Press J to jump to the feed. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. At about 30 seconds into the round he hit Liston with several combinations, causing a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which eventually required eight stitches to close. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. . Also in 1970, Liston appeared on an episode of the TV series Love, American Style and in a television commercial for Braniff Airlines with Andy Warhol.[12][102]. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. Two more arrestsfor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and another for impersonating a copled to Liston being suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission on July 14, 1961. "There is power in both his left and his right, even though the fists move with the languor of motoring royalty or as if passing through a gaseous envelope more dense than air." "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." America's first look at Liston since the Ali rematch was when he fought fifthranked Henry Clark in a nationally broadcast bout in July 1968. "[96], Many people who knew Liston insisted he was afraid of needles and never would have used heroin. "[57] Those findings were confirmed in a formal investigation immediately after the fight by Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein, who also noted that there was little doubt that Liston went into the fight with a sore or lame shoulder. Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. 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. December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. "At about noon on the day of the fight, (Magids) reached Resnick again by phone," the memo read. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. Tale of the tape: Fight poster for Sonny Liston v Cassius Clay in 1964. . RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 22K views 10 months ago On the Spot show with Max Goldberg featuring the heavyweight champion. Technically, contracts for boxing matches werent supposed to have rematch clauses, though pretty much all of them had some sort of loophole and agreement when each side wanted to guarantee a return bout again, the laws by which boxing governed itself were really more suggestions at the time. This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. Standing 185 centimeters (6'1) tall and packing over 90 kilograms (200 lb) of pure muscle, there's a reason he was nicknamed "The Big Bear," and it wasn't for the hugs he gave.. His career in heavyweight boxing spanned from 1953 to 1970, and he spent all 17 of those years going guts for glory against the . The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. Knopfler said the track "uses a lot of the country-blues style of playing that I started to absorb when I was young.". He claimed the officer used racial slurs. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. He also went with a new manager in 1958: Joseph "Pep" Barone, who was a front man for mobsters Frankie Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo. ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. "[40][41], Upon winning the world heavyweight title, Liston had a speech prepared for the crowd that friends had assured him would meet him at the Philadelphia airport. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. I was about to say look at those mitts! [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. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. Sonny Liston Vs Floyd Patterson What If There Had Been A Third Fight "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. Walcott never did pick up the count. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Be respectful and come chat with us. Ali's "Phantom Punch" Controversy Explained - PBS Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. Book Review: Was Sonny Liston Murdered? - The Arts Fuse He died circa December 30,. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. You've seen him before but probably didn't realize it because the most famous photo ever taken of Sonny was not at his best angle. 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. r/boxing does not tolerate racism or intolerance of any kind. But a Senate subcommittee hearing turned up no evidence of any match-fixing, and doctors confirmed his explanation that hed taken such damage to his shoulder that he couldnt feel his arm. Sonny Liston - BoxRec Walcott never began a count in the ring because of Ali's non-compliance and his physical struggle with getting Ali to go to that neutral corner. Liston was the subject of a 1995 HBO documentary titled Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion. Good lord, Sonny's mitts are massive. 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 Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. [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! NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Gary Robinov, director of Raising Ali, a film about the 50th anniversary of the heavyweight boxing match between Muhammed Ali and Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine.. I know!" Soon, he was known as Cassius X, eschewing the last name given to his enslaved family by their owners. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." [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. While valuing the photograph, appraiser Kathleen Guzman told. Like Dylan's subject, Rubin Carter, Knopfler's version of Liston is sympathetic. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. "He was scared of the police. Liston kept running into trouble with the law and Ali had a target on his back after the assassination of Malcolm X, whom he had disavowed after Elijah Muhammad forced him out of the Nation of Islam. 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. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. 'What's My Name| Muhammad Ali' Proves Why Ali's The Greatest - VIBE.com And Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated wrote, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas. Half a mile above and beyond the shrine, looking down from the summit of the mountain, is a statue of the Sacred Heart. I didn't want anything to do with him. It was 1965, not 1955. 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. "[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. Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. [88] On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine had smelled a foul odor emanating from the main bedroom and on entering saw him slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. "I'm doing a portrait of a life, really, in a way, so you are trying to get the whole thing into just a few verses. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. Watch the interview you be the judge. QUESTION 1 [101], Liston played a fist fighter in the 1965 film Harlow, made a cameo appearance in the 1968 film Head, which starred The Monkees, and played the part of The Farmer in the 1970 film Moonfire, which starred Richard Egan and Charles Napier. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. Sonny Liston in Denver, Colorado. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and his doctor, but did not notify the police until two to three hours later.
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