People around the world tuned in via satellite to watch the match, which was fought in front of 2,434 paying ticket-holders, the smallest crowd in heavyweight championship fight history; people there suggested the crowd was more like 4,000, but nonetheless, it was a very small in-person audience. Machen's mobility enabled him to go the distance but he was clearly outpointed despite Liston being penalised for a low blow in the 11th round. On July 28, 1963, Liston joined a group of 500 African Americans in Denver who marched to a post office to mail letters urging the Colorado congressional delegation to pass the Kennedy administration's civil rights package. On September 7, 1954, Liston suffered defeat for the first time in his eighth professional fight, losing to Marty Marshall, a journeyman with an awkward style. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. On the album's lyric sheet, below the Liston song, Knopfler includes a famous quotation from Liston from 1962: "Some day, they're gonna write a blues for fighters. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. "[95], Sgt. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. [86] Former light-heavyweight champion Jose Torres said, "I have never met an athlete in baseball, basketball or football who is smarter, more intelligent than Sonny Liston". He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." Suddenly, the world had to come to grips with a new kind of heavyweight champion. ", 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." [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. In the months ahead of the fight, Muhammad Ali went all sorts of routes to get into Sonny Liston's head. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. 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. (. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. For Sonny Liston, a Ballad to a Heavyweight - The New York Times The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. "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. Audiences at home were confused and outraged. To the rest of the world, it would be known as "The Phantom Punch." That shot, which Ali dropped Sonny Liston with on May 25, 1965, was far from a phantom. You really never watched the first fight did you? [56] Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury was legitimate. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. Liston didn't seem to mind though. At one point, Liston had Clay against the ropes and landed a hard left hook. Mark Knopfler enjoyed widespread popularity in the 1980's as the leader of Dire Straits, lending his husky voice to hit songs like "Sultans of Swing" and "Money for Nothing." Never seen this one before, thanks alot. Please read the rules before posting/commenting. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. "At about noon on the day of the fight, (Magids) reached Resnick again by phone," the memo read. Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight champion, said that he appreciated the punchs strength upon re-examination. [100] A successful racehorse which won the Irish St Leger classic race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston. He would not close in until the accumulated inside damage and Liston's own frustration had sapped the challenger's strength and will." "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Who needed that? Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932, and used this for official purposes[11] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. It was a shocking result, not only because Liston was favored in the match, but because hardly anybody saw the punch that took him down. In The Greatest, the 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali in which Ali played himself, Liston was portrayed by Roger E. Mosley. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. The governor of nearby Maine, John Reed, stepped up and volunteered to host it in the small town of Lewiston, where a resort and ice rink could provide some infrastructure. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. 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. Less than 10 days later, he was Muhammad Ali, a name given him to Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. Watch the interview you be the judge. He was poking the bear a bit there . Dude was only 6'2 and his hands dwarfed Lesnar's. Remembering One Of Boxing's Storied Bouts : NPR [94], On January 1, Liston's wife, Geraldine, called Johnny Tocco and said she had not heard from her husband in three days and was worried. When Machen clinched in . Tale of the tape: Fight poster for Sonny Liston v Cassius Clay in 1964. . The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas Pan publisher; 2017. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. I wasn't hit. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. Press J to jump to the feed. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 2.47K subscribers Subscribe 16K views 8 months ago Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. I didn't think it was a powerful punch when I saw the fight from ringside," he said. The fight lasted less than one full round, with Ali knocking out Liston at the 1:44 mark. One mile up on a mountain 13 miles west of Denver is the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. [50] THE PREFIGHT MOODS OF SONNY LISTON. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston : r/Boxing - Reddit "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. There are echoes of slavery in his upbringing." (4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner six months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. The last of Sonny Liston Andscape 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." This is a clip out of the \"The Other Side\" Documentary. Support this Channel:https://www.patreon.com/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise:LegendsofBoxing.redbubble.com I restore \u0026 colorize your projects, PayPal Donations: LegendsofBoxingYT@gmail.comThank you!________________________________________________________________________________ Credit Original B\u0026W Footage:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CLMlEpRb9wSonny Liston Interview uploaded by haNZAgodAll My YouTube ChannelsMy Main Channel \"Legends of Boxing\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73ffQAknNEWJlRoFSWH_awMy Second Boxing Channel \"Legends of Boxing\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-QLrFyDnskqz5_z95mcOAMy History Channel \"Time Travel: Colorized Archive\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29VFkNvVVi6_OzwFV2oTqQMy Documentary Channel \"Tales From The Past\":https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpFIIYrCc1lOHbG-fUo5vwMein Dokumentation Channel \"Geschichten aus der Vergangenheit\" (Tales From The Past in Deutsch) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXBfWoE1KVXEzh9d2NrwBhASocial https://www.instagram.com/legends_of_boxing1/ [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. