"Imitation," observed Charles Caleb Cotton in 1820, "is the sincerest form of flattery." He could have added that it's also a good way to make a buck off another's fame.
Such was the case with this guy who bore a striking facial resemblance to a young Muhammad Ali. No doubt spurred on by the Mendoza boxing group who managed him, he truncated the Greatest's birth name and called himself "Marcel Clay" throughout his ring career which spanned from 1971 to 1981 fighting mostly as a middleweight.
Using an alias seemed to be no problem for "Marcel". He was also known as Freddie Jones, but his real name was "perhaps" Freddie Johnson who "might" have been born in the Bahamas. Thus he was a somewhat shadowy figure. Surprisingly, he was a police officer for the City of Opa-Locka, Florida. I guess they didn't bother much with background checks in those days.
The Mendoza group really pushed this Clay thing to the max. In one of his earliest fights, Marcel kayoed "Cleveland Williams" in the fourth round. No, this was not
the "Big Cat", but rather another shadow of a figure who had a handful of fights in the Bahamas. Little is known of this Cleveland Williams. Perhaps another creation of the Mendoza group?
Marcel had a couple of problems. First, his resemblance to Ali ended with the facial. He was less than a mediocre fighter. Of course his record looks decent. Twenty-two wins (sixteen by kayo!) against ten losses. But Marcel was a boxer/puncher who couldn't do either very well!
His knockout wins were over the likes of Willie Harp, Mike Maret, and Lee Walker. Not exactly household names in boxing lore. It seems that when ever Marcel needed a little boost, the Mendoza group would haul Henry "Slick" Mitichell in from Georgia, and Clay would knock Hapless Henry out in a few rounds. They pulled this one off three times. To sum it up, Marcel was a smallish fish swimming in a tiny pond well-stocked with guppies.
Whenever he faced any real talent, which was infrequent, the results weren't very good. He dropped a decision to Tony Licata, was kayoed by Elisha Obed, and lost twice to "Alligator Alley" Riggs. Even journeyman Gene Wells was too much for Marcel!
His other problem was trying to keep weight off his 6'2" frame. Coming in at 160 regularly appears to have been difficult, but he didn't have the bulk to move up to the light heavyweight diivision. A natural super-middleweight, there really wasn't a division for him when he fought.
Clay did have one brief moment in the sun on July 7, 1977. He squared off against Mike Rossman in a match that was televised nationally. Sadly for Marcel, the clouds rolled in rather quickly, and he was stiffed by Rossman in the first round.
To sum it up, you could sort of look at Clay the same way you look at an Elvis impersonator. For a brief second or two, you actually think it's
him.
But as the old Motown song goes, "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing Baby!"
The photo below was originally posted by Romultiltus.