Rogin wrote. Any objective observer would have had to concede that Ali's counterpunch had landed, and landed with enough force to turn Liston's head, Rob Sneddon wrote in The Phantom Punch: The Story Behind Boxing's Most Controversial Bout. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. At one point, Clay was wiping his eyes with his right hand while extending his left arm"like a drunk leaning on a lamppost" Bert Sugar wroteto keep Liston at bay. From the opening bell Liston attempted to close with Clay, looking to land a hard punch to the head to end the fight quickly and decisively. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. He is seen in the far left part of the row, wearing a white and gold robe, standing beside the original-look Beatle wax figures. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. However, David Remnick, for his book King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, interviewed one of Liston's cornermen, who told him that Liston could have continued: "[The shoulder] was all BS. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. He offered no comment on the matter, but his victory would soon turn it into an international story. There are no official records of his birth The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. Naturally, they decided that Ali would take on Liston. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. Clay brought Malcolm X along with him to Miami, and amid the controversy, the fight was almost canceled. Liston went down on his back. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." "[94], A bronze copy of a marble statue of Liston sculpted by Alfred Hrdlicka in 1964 was erected in 2008 between Old Castle and Karlsplatz in Stuttgart, Germany. kos k.o.s ko.s knockouts fight of the year joe louis lewis primo carnera buddy max baer tony galento lamon brewster monte barrett barret amir khan oleg maskaev nicolai valuev nikolai joe calzaghe sergej sergey liakhovich liakovich shannon briggs evander holyfield zultan ibragimov sultan meldrick taylor pauli ayala paul spadafora prince prinze naseem hamed naz johnny tapia john ruiz wilfredo gomez wilfried benitez george foreman big ron lyle earnie shavers joe frazier ken norton angelo dundee eddie futch riddick bowe Henry Akinwande Muhammad Ali Max Baer Michael Bentt Riddick Bowe James J. Braddock Shannon Briggs Tommy Burns Primo Carnera Ruslan Chagaev Ezzard Charles Gerrie Coetzee James J. Corbett Francesco Damiani Jack Dempsey Michael Dokes Jimmy Ellis Bob Fitzsimmons Joe Frazier Marvin Hart Herbie Hide Evander Holyfield James J. Jeffries Ingemar Johansson Jack Johnson Vitali Klitschko Sonny Liston Joe Louis Rocky Marciano Ray Mercer Tommy Morrison Greg Page Floyd Patterson John Ruiz Max Schmeling Bruce Seldon Jack Sharkey James Smith John L. Sullivan John Tate Ernie Terrell Tony Tubbs Nikolay Valuev Jersey Joe Walcott Mike Weaver Jess Willard Tim Witherspoon Muhammad Ali Lou Ambers Sammy Angott Fred Apostoli Ray Arcel Alexis Argello Baby Arizmendi Henry Armstrong Abe Attell Max Baer Caleb Baldwin Carmen Basilio Wilfred Bentez Nino Benvenuti Jack Kid Berg Jimmy Bivins Umberto Branchini Joe Brown Panama Al Brown Ken Buchanan Charley Burley Orlando Canizales Miguel Canto Tony Canzoneri Michael Carbajal Jem Carney Jimmy Carter Marcel Cerdan Antonio Cervantes Bobby Chacon Arthur Chambers Ezzard Charles Kid Chocolate Joe Choynski Stanley Christodoulou Billy Conn Eugne Criqui Jos Cuevas Jack Dempsey Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey Jack Dillon Professor Mike Donovan Paddy Duffy Don Dunphy Roberto Durn Lou Duva Billy Edwards Gabriel Elorde Jeff Fenech Bob Fitzsimmons George Foreman Bob Foster Joe Frazier Gene Fullmer Khaosai Galaxy Vctor Galndez Joe Gans Kid Gaviln Joey Giardello Mike Gibbons Wilfredo Gmez Humberto Mike Tyson Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". [103], Sonny Liston was featured in a novel "Girl Fighter" with a brief reference to his early life, his rise to WBC heavyweight champion and his eventual losses to Clay/Ali.[104]. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." "[78] While much has been written about the effectiveness of his left jab, others have commented favorably on Liston's wide range of boxing skills. The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six rounds he faced Cleveland Williams, a fast-handed fighter who was billed as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world against whom he showed durability, power and skill, nullifying Williams' best work before stopping him in the third round. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. [60] The extent to which Liston's heavy drinking and possible drug use may have contributed to his surprisingly poor performances against Ali is not known.[15]. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread and all them sluggers went down like lead. In an Associated Press poll, 64 of 102 reporters picked Patterson. [56] Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury was legitimate. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. [48] The challenger, his arms held high in surrender, was demanding that the fight be stopped and Dundee, fearing the fight might indeed be halted, gave his charge a one-word order: "Run! ", The Liston song appears on an album called "Shangri-La." Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? Although the opening round saw Clay largely on the defensive, it was soon established that Clay could reverse roles quickly and take to the offensive with a remarkably fast series of combinations delivered to Liston's head. It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. Ira Gay Sealy/The Denver Post via Getty Images According to the post, he returned back home later that morning and called his sparring partner Gary Bates to tell him he was leaving for Los Angeles but that they should get together when he returned in a couple of days. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was reluctant to talk to the press - the always painted a bad picture of him.Dwight Muhammad Qawi Braxton ATG Philly Joe Frazier Bernard HopkinsTags:pernell whitaker jersey joe walcott louis julio chavez evander holyfield lennox lewis felix sturm oscar de la hoya floyd mayweather miguel cotto marquez manny pacquiao pacman boxing boxer ko knockout tribute robbery mike tyson rocky marciano oscar de la hoya manny pacquiao foreman fight miguel cotto dead death muhammad ali cassius mike tyson clay lennox lewis eric morales barrera floyd mayweather fedor emelianenko ufc boxing ko k.o. knockout kimbo slice evander holyfield nogueira wladimir vitali klitschko haye mma brutal bareknuckle headbutt lowblow foul dirty boxer funny bob sapp david cesar chavez joe frazier rocky marciano larry holmes felix trinidad jackson new tribute video highlight dirtiest best brock lesnar julio cesar ricky hatton randy couture israel vasquez juan manuel marquez antonio margarito felix tito trinidad antonio rodrigo minotauro marco antonio barrera john ruiz freddie roach hector camacho pernell whitaker willie pep sugar ray robinson shane mosley antonio tarver roy jones joe cortez lennox lewis david haye haymaker wladimir vitali vladimir klitschko klitchko prediction prefight postfight press conferencetex cobb gerry cooney jerry pierre coetzer floyd roger mayweather arturo gatti rocky graziano graciano tony zale dariusz michalczewski rocky rocchigiani henry maske james toney vassily jirov vasily unbelievable knockout ko k.o. "He said: 'Look what they did!' In the 2020 film One Night in Miami, Liston is played by Aaron D. Alexander. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didnt happen in the ring. But then again, he took a pretty good beating in the fight. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. ", One of the most vivid verses creates a word-picture of Liston in his prime with photographic clarity: "Black Cadillac, alligator boots, money in the pockets of his sharkskin suits." In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. That got him killed. When Walcott got back to Liston and looked at the knockdown timekeeper, Francis McDonough, to pick up the count, Liston had fallen back on the canvas. Tradues em contexto de "with Sonny" en ingls-portugus da Reverso Context : I think you should stay here with Sonny. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. "He was scared of the police. The organization was seen as an extremist anti-white people hate group and opponents of desegregation and Martin Luther King Jr. Clays propensity for self-promotion and controversy seemed to fit in with the groups inflammatory rhetoric. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. [50] . [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. You really never watched the first fight did you? He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. In the sixth round, he carried it at belt level so that it was of no help in warding off the right crosses with which Clay probed at the cut under his left eye." Lennox is a conqueror? I don't think there was any way for him to beat Clay at that time, but if he entered the ring in a different mindset, to box and not try and get him like Patterson and others, he could of went the distance. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. When you can kill almost anybody in the world with your bare hands, you don't really have to go around proclaiming it to everyone. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. During a ringside interview after the fight, Terrellwith his swollen eye and deflated egowould later say he respected all boxers. After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting. "And I suppose Sonny Liston always stuck with me. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. So I get him down, I get the sponge and I pour the water into his eyes trying to cleanse whatever's there, but before I did that I put my pinkie in his eye and I put it into my eye. Hed shown up to the fight in the best shape of his life no hot dogs or beer in his diet this time and promised to take down Ali. And the Muslims were coming up. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. Sheed says that the punch and the knockdown "may have been genuine, but when referee Joe Walcott blew the count and gave him all evening to get up, Liston's rendition of a coma wouldn't have fooled a possum. . He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. "Some songs just seem to reverberate with people.". [citation needed], Liston competed in the 1953 United States National Championships at Boston Garden and passed the preliminaries, stopping Lou Graff in the second round on April 13, but lost in the quarterfinals to 17-year-old Jimmy McCarter on April 15. Knopfler, who was born in Scotland and grew up in northern England, said Liston's story was "exciting subject matter because it's so mysterious." I didn't want anything to do with him. "[75], Future world heavyweight champion George Foreman, who sparred with Liston after Foreman's amateur career, assessed Liston's jab as the most formidable he faced and Liston as the strongest man he encountered in the ring, describing Liston as having the most natural talent and skill. Knopfler said the track "uses a lot of the country-blues style of playing that I started to absorb when I was young.". The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. Subsequently, Liston spent some months in Denver where a Catholic priest who acted as his spiritual adviser attempted to help bring his drinking under control. His eyes swept the whole scene. It burned like hell. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. I never saw. Asked by a young white reporter why he was not fighting for freedom in the South, Liston deadpanned, "I ain't got no dog-proof ass. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. I forgot about the rules." Tosches, Nick (2000). There were plenty of tough questions after the first fight for Liston, too, namely, why didnt he come out for another round? [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. At the IBHOF, the casts of Listons hands were bigger than Lennox Lewis' which were also gigantic. The World Boxing Association one of several boxing organizations was not too pleased, moving to strip Ali of his title and advising states not to agree to host the rematch. 589 Share 23K views 1 year ago Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. Clay countered in verse, "If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny! Liston was supremely confident of easily beating Clay, trained minimally for the fight and went ahead with it despite an injury to his left shoulder.[44]. Paul R Gallender, 2012. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. Press J to jump to the feed. Before he left for his bout with Clay, Sonny's training in Denver took him to some strange places. "Sonnyboyliston | Race Record & Form | Racing Post", "Moonfire (1972), a film by Michael Parkhurst -Theiapolis", NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion - BoxRec, Lyrics to a song about Liston by Mark Knopfler, FBI Records: The Vault - Charles Sonny Liston, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Liston&oldid=1137950795, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hackman, Timothy. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Less than 10 days later, he was Muhammad Ali, a name given him to Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). [100] A successful racehorse which won the Irish St Leger classic race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston. One of the reasons why sports stays alive in us is that there's part of us that wants to keep the child alive and recognizes that there is something important in doing that. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. [66], Former champions Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson and Gene Tunney, as well as contender George Chuvalo all declared they considered the fight to be a fake. [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. For his part, Liston said that the referees inability to keep track of time doomed him, as he didnt know when to get up from the mat. What are you doing? When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. [49], Clay later said that in round five he could only see a faint shadow of Liston during most of the round, but by circling and moving frantically he managed to avoid Liston and somehow survive. The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. Walcott never did pick up the count. He died circa December 30,. I remember thinking as a child that this was a man who wanted to be left alone.". A widely publicized account of Liston resisting arresteven after nightsticks were allegedly broken over his skulladded to the public perception of him as a nightmarish "monster" impervious to physical punishment. . Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Banker said he was told by police that Liston had been seen at a house that would be the target of a drug raid. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . In "Song for Sonny Liston," Knopfler's voice is backed by electric guitar, a bass and drums as he tells the story of a sharecropper's son who went from prison to the championship to an early death under mysterious circumstances. [30] Before his bout with Liston, Muhammad Ali consulted Machen and was advised that the key to survival was to make Liston lose his temper. Ali brought his big personality to the small town, but Liston was still the favorite. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c.1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St.Francis County, Arkansas. . Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. My man. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. He had the whole package. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory.
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