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Due to Listons long association with the mafia and the reputation as a peerless tough guy, there was speculation that hed thrown the fight for some financial reward. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Before he left for his bout with Clay, Sonny's training in Denver took him to some strange places. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. 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. [50] The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. "I was rooting around in my childhood, maybe the way you do when you get to a certain age," Knopfler said. Audiences at home were confused and outraged. Liston, with a 25-pound weight advantage, 214lb (97kg) to 189lb (86kg), knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round, putting him down for the count with a powerful left hook to the jaw. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." The highly-anticipated May 1965 rematch between the heavyweight champions almost didn't happen. 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. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. One memo, dated 24 May 1966, outlined an interview with Houston gambler Barnett Magids, who believed Liston would win. [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. 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. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. Banker later learned that the police told Liston the same thing to his face. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. Sonny Liston RARE Interview - YouTube We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. 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. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." I'm Sonny Liston, I'm Jack Dempsey, there's no one like I'm from their . A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. 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. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. He was poking the bear a bit there . [29] Machen's taunting and his spoiling tactics of dodging and grapplingat one point almost heaving Liston over the ropesso alienated the audience that Liston received unaccustomed support from the crowd. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. 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. 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. 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. 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. [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. Sonny Liston - Wikipedia Paul R Gallender, 2012. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. Sonny Liston shot a gun at Muhammad Ali. . [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. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. Entire books have been written about the fight, and one, released in 2015, sought to end the suggestion that Liston took another fall. There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. 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. Book Review: Was Sonny Liston Murdered? - The Arts Fuse These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. Banker said he was told by police that Liston had been seen at a house that would be the target of a drug raid. "But can he hit!" The Devil and Sonny Liston. The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time,[4] while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third. Sonny was definitely a specimen. 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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. The story goes that Liston was born somewhere . I remember thinking as a child that this was a man who wanted to be left alone.". Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. interview with Alex Haley in Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser. Frank Mir was around that height and was noticeably taller than Carwin. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. "Now (after seeing video) I think Clay, seeing the opening, snapped the punch the last six inches. After Ali's win against Sonny Liston, he wouldn't . 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. [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. So I went down. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. He particularly resented a 1961 arrest by a black patrolman for loitering, claiming to have merely been signing autographs and chatting with fans outside a drugstore. In the 2020 film One Night in Miami, Liston is played by Aaron D. Alexander. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. [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 FBI was on the hunt for evidence for match-fixing, given Listons mob ties mobsters still owned much of his fight promotion contract and the sports shady business model. "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. I dont have to be what you want me to be, Clay told agitated reporters. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. I forgot about the rules." 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. Ali biographer Wilfrid Sheed wrote, in his Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs, that Liston planned to throw the fight for reasons unknown and used the legitimate first-round knockdown for that end. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. 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. Anyone can read what you share. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. His death was, too. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. Like Dylan's subject, Rubin Carter, Knopfler's version of Liston is sympathetic. Liston did eventually rise from the mat, but soon after, the referee broke up the two boxers once again the former champion had been down for more than 10 seconds, ending the fight. There were plenty of tough questions after the first fight for Liston, too, namely, why didnt he come out for another round? They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. ", The Liston song appears on an album called "Shangri-La." "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? Interview Date: March 13, 1989 Camera Rolls: 2104-2105 Sound Rolls: 248 Editorial Notes: Interview with , conducted by Blackside, Inc. on March 13, 1989, for . I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. [19], On June 23, 1953, a team consisting of ten recent St. Louis Golden Gloves champions of all weight classes, with Liston on top as the heavyweight, was gathered to represent the United States in an International Golden Gloves (USA vs. West Europe) competition at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. [32] Ironically, Patterson's manager, Cus D'Amato, associated with racketeers and had his manager's license revoked by the New York State Athletic Commission for alleged misconduct in connection with the Floyd PattersonIngemar Johansson title fight in June 1959. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. ", Liston appeared on the December 1963 cover of Esquire magazine (cover photograph by Carl Fischer) "the last man on earth America wanted to see coming down its chimney".[106]. [70] There have been a number of unproven theories as to the background to the purported dive including that Liston was threatened by the Muslims, or agreed to lose in return for a share in the more marketable Ali's future purses. (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. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joe Frazier vs Sonny Liston : r/Boxing - Reddit A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. In The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches, published in 2000, when many of Liston's former acquaintances were still alive, Tosches posits that Liston's idol Joe Louis introduced him to heroin, and that he ultimately overdosed. Arthur Daley of the New York Times wrote that Liston's handlers knew he "didn't have it anymore,"[65] and allegedly they had secretly paid sparring partner Amos Lincoln an extra $100 to take it easy on him -[citation needed] - the same man, incidentally, that Liston dismissed in less than two rounds a full three years later. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. 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. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . Boston: Little, Brown. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. In the months ahead of the fight, Muhammad Ali went all sorts of routes to get into Sonny Liston's head. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating: "Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. 'Raising Ali' Remembers The 'Worst Mess In The History Of Sports' - NPR 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. Sonny Liston vs Eddie Machen (1960) As usual, Liston wasted no time throwing his jab and keeping Machen at bay, who was trying to get his hands off with minimal success. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. Who needed that? ", Knopfler compared writing a song about Liston to the work a sculptor performs on a statue. 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. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. Sonny Liston Interview in Color - YouTube "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. [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. He had been deliberately snubbed. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and his doctor, but did not notify the police until two to three hours later. 'What's My Name| Muhammad Ali' Proves Why Ali's The Greatest - VIBE.com ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. [citation needed], Rogin wrote that Patterson backers expected him to "go inside on Liston, fire away and then run like a thief in the night. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses But then again, he took a pretty good beating in the fight. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. There's never been anybody as ruthless. 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. 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