The Bite Magazine - issue 16

T he story of Cassius Clay Junior’s journey into boxing began as a 12-year-old boy sitting on the steps of the Columbia Auditorium in downtown Louisville with head in hands, crying and angry that his new Schwinn Corvette bicycle had been stolen. His father had just bought it for him and being a high-end bicycle, no one else in their neighbourhood had one like it. When he reported the theft to a police officer in the building nearby, the young Cassius Clay told him that he wanted to beat up the person who took his bike. The officer who happened to be Joe E. Martin and ran the local boxing club, said to him, “Well son, if you’re going to get into a fight with the guy who stole your bike, you better learn how to fight first.” Martin would go on to be Cassius Clay’s initial trainer and arranged many of his novice matches. However, he was not the only one who helped the young boxer progress through the ranks to reach the top of his game. Fred Stoner worked exclusively with Ali and taught him the ‘art’ of boxing. He also worked the young boxer’s corner in his first professional bout in 1960. Ali was indebted to Ston- er’s guidance, knowledge and expertise and would often say, “He taught me all I know.” Speaking of the two men, Ali also said, “Joe Martin was the man who started me in boxing, but sometimes I trained with a black man named Fred Stoner. I trained six days a week, and never drank or smoked a cigarette. The bite exhibition review