Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. He inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible in the ring decades later as an adult. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. He was a gentle man. 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. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. Sonny Liston FBI Files. This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." Sonny Liston Born to an Arkansas tenant farmer named Tobe Liston and his second wife, Helen, Charles L. Liston was one of twenty-five children. At one point, Liston had Clay against the ropes and landed a hard left hook. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston, fdd omkring 1930 i Sand Slough i St. Francis County, Arkansas, dd 30 december 1970 i Las Vegas, Nevada, var en amerikansk professionell boxare som var vrldsmstare i tungvikt 1962-1964.. Liston vann titeln i september 1962 genom att besegra Floyd Patterson p knockout i frsta ronden och frlorade den sedan i februari 1964 i en match mot Cassius Clay . He would not close in until the accumulated inside damage and Liston's own frustration had sapped the challenger's strength and will." Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his examthat hospital needle mark. He was a bit of a physical freak He was 6 ft 1 in with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. The victim sought out the executioner." Liston's life was marked with numerous arrests, before and after he entered boxing. Sonny knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round, with that powerful left hook to the jaw 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. Sonny was once told by local police to stay away from a drug house that was the target of a police raid. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. [71] Credence to the latter theory is provided by the fact that Liston, immediately after his fight with Chuck Wepner, seemed more concerned about supporting the proposed Ali-Frazier bout and Ali's claims to be champion than promoting his own career. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. His death is still a mystery, but Mike Tyson puts flowers on his grave every year at Paradise Memorial Gardensin Las Vegas. Fifty years later, the mystery still remains. Sonny is an old-school guy; not much fanfare. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. Sonny Liston was a ferocious fighter, the heavyweight champion of the world and the man Cassius Clay beat to win the title for the first time, igniting his own legend. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. I wasn't hit. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. Heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston, winner of 35 of his 36 professional bouts and one of the most intimidating athletes in any sport, was facing a lightly regarded 22-year-old from. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. A few years before Tocco died, he allegedly told one of his good friends, Tony Davi, that he went to Liston's house and found the door locked and his car in the driveway. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. Tosches, Nick (2000). As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he'd go public with the story unless they gave him the money. The heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stood over Sonny Liston in the first round of their title fight in Lewiston, Me., on May 25, 1965, and was heard to say, "Get up and fight, sucker!" John . The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. Daniel (Dan) Liston is Professor of Education in the Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice (EFPP) program and in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. . I never realized how much of a freak of nature Sonny Liston was. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. [21], Liston made his professional debut on September 2, 1953, knocking out Don Smith in the first round in St. Louis, where he fought his first five bouts. Boxer Sonny Liston ducks and covers up as Cassius Clay aims a right at him during their title fight. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. "[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. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and went 15 rounds with Ali before being knocked out (that fight was Stallones inspiration for Rocky), said after his career was over that Liston was by far the hardest puncher he faced. [37] Frustrated, Liston changed his management in 1961 and applied pressure through the media by remarking that Patterson, who had faced mostly white challengers since becoming champion, was drawing the color line against his own race. University of Colorado Boulder. [35] There are several theories as to why: (1) publicist Harold Conrad and others believed Liston had been deeply involved as a bill collector of a loansharking ring in Las Vegas. Sonny Liston ( The Big Bear) was an American professional boxer. ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. Liston was a heavy favorite. I know it", Liston said afterward. His fists measured 15 inches around, which was the largest of any heavyweight champion. BOXING legend Sonny Liston was murdered by the MAFIA in a death staged to look like an overdose, a new documentary has claimed. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. Childhood & Early Life. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Ali's impressive start to his career earned him a shot at Sonny Liston for the Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles in his 20th career fight in February 1964. It's a terrible matchup. . In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. Clearly, it was time to turn pro. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and his doctor, but did not notify the police until two to three hours later. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. [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. In fact, Sonny Liston had not been right for a long time, and not only for the strangely dual life he had been leadingspells of choirboy abstinence squeezed between binges of drinking and. Young Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, knocked out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. [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]. That got him killed. He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. He then outpointed Julius Griffin, winner of the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, to capture the Intercity Golden Gloves Championship on March 26 (representing Chicago). "[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. Painting by Damien Burton. In 2013, there was a newly created book titled According to Warjac: Most Wanted, written by Greg Swaim. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. [citation needed] At this time, the head coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, Tony Anderson, stated that Liston was the strongest fighter he had seen. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter.". According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. Shaun Assael. The suspension was honored in all states. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. 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 More on that in a second. He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. 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. [30], Liston became the No. Born into poverty and the 12 th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and the 24 th of 25 children fathered by Tobe in total), Sonny did not enjoy a privileged upbringing. [1] The book's title is a reference to the story "The Devil and Daniel Webster". Liston is a Hall of Famer. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - c. December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. After a rough upbringing, with little formal education, Liston found himself in trouble with the law. [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. . Liston's death four decades ago was. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. He was not the tear-shedding type.. 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