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. In an unearthed, unaired TV interview, Sonny Liston's wife once said that the fighter needed to get out of the ring as fast as possible because he had diarrhea. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. The interference of ringside reporters regarding interpretation of the rules, the fight stoppage and the controversy after the fight had not been seen since The Long Count Fight between champion Gene Tunney and challenger Jack Dempsey in 1927. Did Sonny Liston Take a Dive in His Second Muhammad Ali - Sportscasting [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]. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Mike Tyson - Tyson's Speech | Genius That saw him drive a big red bus to Liston's home that read, "Sonny Liston is a great but will fall in eight" along with the words "World's most colorful fighter Cassius Clay.". Liston's story, Knopfler said, "is great for a writer for many reasons. His wife said he was a kind & gentle hearted person who cared deeply for children & that no one ever saw that side of him except those closest to him, I believe theres a documentary somewhere on YouTube Id recommend watching it. Boston: Little, Brown. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. "[54] Hall of Fame matchmaker Teddy Brenner also disputed the shoulder injury, claiming he saw Liston use the same arm to throw a chair in his dressing room after the match. It was more likely that Liston was out of shape according to a story in Esquire at the time, Liston trained as normal, running around five miles a day, eating hot dogs and drinking beer. He was also possibly much older than his listed 32 years than anything else Liston was the second-youngest of 25 children to parents who didnt exactly keep records of birthdates. Remembering One Of Boxing's Storied Bouts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block recall the fight between Cassius Clay and and Sonny Liston, the fight at the heart of the off-Broadway play Fetch Clay, . Traduo Context Corretor Sinnimos Conjugao Conjugao Documents Dicionrio Dicionrio Colaborativo Gramtica Expressio Reverso Corporate "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. The champion was stripped of the belt when he refused to be drafted into the armed services during the Vietnam War, and he didnt box again in a match that counted until 1970. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. Walcott never did pick up the count. There are no official records of his birth After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread and all them sluggers went down like lead. ", The Liston song appears on an album called "Shangri-La." "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston: The Controversial Fight Behind Their "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Rogin discounted speculation that Patterson had thrown the fight, writing: "The genesis of all this wide-eyed theorizing and downright baloney was the fact that many spectators failed to see the knockout blows. The story goes that Liston was born somewhere . 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. 10 Wild Stories From The Life Of Sonny Liston - Listverse "[35] However, in 1963 in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Liston broke off a European boxing exhibition tour to return home and was quoted as saying he was "ashamed to be in America. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. The suspension was honored in all states. "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. [62] The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country. Some found it suspicious that authorities could not locate any drug paraphernalia that Liston presumably would have needed to inject the fatal dose, such as a spoon to cook the heroin or a tourniquet to wrap around his arm. Sonny Liston - Wikipedia ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. Sonny Liston Interview in Color - YouTube Sit down!' Although Liston was widely regarded as unbeatable, he lost the title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), who entered as a 71 underdog. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. [58] Despite Liston carrying an injury and being undertrained, Clay stated in 1975 that the first fight with Liston was the toughest of his career. The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. There's something really primal about the whole thing, obviously. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, The Man Behind the First All-Black Basketball Team, 8 Times Brothers Have Faced Off in a Championship, Every Black Quarterback to Play in the Super Bowl, Soccer Star Christian Atsu Survived an Earthquake. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Night Train is like $11 on Amazon, peep that if you want to get more of the story, i don't like how max was squeezing sonny's bicep. One Journalist's Attempt To Solve 'The Murder Of Sonny Liston' - WBUR Liston's noticeably more muscular left arm, crushing left jab and powerful left hook lent credence to the widely held belief that he was left-handed, although he fought in an orthodox stance. 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. 'Raising Ali' Remembers The 'Worst Mess In The History Of Sports' - NPR Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." It was the third-fastest knockout in a world heavyweight title fight, and the first time the defending champion had been knocked out in round one. There was something caustic in both eyes." He had the whole package. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. Sonny Liston shot a gun at Muhammad Ali. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." While true he also sent women to the hospital, which his sparring partner confirms. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. "He was scared of the police. In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. Banker later learned that the police told Liston the same thing to his face. 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]. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. 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. 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. Liston was knocked down in the first round, but came back to control the next two rounds and had Griffin hanging on at the end. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. Tosches, Nick (2000). Anyone can read what you share. It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell.". Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, during which the photo was snapped, was already shaping up to be the stuff of legends. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. I didn't want anything to do with him. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. The second fight? The photo captures the champions exhortations, with all the fire and passion and dynamic physicality that made him such a phenomenon. A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. The date of death listed on his death certificate is December 30, 1970,[90] which police estimated by judging the number of milk bottles and newspapers around the front door of the property.
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