[35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. Sheed says that the punch and the knockdown "may have been genuine, but when referee Joe Walcott blew the count and gave him all evening to get up, Liston's rendition of a coma wouldn't have fooled a possum. Ali did neither. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. 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. I'm Sonny Liston, I'm Jack Dempsey, there's no one like I'm from their . [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. 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. Governor John H. Reed of Maine stepped forward, and within a few hours the promoters had a new site: Lewiston, Maine, a mill town with a population of about 41,000 located 140 miles (230km) north of Boston. 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. Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight champion, said that he appreciated the punchs strength upon re-examination. 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." Soon, he was known as Cassius X, eschewing the last name given to his enslaved family by their owners. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. Im free to be who I want.. After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting. His eyes swept the whole scene. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. 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. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. I was about to say look at those mitts! He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. It was 1965, not 1955. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didnt happen in the ring. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. 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. That would prove to be an understatement. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. Knopfler said the track "uses a lot of the country-blues style of playing that I started to absorb when I was young.". [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. 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. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. Ali called it "the anchor punch." "[42], Liston made his second title defense on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. I forgot about the rules." The Devil and Sonny Liston. 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. 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. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. [36], Jack Dempsey spoke for many when he was quoted as saying that Sonny Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. Boston: Little, Brown. The suspension was honored in all states. The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. [14], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. The fight quickly descended into chaos. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. Was Pariah boxing legend Sonny Listons OD really a mob murder? [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. 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. He sunk to the canvas, and as he was down, Ali stood over him, taunting and demanding his stunned opponent get back up. Known for his powerful punch, the majority of his victories were knockouts. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. Paul R Gallender, 2012. He also took his gun. BOXING Correction: July 15, 2005, Friday A sports picture caption on Wednesday with an article about Mark Knopfler's ballad for the boxer Sonny Liston referred incorrectly in some copies to the year in which Muhammad Ali knocked out Liston in Lewiston, Me. 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. He took one and went down. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" Tocco left the house before the police did. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. "And I suppose Sonny Liston always stuck with me. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. Liston was a heavy favorite. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 22K views 10 months ago On the Spot show with Max Goldberg featuring the heavyweight champion. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. 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. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? [38], Patterson finally signed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. "[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. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. Maule, Tex (March 9, 1964). "You're putting things on and you're taking this out and molding it," Knopfler said. Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. 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]. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. In an Associated Press poll, 64 of 102 reporters picked Patterson. "[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. Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. Be respectful and come chat with us. Never seen this one before, thanks alot. In this case, Intercontinental Promotions Inc., which had the rights to Listons fight, also got to choose the first opponent for the new champion, should Liston lose. 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. Watch the interview you be the judge.. Half a mile above and beyond the shrine, looking down from the summit of the mountain, is a statue of the Sacred Heart. My man. Pan, 2017. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and his doctor, but did not notify the police until two to three hours later. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. In "Sailing to Philadelphia," a duet with James Taylor, Knopfler told of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon traveling from England to North America to draw the Mason-Dixon line. QUESTION 1 [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Sonny Liston | Boxing's Most Intimidating and Unwanted Champion Rainy Day Boxing 302K subscribers 5.6M views 1 year ago Join Rainy Day Boxing for an in depth career tribute to arguably the most. [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. 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. It made a champion out of Clay, who declared that hed shook up the world.. 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. [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. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. No, I'm Alexanderhe's no Alexander. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." 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. 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. He could probably drive his thumb through your skull like Michael Myers, It's crazy to think about the fact that Sonny Liston was an actual gangster running with gangs.. and then he looks so soft spoken in the interview. His "Speedway at Nazareth" was about auto racing. [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. "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. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. Sonny Liston Interview 82,818 views Apr 2, 2014 1.3K Dislike Share Save haNZAgod 93.2K subscribers Subscribe A rare interview with former Heavyweight champion of the world, Sonny Liston.. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. . "[69] The fact that Liston did not complain about the clear breach of boxing rules (being declared knocked out without a count) and Ali's obvious state of bewilderment, shouting at Liston "Nobody will believe this" and asking his handlers "Did I hit him? He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. When Patterson met with the president in January 1962, Kennedy suggested that Patterson avoid Liston, citing Justice Department concerns over Liston's ties to organized crime. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. . "[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. I dont have to be what you want me to be, Clay told agitated reporters. 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. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. Ali brought his big personality to the small town, but Liston was still the favorite. He had been deliberately snubbed. Rogin wrote. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. 589 Share 23K views 1 year ago Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. [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. They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. And the Muslims were coming up. 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. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. There were plenty of tough questions after the first fight for Liston, too, namely, why didnt he come out for another round? Boston: Little, Brown. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. There are echoes of slavery in his upbringing." The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. Shaun Assael. Traduo Context Corretor Sinnimos Conjugao Conjugao Documents Dicionrio Dicionrio Colaborativo Gramtica Expressio Reverso Corporate I wasn't hit. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. For those too young to remember, Sonny "The Big Bear" Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. McDonough, however, claimed Walcott was looking at the crowd and never at him. 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. After Ali's win against Sonny Liston, he wouldn't . For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. I remember thinking as a child that this was a man who wanted to be left alone.". 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. [8] Convicted and sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. [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. Liston's story, Knopfler said, "is great for a writer for many reasons. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston. . The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. [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]. Who needed that? It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. When Machen clinched in . A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. 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". Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. 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.. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. He offered no comment on the matter, but his victory would soon turn it into an international story. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Banker said, "Sheriff [Ralph] Lamb told me, 'Tell your pal Sonny to stay away from the West Side because we're going to bust the drug dealers.'" He said that Liston was not quick with his hand or footwork, that he relied too much on his ability to take a punch, and that he could be vulnerable to an opponent with more hand speed. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. The match had more storylines than a soap opera. 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. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. He used the platform to expound on the political theory that was so reviled in white America, defending Malcolm X and condemning racial oppression this was still months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. Liston decked Martin with a left hook in the fourth round and dominated most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. [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. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he would go public with the story unless they gave him the money. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . Also in 1970, Liston appeared on an episode of the TV series Love, American Style and in a television commercial for Braniff Airlines with Andy Warhol.[12][102]. Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. Liston has been referenced in many songs by artists such as Curtis Eller, Sun Kil Moon, the Animals, Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Phil Ochs, Morrissey, Freddy Blohm, Chuck E. Weiss, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, the Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, Gone Jackals, Billy Joel, the Mountain Goats, Lil Wayne, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the Killers. 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.
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