Sonny Banks

Lucien "Sonny" Banks (June 29, 1940 – May 13, 1965)^[1] was an American boxer best known for being the first fighter to drop a young Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay). At the time Banks was a rising prospect and known for a fast sharp left hook.

Banks was from Lee County in northeast Mississippi, near Tupelo. He was born in the farming community Birmingham Ridge, about halfway between Tupelo and Saltillo. (Source: Rick Cleveland column)

Banks fought Clay in 1962 and knocked him down for a count, although he lost the match. Banks at the age of 24, died in 1965 from injuries sustained in a 9-round bout against Leotis Martin.

Professional boxing record

18 Wins (14 knockouts, 4 decisions), 7 Losses (5 knockouts, 2 decisions)[2]
Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round	Date	Location	Notes
Loss	14-1	Leotis Martin	KO	9	1965-05-10	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Banks died three days later from injuries sustained during the fight.
Loss	59-5-1	Cleveland Williams	KO	6	1964-07-21	Houston, Texas
Win	13-11-3	Don Warner	KO	1	1964-05-18	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Win	9-0	Lee Batts	KO	2	1964-03-16	Philadelphia Arena, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Batts knocked out at 1:08 of the second round.
Loss	8-0	Lee Batts	SD	10	1963-11-29	Battle Creek, Michigan
Win	14-8-3	David E. Bailey	SD	10	1963-10-18	Cobo Arena, Detroit, Michigan
Win	10-0	Jim Jones	UD	8	1963-07-06	Madison Square Garden, New York City
Win	19-14-2	Freddie Mack	SD	10	1963-06-05	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	4-2	Leroy Roker	TKO	6	1963-03-15	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan	Referee stopped the bout at 0:40 of the sixth round.
Win	10-18-5	Lou Bailey	KO	1	1963-02-09	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	9-11	Gene Jackson	KO	3	1962-07-28	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan	Jackson knocked out at 2:02 of the third round.
Loss	23-17-1	Young Jack Johnson	KO	5	1962-05-26	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Loss	10-0	Cassius Clay	TKO	4	1962-02-10	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan	Referee stopped the bout at 0:26 of the fourth round.
Win	14-3-2	Clay Thomas	KO	2	1962-01-27	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	16-13-1	Tunney Hunsaker	KO	2	1961-10-16	Detroit, Michigan
Win	8-5	Willie Coleman	TKO	5	1961-08-07	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan	Michigan Heavyweight Title.
Win	3-3-1	Joe Shelton	KO	2	1961-06-06	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	--	Herman Wilson	KO	1	1961-04-25	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Loss	2-6	Chuck Garrett	PTS	5	1961-02-06	Marigold Gardens, Chicago, Illinois
Loss	2-1-1	Joe Shelton	KO	3	1960-10-11	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	2-1	Rufus Handsome	KO	1	1960-09-23	Detroit Olympia, Detroit, Michigan
Win	--	Chico Gardner	KO	4	1960-08-31	Chicago Stadium, Chicago, Illinois
Win	1-3	Ted Davis	KO	1	1960-08-18	Graystone Ballroom, Detroit, Michigan
Win	--	Lloyd Washington	KO	1	1960-07-12	Peace Bridge Arena, Fort Erie, Ontario
Win	1-1-1	Ernie Berthet, Jr.	PTS	4	1960-05-19	Detroit, Michigan

References

• West Side Boxing News: "15 Round: The True Championship Distance"