Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. "[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. You really never watched the first fight did you? That got him killed. 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. "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. 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. The Devil and Sonny Liston. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. Knopfler said the track "uses a lot of the country-blues style of playing that I started to absorb when I was young.". 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 . knockout kimbo slice evander holyfield nogueira wladimir vitali klitschko haye mma brutal bareknuckle headbutt lowblow foul dirty boxer funny bob sapp david cesar chavez joe frazier rocky marciano larry holmes felix trinidad jackson new tribute video highlight dirtiest best brock lesnar julio cesar ricky hatton randy couture israel vasquez juan manuel marquez antonio margarito felix tito trinidad antonio rodrigo minotauro marco antonio barrera john ruiz freddie roach hector camacho pernell whitaker willie pep sugar ray robinson shane mosley antonio tarver roy jones joe cortez lennox lewis david haye haymaker wladimir vitali vladimir klitschko klitchko prediction prefight postfight press conferencetex cobb gerry cooney jerry pierre coetzer floyd roger mayweather arturo gatti rocky graziano graciano tony zale dariusz michalczewski rocky rocchigiani henry maske james toney vassily jirov vasily unbelievable knockout ko k.o. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. Lennox is a conqueror? With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. Shaun Assael. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. And the face, it was an unforgettable face. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. 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. [38], Patterson finally signed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. I know it", Liston said afterward. "[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. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & 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. 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. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. Sonny Liston became world heavyweight champion in 1962 and fought Muhammad Ali twice In January 1971, former heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston was found dead at his Las Vegas. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. "[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. According to a report in the Miami Herald a few weeks before the 1964 fight, Clay was consorting with members of the Nation of Islam, who Clays father claimed had brainwashed his son. Liston was overwhelmed by an abusive father, confrontations with the law, underworld managers and a change in African-American culture represented by Ali, Knopfler said. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. 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. The fight lasted less than one full round, with Ali knocking out Liston at the 1:44 mark. 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.. It made a champion out of Clay, who declared that hed shook up the world.. 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. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. [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 I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. Liston was a heavy favorite. "[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. Like Dylan's subject, Rubin Carter, Knopfler's version of Liston is sympathetic. Boxings brightest young star was again squaring off against a renowned bruiser in a rematch of their thrilling and controversial heavyweight championship fight one year prior, a fight that was followed by 14 months of international intrigue and the combustible politics of the 1960s. [25][26], In 1960 Liston won five more fights, including a rematch with Williams, who lasted only two rounds. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. "Some songs just seem to reverberate with people.". Boston: Little, Brown. 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]. Was Pariah boxing legend Sonny Listons OD really a mob murder? He was a gentle man. [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." "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. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" And it was probably for the best ticket-buyers didnt exactly get their moneys worth. The photo captures the champions exhortations, with all the fire and passion and dynamic physicality that made him such a phenomenon. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. Watch the interview you be the judge. [8], Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed robberies. Hall of Fame announcer Don Dunphy said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards used to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." The victim sought out the executioner." Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. While valuing the photograph, appraiser Kathleen Guzman told. The rumors swirling nearly canceled the fight the night prior, and when a reporter that morning broke tradition and asked if Clay was a member of the Black Muslims, as the group was often called, the boxer confirmed his new religion. 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 was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. THE PREFIGHT MOODS OF SONNY LISTON. 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. I forgot about the rules." The fight lasted four seconds longer than the first one. 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/ He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight champion, said that he appreciated the punchs strength upon re-examination. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. 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. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. 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. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. 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. But audiences attending Knopfler's concerts around North America this summer are hearing and responding favorably to a song of a different genre, a bluesy narrative ballad called "Song for Sonny Liston," about the troubled fighter who preceded Muhammad Ali as heavyweight champion in the early 1960's. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." "He said: 'Look what they did!' The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. 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. Corbett Francesco Damiani Jack Dempsey Michael Dokes Jimmy Ellis Bob Fitzsimmons Joe Frazier Marvin Hart Herbie Hide Evander Holyfield James J. Jeffries Ingemar Johansson Jack Johnson Vitali Klitschko Sonny Liston Joe Louis Rocky Marciano Ray Mercer Tommy Morrison Greg Page Floyd Patterson John Ruiz Max Schmeling Bruce Seldon Jack Sharkey James Smith John L. Sullivan John Tate Ernie Terrell Tony Tubbs Nikolay Valuev Jersey Joe Walcott Mike Weaver Jess Willard Tim Witherspoon Muhammad Ali Lou Ambers Sammy Angott Fred Apostoli Ray Arcel Alexis Argello Baby Arizmendi Henry Armstrong Abe Attell Max Baer Caleb Baldwin Carmen Basilio Wilfred Bentez Nino Benvenuti Jack Kid Berg Jimmy Bivins Umberto Branchini Joe Brown Panama Al Brown Ken Buchanan Charley Burley Orlando Canizales Miguel Canto Tony Canzoneri Michael Carbajal Jem Carney Jimmy Carter Marcel Cerdan Antonio Cervantes Bobby Chacon Arthur Chambers Ezzard Charles Kid Chocolate Joe Choynski Stanley Christodoulou Billy Conn Eugne Criqui Jos Cuevas Jack Dempsey Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey Jack Dillon Professor Mike Donovan Paddy Duffy Don Dunphy Roberto Durn Lou Duva Billy Edwards Gabriel Elorde Jeff Fenech Bob Fitzsimmons George Foreman Bob Foster Joe Frazier Gene Fullmer Khaosai Galaxy Vctor Galndez Joe Gans Kid Gaviln Joey Giardello Mike Gibbons Wilfredo Gmez Humberto Mike Tyson "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. Maule, Tex (March 9, 1964). [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. "From Bad Buck to White Hope: Journalism and Sonny Liston, 19581965. Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread and all them sluggers went down like lead. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." The following year, Sonnydetermined to reunite with his mother and siblingsthrashed the pecans from his brother-in-law's tree and sold them in Forrest City, Arkansas. Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned that it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. According to a New York Times report the day after the fight, Clay was indeed an official member of the Nation of Islam. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. 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. 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. 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. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell.". [74], Writer Gilbert Rogin assessed Liston's style and physique after his win over Zora Folley. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Suddenly, the world had to come to grips with a new kind of heavyweight champion. 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. The highly-anticipated May 1965 rematch between the heavyweight champions almost didn't happen. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didnt happen in the ring. [22], Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. "I was rooting around in my childhood, maybe the way you do when you get to a certain age," Knopfler said. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! 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. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. QUESTION 1 Another depicts Liston's death scene and autopsy: "There was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer Criss-crossed on his back, scars from his daddy like slavery tracks.". 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. