Lucien "Sonny" Banks (June 29, 1940 – May 13, 1965) was a mid-20th Century American
boxer Boxer most commonly refers to:
* Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing
*Boxer (dog), a breed of dog
Boxer or boxers may also refer to:
Animal kingdom
* Boxer crab
* Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans
* Boxer snipe ee ...
who is primarily remembered for being the first boxer to ever knock down
Cassius Clay
Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...
(later "Muhammad Ali") in a professional match. In the early 1960s Banks was regarded in the sport as rising prospect known for a lightning fast left hook, but his career was cut short when he died from injuries sustained in the ring in 1965.
Early life
Banks was from
Lee County in North-East
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
. He was born in the farming community at Birmingham Ridge, about halfway between Tupelo and Saltillo.
Boxing career
He fought Clay on 10 February 1962 in
New York, and knocked him down for a count, although he went on to lose the match.
Death
Banks died on 13 May 1965 at the age of 24 from a head injury sustained three days earlier in a 9-round bout against
Leotis Martin. His body was buried at Westlawn Cemetery in
Wayne, Michigan
Wayne is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 17,593 at the 2010 census. Wayne has a long history of automotive and transportation related manufacturing. Ford Motor Company currently has two plants in Wayn ...
.
[Entry for Banks' grave in Findagrave (2019). https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/111532160/sonny-lucian-banks]
Professional boxing record
References
* West Side Boxing News
"15 Round: The True Championship Distance"
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1940 births
1965 deaths
Boxers from Mississippi
People from Lee County, Mississippi
Heavyweight boxers
Deaths due to injuries sustained in boxing
Sports deaths in Pennsylvania
American male boxers
African-American boxers
20th-century African-American sportspeople