Sonny Banks facts for kids

Lucien "Sonny" Banks (June 29, 1940 – May 13, 1965) was a mid-20th Century American boxer who is primarily remembered for being the first boxer to ever knock down Cassius Clay (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. 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.

Professional boxing record

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