The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." Tosches, Nick (2000). Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Which means he owned one of the biggest reach in boxing, while "only" being 6'1 tall (which is about 73 inches). Liston assaulted the officer, breaking his knee and gashing his face. 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. [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. Pan, 2017. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. And (4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner 6 months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. [50] Liston's criminal record, compounded by a personal association with a notorious labor racketeer, led to the police's stopping him on sight, and he began to avoid main streets. The heavyweight champion's mysterious death is covered in tonight's all-new episode of. Biographer Wilfrid Sheed wrote in his book, Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs, that Clay's protests were heard by ringside members of the Nation of Islam who initially suspected Dundee had blinded his fighter, and that the trainer deliberately wiped his own eyes with the corner sponge to demonstrate to Clay's approaching bodyguards that he had not intentionally blinded him. interview with Alex Haley in Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser. 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. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. . He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. He also cited medical evidence: "A team of eight doctors inspected Liston's arm at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and agreed that it was too badly damaged for Liston to continue fighting. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." "The public is not with me. 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. That got him killed. In the first fight, in Miami, a 22-year-old Cassius Clay danced around the ring, taunted Liston, promised reporters he'd shock the world, and then delivered on that promise with a blistering late. Boxing Record Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. For those too young to remember, Sonny The Big Bear Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c. 1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. Floyd Patterson was Ben Mintz's "Minty Lock Of The Week" and Megan Makin' Moneyloved Patterson in a decision. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. (12) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+. CU Experts. "That really broke Sonny's heart," said Simon George, who wrote and directed Showtime's "Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston." A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. He got out of prison in 52, won the Golden Gloves in Chicago, and went pro after less than a year Unfortunately, the only financial backers willing to put up the necessary money for him to turn professional were local mobsters, and Liston supplemented his income by working for the local mob as an intimidator-enforcer. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. [64] Strict interpretation of the knockdown/count rule states it is the referee's count and not the timekeeper's that is the official count. 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. Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned that it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. 2023 Barstool Sports. His death is still a mystery, but Mike Tyson puts flowers on his grave every year at Paradise Memorial Gardensin Las Vegas. 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. He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. I know it", Liston said afterward. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. There was something caustic in both eyes." Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Also, McDonough did not bang on the canvas or motion a number count with his fingers. ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. [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. "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." Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. After some run-ins with the law near St Louis, Liston moved to Philly and picked up a new manager in 1958: another mafia guy named Joseph "Pep" Barone, who was a front man for mobsters Frankie Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo. Liston was a heavy favorite. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. 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. In remembrance of Muhammed Ali, NPR looks back at Robert Siegel's conversation with filmmaker Gary Robinov, director of Raising Ali, about the . C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. 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. 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." Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. "He said: 'Look what they did!' On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. [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! Sonny's in a simple white robe, hood covering a white towel that's draped over his head. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. What the . The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston. 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 . Daniel 'Sonny' Liston is on Facebook. 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. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas Pan publisher; 2017. [10][11] It has been suggested Liston himself may not have known what year he was born, as he was not precise on the matter. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. -- CHARLES (SONNY) LISTON It was already dark when she stepped from the car in front of her house on Ottawa Drive, but she could see her pink Cadillac convertible and Sonny's new black. 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. Boston: Little, Brown. [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]. 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. With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. Clearly, it was time to turn pro. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c.1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St.Francis County, Arkansas. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. Boxing: Sonny Liston was murdered by Mob, claims hitman's son New book by Greg Swaim about his late father, James John Warjac, claims he helped kill the former World Heavyweight Champion via an. 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. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. [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. And that guy did come along and beat him Twice And it was Muhammad Ali. Born to a large and impoverished sharecropping family, Charles 'Sonny' Liston probably came into the world four years before his official 1932 birthdate, and his struggle to fashion a real identity would remain with him his whole life. The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. Several reports say Liston had fresh needle marks on his arms when he died. Other than that, little is definite about his birth, but he seems to have been born in a shack on the cotton plantation where his parents worked, a little outside Forrest City, in Arkansas, which did . "[18] The only backers willing to put up the necessary money for him to turn professional were close to underworld figures, and Liston supplemented his income by working for racketeers as an intimidator-enforcer. Overall, Liston earned around $500,000 during his career. And the Muslims were coming up. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. [84], Liston married Geraldine Chambers in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. "The public is not with me. He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. But some Vegas "bookies, mobsters, and cops" still wonder if he wasn't . On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. He had the whole package. [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. However, David Remnick, for his book King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, interviewed one of Liston's cornermen, who told him that Liston could have continued: "[The shoulder] was all BS. Patterson finally agreed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago And everyone had Patterson. Sit down!' The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. 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. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas to a sharecropper, Tobey Liston, who fathered 25 children, the second youngest of whom was Charles, Sonny's real name, born from Tobey's marriage to Helen Baskin, a woman nearly three decades younger than he. [14], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. 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. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. February 25, 1964. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. When he tried to muscle in for a bigger share, his employers got him very drunk, took him home, and stuck him with a needle. So I went down. BOXING legend Sonny Liston was murdered by the MAFIA in a death staged to look like an overdose, a new documentary has claimed. 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. "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. Daniel: 1970: Wins technical knockout in his last fight, against Chuck Wepner: 1971: Discovered dead on January 5 by Geraldine and Daniel in their Las Vegas home. 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. Now you know who he is Heres how he died. "Sonnyboyliston | Race Record & Form | Racing Post", "Moonfire (1972), a film by Michael Parkhurst -Theiapolis", NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion - BoxRec, Lyrics to a song about Liston by Mark Knopfler, FBI Records: The Vault - Charles Sonny Liston, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Liston&oldid=1137950795, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hackman, Timothy. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. "[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. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. 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. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band He is seen in the far left of the first row, wearing a white and gold robe. Maybe he was. Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. 9, 1 March 2018, p. 8, New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape', "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)", "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time", "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)", "ESPN Classic - Liston was trouble in and out of ring", "Jacob's Beach by Kevin Mitchell: review", "Hard Times, Good Times: Charles "Sonny" Liston - Boxing.com", "Dismayed D'Amato Is Expecting To Get Back Manager's License", "Esquire covers commemorate boxing's prime", "Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston I: 50 Years Later", "Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting) - BoxRec", "1964 Clay vs. Liston Judges' Scorecards from Miami Beach Bout. | Lot #80073 | Heritage Auctions", "Muhammad Ali's Toughest Fight Wasn't Against Joe Frazier", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch', "I WAS THERE: George Chuvalo Watches Sonny Liston Take a Dive - YouTube", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch' | Boxing News", "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search", "Sonny Liston the most talented Heavyweight in history", "George Foreman Discusses Friendship With Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston: Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy Boxing News", "LOTIERZO'S LOWDOWN Sonny Liston: The Most Underrated Heavyweight Champ In History", "The Most Feared Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston remembered", "Liston KO'd Popular Patterson for Title", "O Unlucky Man: Fortune never smiled on Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston Meets the Press - Boxing.com", "Like Fights Against Ali, Liston Death a Mystery", "December 30, 1970: Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston", "19 YEARS LATER: Liston Death Remains Mystery to His Friends". As the famous photo portrays, Ali taunted the fallen Liston, calling on him to get up. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. Liston made his professional boxing debut at the age of 21 on September 2, 1953. He also took his gun. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. 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. Sports Illustrated once wrote his hands"looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists. Although in the second fight, Liston appears to have taken a dive Again with the mob stuff. He was a gentle man. Liston injured his shoulder early in the 1964. He was found dead in his Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971 Six months after the Wepner fight. 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. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. "Get up and fight, sucker," is the famous quote. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Rough N' Rowdy 20 LIVE From The Charleston Coliseum | Friday 8PM ET, Barstool Sportsbook has arrived in PA, MI, IL, IN, CO, VA, NJ, TN, AZ, IA, WV, LA, KS, MD, OH, Best Influencer Marketplace for Advertisers, Best Influencer Marketplace for Influencers & Creators, Best Influencer Marketplace for Agents & Agencies, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Naploetana - Chestnut Hill. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. 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. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. "[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. Boston: Little, Brown. "[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. Liston was found dead by his wife in their Las Vegas home on Jan. 5, 1971. Even Sonny's mother, who was called Big Hela, didn't know, though she believed him to be born during the month of January. View the profiles of people named Daniel 'Sonny' Liston. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. In all, 14 major contenders during his prime refused outright to fight him, the most for any boxer in history. 1 contender in 1960, but the handlers of world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to organized crime. 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. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. [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. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." 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