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Patterson Calls Ali “Cassius Clay,” Ali Calls Patterson “Uncle Tom”

Jan. 21, 1965 - Muhammad Ali, heavyweight champion, had to be forcibly restrained today when Floyd Patterson, who twice has worn that crown, accepted his challenge to fight after the two had participated in a verbal battle on racial problems.

The current champion called Patterson an “Uncle Tom Negro, a white man’s Negro, a yellow Negro, and a quitter” after the former champion called him Clay and not Muhammad Ali, a name Ali adopted earlier this year.

Ali had arrived at the Patterson training camp with a group of newsmen and photographers and had given the former champion, whom he calls The Rabbit, some lettuce and carrots.

Asked for an explanation of the nickname, Ali said: “Because he’s scared, man, scared like a rabbit.”

Asked for his reaction, Patterson said: “Despite the lettuce and carrots, I like Cassius Clay and respect him for what he has done to boxing.”

The champion demanded that he be called Muhammad Ali, but Patterson replied, so Ali could hear: “I’ll call him by the name he was born with.”

This infuriated Ali, who then tongue-lashed Patterson and ended his talkathon by offering to get in the ring and fight it out then and there.

“Cassius Clay is a slave name!” he shouted. “I’m free! You got a slave name! You ain’t nothing but an Uncle Tom Negro. You Uncle Tom, I’ll jump right in there on you now!”

Patterson, who had called off his workout during the verbal melee, said, “Well, do it,” and vaulted into the ring.

There was great applause from the crowd in the room, but Ali shouted over it, and the Black Muslims in his entourage held him back as he made an elaborate gesture of straining to get into the ring with Patterson.

Patterson, who is preparing himself for a 12-round bout against George Chuvalo at Madison Square Garden Feb. 1, looked disgusted, and his trainer announced there would be no sparring session, as planned.

But Ali yelled that he had previously predicted Patterson would not spar, and now his prediction was proving to be accurate. So, Patterson returned to the ring and sparred two rounds, one each with Joe (Shotgun) Sheldon and Henry Wallitsch.

Ali watched and shook his head mockingly.

“No match, no match!” he kept calling.

Then, after Patterson got out, Ali jumped into the ring and danced around and shadowboxed.

“Watch out!” somebody yelled. “You’ll get a double hernia.”



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