali when both fought as amateurs while growing up in Louisville, Kentucky, and who briefly held the world heavyweight title, has died aged 74.
The two men fought one another twice as teenage amateurs, with Ellis winning once and losing once.
Ellis was light for a heavyweight, tipping the scales at 89kg when he won the title.
He became a sparring partner of Ali while still a middleweight and won the World Boxing Association heavyweight belt after Ali was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War.
Ellis became world champion in 1968 after taking part in an eight-man tournament for the vacant title. A classic boxer with fast hands, he defeated Leotis Martin and the Argentine Oscar Bonavena and then won a 15-round decision against Jerry Quarry in the tournament final.
With the victory, he became one of four world heavyweight champions from Louisville. The other three were Marvin Hart (1905), Ali (1964, 1974 and 1978) and Greg Page (1984-85).
He defended the title only once, winning a 15-round decision against former world champion Floyd Patterson before losing it in 1970 to Joe Frazier, who was three years younger than the 30-year-old Ellis. He failed to come out for the fifth round, having been knocked down twice.
Frazier, widely regarded as the best heavyweight in the absence of Ali, had refused to take part in the 1967-8 tour- nament, which was derided in some quarters as a gimmick.
Ellis fought Ali just once in the professional ring, when the two met in July 1971 in Houston for a minor title. Ali’s conviction for avoiding the draft had been overturned by the US Supreme Court.
It was promoted as “the inevitable fight” in view of their past relationship, according to the New York Times, but it was not much of a contest. Ali battered his friend into the 12th and final round until Ellis was helpless against the ropes and Ali shied away from punishing him further. The referee stopped the fight.
In the build-up to the bout, Ali told the New York Times that Ellis was “one of the best fighters in the world”.
“To be my sparring partner, you got to be good,” said Ali.
He won the world belt after Ali was stripped of the title for refusing to be drafted into the US Army during the Vietnam War
Ellis’s career ended in 1975 when a sparring partner accidentally poked him in his left eye, partly blinding him.
He became a trainer at the Muhammad Ali Boxing Club in Santa Monica, California.
Following his death this week, Ali said in a statement: “I had a kinship with Jimmy and felt like he and I were of the same cloth. He was a great athlete and a caring man. Great competitors who happen to be great friends are rare. Jimmy Ellis was that to me, and I will miss him.”
Ellis married Mary Etta on Christmas day in 1958 and they had six children. She died in 2006. They had 10 grandchildren. Ellis and his wife sang with a group called the Spiritual Singers Choir at Riverview Baptist Church in Louisville.
After his retirement, he worked for the Louisville parks and recreation department.
Ellis and Ali attended Central High School in Louisville. Ali graduated, but Ellis dropped out in the 12th Grade. — Staff Reporter and agencies