July 21, 1963 - Cassius Clay (pictured last month with a young fan in Great Britain), who mixes pugilism and poetry, will be one of tomorrow night’s commentators during the ABC radio broadcast of the Sonny Liston-Floyd Patterson heavyweight championship bout in Las Vegas, Nev. He will join Howard Cosell and Rocky Marciano after the fight in interviews with the fighters. Clay is set to be Liston’s next challenger for the crown barring a stunning upset tomorrow night. Liston enjoys a 20-pound weight advantage and a 13-inch reach advantage over Patterson. Five weeks of hard work in Las Vegas seem to have put Liston in superb condition. He does not seem to think the outcome will be much different from when he won the title on that 2:06 quickie in the Windy City last September. “There I did it with my right. Maybe this time I’ll use the left,” quipped the big guy today in answer to questions about how he figured to end it. Former heavyweight champion Joe Louis, now 49, is a Liston believer. “I learned early in my career to be a finisher,” said Joe today. “Sonny is the same. He can take out an opponent in one punch. A couple of times he has done it with a left jab, believe it or not. It’s difficult for me to believe Floyd, who has to throw a lot of punches to accomplish his mission, can stop the champion. He’s often reckless in the ring, and he’s not mean enough. He is not the type who gets an opponent in trouble and efficiently finishes things. Floyd has never taken out a good man with one punch.”
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