Mar. 14, 1963 - At a press conference today at Madison Square Garden, a slightly subdued Cassius Clay still talked boldly of whipping heavyweight champion Sonny Liston, but his next fight probably will be a return bout with Doug Jones at the Garden in late May. Jones, declaring he had won everything but the decision last night, promptly accepted the Garden’s proposition. Clay said it was up to his manager. Because of Clay’s massive, one-man publicity campaign, the fight sold out the Garden. “Jones is the toughest and best fighter I have ever met,” said Clay in a jam-packed room at the Garden. “He’s a much better fighter than Liston. I can beat that big, ugly bear, and I sure want that fight.” “I didn’t feel too good this morning,” Cassius continued, “because I didn’t make the right prediction, and that shook me up. He was much tougher than I figured. He tagged me harder than I ever was tagged before. And we fought the fight as fast as middleweights. Liston could not stand that kind of pace. As for fighting Jones again, that’s OK with me, but my manager and Angelo Dundee got to make the decision. If the price is right, I’ll fight him. I want money — lots of it. I promoted this fight. I went on television all the time, spoke in beat joints in the Village and bowling alleys.”
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