Ernest Terrell (April 4, 1939 – December 16, 2014) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1957 to 1973. He held the World Boxing Association's heavyweight title from 1965 to 1967, and was one of the tallest heavyweights of his era, at tall. He unsuccessfully fought the other world heavyweight champion of the era, Muhammad Ali, in a heavyweight title unification contest in 1967, losing by a unanimous decision. Terrell was the elder brother of the Supremes' early 1970s lead singer Jean Terrell. In the 1960s, Jean sang with Ernie's group Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights.

Early life Terrell was born on 4 April 1939 in Inverness, Mississippi, and spent his early childhood in Belzoni. He was born into a family of ten children, whose father was a Mississippi sharecropper who during Terrell's childhood moved the family north to Chicago when he found employment in the factories there. Terrell received his formal education at Farragut School in Chicago. Before turning professional, he won the 1957 Chicago Golden Gloves and then the 1957 Intercity Golden Gloves in his youth as a light heavyweight, and he also formed a pop music singing act called "The Heavyweights" with three of his siblings.

Professional career In his early career, Terrell defeated some good contenders, including Cleveland Williams (Terrell won a rematch with Williams by decision after losing their first fight by knockout), Zora Folley, and future light heavyweight champion Bob Foster.

When the World Boxing Association stripped Muhammad Ali of his title after his agreement to fight a rematch with Sonny Liston, the WBA matched Terrell and Eddie Machen for the vacant crown. Terrell defeated Machen to win the belt on March 5, 1965. During his reign as WBA champion, he defended the title twice, beating Doug Jones and George Chuvalo. Most in the boxing world continued to recognize Ali as the legitimate champion, for he had not lost his championship in a boxing match. The WBA's rival, the World Boxing Council, also continued to recognize Ali as champion. On March 29, 1966, Ali and Terrell were scheduled to fight, but Terrell backed out (Ali won a 15-round decision against substitute opponent George Chuvalo).

On February 6, 1967, Ali and Terrell finally 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. Publicly, Ali took offense to this, and vowed he would punish Terrell. In a 1979 interview, he said, "They billed the fight on that little grudge thing, and I wasn't really angry - I didn't care what he called me - but this was a good chance to promote my new image."

Ali further stoked the prefight ill-will by labeling Terrell "an Uncle Tom nigger who is going to get his ass whupped". Ali won by unanimous decision, reclaiming the undisputed championship. The Daily Telegraph wrote that the resulting fight was "the nastiest display of Ali's celebrated ring career", describing 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." The match is recounted in the film Ali.

Terrell lost an upset 12-round decision to Thad Spencer later in 1967 in the WBA heavyweight tournament that 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; most who saw the fight thought Terrell had won. After losing to Jeff Merritt in his next fight by a 1st-round technical knockout, Terrell retired.

In 55 professional fights, Terrell earned a record of 46 wins (21 by knockout), nine losses and no draws.

Later life After retiring from boxing he began a career as a record producer in Chicago.

He ran unsuccessfully for alderman of Chicago's 34th ward in 1987, finishing second in the primary although lost to Lemuel Austin in a runoff.

Death Terrell died at the age of 75 on December 16, 2014, in a hospital at Evergreen Park, Illinois, having been afflicted in his final years with dementia.

He was buried in Mount Hope Cemetery, Chicago.

Personal life Terrell married Maxine Sibley in 1974; the couple raised two children.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes55Loss46–9Jeff MerrittTKO1 (10), Sep 10, 197354Loss46–8Chuck WepnerPTS12Jun 23, 197353Win46–7Bill DroverTKO1 (10), Feb 19, 197352Win45–7Jose Luis GarciaKO6 (10)Oct 23, 197251Win44–7Roberto DavilaUD10Jul 24, 197150Win43–7Luis Faustino PiresUD10May 10, 197149Win42–7Vic BrownUD10Apr 28, 197148Win41–7John HudginsTKO1 (10), Apr 3, 197147Win40–7Sonny MooreUD10Dec 15, 197046Loss39–7Manuel RamosUD10Oct 14, 196745Loss39–6Thad SpencerUD12Aug 5, 196744Loss39–5Muhammad AliUD15Feb 6, 196743Win39–4Doug JonesUD15Jun 28, 196642Win38–4George ChuvaloUD15Nov 1, 196541Win37–4Eddie MachenUD15Mar 5, 196540Win36–4Henry WallitschRTD6 (10), Oct 23, 196439Win35–4Bob FosterTKO7 (10), Jul 10, 196438Win34–4Jefferson DavisUD10Jun 17, 196437Win33–4Gerhard ZechUD10Mar 6, 196436Win32–4Zora FolleyUD10Jul 27, 196335Win31–4Cleveland WilliamsSD10Apr 13, 196334Win30–4Herb SilerTKO3 (10)Mar 7, 196333Win29–4Young Jack JohnsonUD10Jan 5, 196332Win28–4Young Jack JohnsonUD10Dec 14, 196231Win27–4Reiniero Rey LopezKO3, Sep 25, 196230Win26–4Eddie JacksonTKO2 (10), Aug 24, 196229Win25–4Amos LincolnUD6Jun 9, 196228Loss24–4Cleveland WilliamsTKO7 (10), Apr 3, 196227Win24–3Herb SilerPTS10Feb 28, 196226Win23–3Ernie Cab3 (6), Dec 4, 196125Win22–3Chuck GarrettUD10May 15, 196124Win21–3Willie ColemanKO1 (8)Apr 17, 196123Win20–3Ernie CabTKO8 (10)Feb 6, 196122Loss19–3Wayne BetheaSD10Dec 5, 196021Win19–2Joe HemphillUD8Jul 20, 196020Win18–2Frankie DanielsKO7 (10)May 18, 196019Win17–2Lee WilliamsUD10Mar 30, 196018Win16–2Clay ThomasKO1 (6)Jan 6, 196017Win15–2Chuck GarrettPTS6Nov 11, 195916Win14–2Tunney HunsakerPTS8Jul 24, 195915Loss13–2Johnny GraySD8Feb 25, 195914Win13–1Willie Coleman8Jan 14, 195913Win12–1Sid PeaksUD8Nov 3, 195812Win11–1John HobartKO1 Oct 7, 195811Win10–1Joe HemphillTKO1 (6)Sep 24, 195810Win9–1Billy PickettKO2 (8)Jul 1, 19589Loss8–1Johnny GraySD8Apr 30, 19588Win8–0Johnny HarperTKO1 (8)Mar 11, 19587Win7–0Emil BrtkoTKO2 (8)Feb 4, 19586Win6–0Calvin Butler6Jan 8, 19585Win5–0Ted PooleTKO1 (6)Oct 30, 19574Win4–0Neal WelchUD6Aug 21, 19573Win3–0Ray Griggs1 (4)Jul 24, 19572Win2–0Andy Bond1 (4)Jun 26, 19571Win1–0Norman Bolden4May 15, 1957

Titles in boxing Major world titles WBA heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

Regional/International titles Illinois heavyweight champion (200+ lbs)

References

Further reading

External links