Career
At 6 ft 6 in (198 m), he was very tall, by the standards of the day. By comparison, Muhammad Ali was 6 ft 3 in, and Joe Frazier was 5 ft 11 in. Terrell was the older brother of The Supremes" early 1970s lead singer Jean Terrell.
In the 1960s, she sang with his group, "Ernie Terrell & the Heavyweights".
World Boxing Association matched Terrell and Eddie Machen for the vacant crown. He held it until February 6, 1967 when he lost to Muhammad Ali.
Before the bout, Terrell repeatedly called Ali by his birth name. He explained later that he had known Clay for years in the amateurs and hadn"t gotten used to calling him another name.
Ali took offense to this, and vowed he would punish Terrell.
Foreign his part, Ali further stoked the prefight ill will by labeling Terrell "an Uncle Tom nigger who is going to get his ass whupped."
Terrell lost an upset 12 round decision later in 1967 in the WBA Heavyweight Tournament which was organized after Ali was stripped of his title in April 1967. He left the sport for three years following the loss, but returned in 1970, winning seven consecutive fights before losing to Chuck Wepner by decision. In 55 professional fights, Terrell earned a record of 46 wins (21 by knockout), nine losses and no draws.
After retiring from boxing in 1973 following a knockout loss to Jeff Merritt, he began a career as a music producer in Chicago, Illinois, the city where he"d attended Farragut Career Academy.
Ernie Terrell ran unsuccessfully for alderman of Chicago"s 34th ward in 1987. He finished second in the primary but lost to Lemuel Austin in a runoff.
Terrell died on December 16, 2014 in a hospital at Evergreen Park, Illinois. He had been suffering from dementia.