[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. "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. That got him killed. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". 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. "I remember him telling me one day that he found himself watching boxing but he didn't like the way it made him feel," Knopfler said. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. He offered no comment on the matter, but his victory would soon turn it into an international story. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. 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. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didnt happen in the ring. Paul R Gallender, 2012. The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. He took one and went down. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Joe Frazier vs Sonny Liston : r/Boxing - Reddit [11][12][10][13][14] One writer concluded that Liston's most plausible date of birth was July 22, 1930, citing census records and statements from his mother during her lifetime. The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. [52][53] It was the first time since 1919when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willardthat a world heavyweight champion had quit on his stool. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. Did Sonny Liston Take a Dive in His Second Muhammad Ali - Sportscasting #muhammadali #henrycooper #sonnyliston #dougjones #heavyweight #greatness #boxing #legend #larryholmes #ironmike #sonnyliston #intimidating #bad #big #greatb. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. 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. "[95], Sgt. 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. "[68], While Liston publicly denied taking a dive, Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram said that years later Liston told him, "That guy [Ali] was crazy. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The last of Sonny Liston Andscape Sonny Liston is considered by many as the most intimidating boxer of all time with a devastating jab which is widely regarded as one of the best in heavyweight history. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. 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. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. Alois Stevens, suggested to Liston that he try boxing, and his obvious aptitude, along with an endorsement from Stevens, who was also a priest, aided Liston in getting an early parole. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. 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.. Ali called it "the anchor punch." Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. (, Shaun Assael. Liston assaulted the officer, breaking his knee and gashing his face. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. 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. He was scared of the black-power movement. 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. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. "Yes, it was good and honest". [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". In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." "I was rooting around in my childhood, maybe the way you do when you get to a certain age," Knopfler said. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. On This Day: Muhammad Ali knocks out Sonny Liston with - The Ring His "Speedway at Nazareth" was about auto racing. You really never watched the first fight did you? He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. He would not close in until the accumulated inside damage and Liston's own frustration had sapped the challenger's strength and will." Reminds me of former UFC fighter Shane Carwin. Sonny Liston in his prime . In the 2015 British crime film Legend, Liston is played by Mark Theodore in a scene where gangster Reggie Kray poses for a picture with the boxer. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. ", 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." "It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict," said Sgt. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." 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. Unlike Dylan or Carter, however, Knopfler does not present Liston as innocent of a crime for which he was imprisoned. Sonny Liston: The Tragic Story of a Terrifying Man Concert Preview/Interview: John Lodge of the Moody Blues on Reprising "Days of Future Passed . 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. Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and Joe Louis. Support this Channel:https://www.patreon.com/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise:LegendsofBoxing.redbubble.com I restore \u0026 colorize your projects, PayPal Donations: LegendsofBoxingYT@gmail.comThank you!________________________________________________________________________________All My YouTube ChannelsMy Main Channel \"Legends of Boxing\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73ffQAknNEWJlRoFSWH_awMy Second Boxing Channel \"Legends of Boxing Strikes Back\": 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/ 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. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. [72], "I was an 'intimidator' until I fought Sonny Liston. 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. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. The second fight? Liston's story, Knopfler said, "is great for a writer for many reasons. [8], Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed robberies. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. In an Associated Press poll, 64 of 102 reporters picked Patterson. [62] The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country. Pan, 2017. "It really has made an impact, actually from the very first time I performed it on 'A Prairie Home Companion,"' Knopfler said in a telephone interview. 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. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. It burned like hell. 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. [27][28], Liston's streak of nine straight knockout victories ended when he won a unanimous twelve-round decision against Eddie Machen on September 7, 1960. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. 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. The fight lasted less than one full round, with Ali knocking out Liston at the 1:44 mark. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. "[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 second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell.". Sit down!' Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. 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. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . I'm Sonny Liston, I'm Jack Dempsey, there's no one like I'm from their . 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. I dont have to be what you want me to be, Clay told agitated reporters. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." 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/ 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. 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. December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses [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. For Sonny Liston, a Ballad to a Heavyweight, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/sports/othersports/for-sonny-liston-a-ballad-to-a-heavyweight.html. For Sonny Liston, a Ballad to a Heavyweight - The New York Times ", Knopfler compared writing a song about Liston to the work a sculptor performs on a statue. He was poking the bear a bit there . A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. "Some songs just seem to reverberate with people.". Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? 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. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. 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. Beat me to it! "But can he hit!" Welcome to r/boxing, the official home of pro boxing on Reddit! Maybe he was. I remember thinking as a child that this was a man who wanted to be left alone.". The Devil and Sonny Liston. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. What are you doing? [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. Knopfler, who now records as a soloist and performs with a backup band, has a wide-ranging curiosity that has produced an eclectic collection of songs. 10 Wild Stories From The Life Of Sonny Liston - Listverse [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. Good lord, Sonny's mitts are massive. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. Remembering One Of Boxing's Storied Bouts : NPR 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. 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 . Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. One Journalist's Attempt To Solve 'The Murder Of Sonny Liston' - WBUR 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. 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.". "[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. 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. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. "[96], Many people who knew Liston insisted he was afraid of needles and never would have used heroin. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. [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. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. 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. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. 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. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. He returned with four consecutive knockout victories in Sweden between July 1966 and April 1967, all four co-promoted by former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson. He allegedly later told an assistant that he took a dive because he was afraid of the consequences of beating Ali he thought it would put a target on his own back. Muhammad Ali called it his "anchor punch," a quick right hand that the young heavyweight champion claimed he had learned from his friend, actor Stepin Fetchit. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. 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. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. During a ringside interview after the fight, Terrellwith his swollen eye and deflated egowould later say he respected all boxers.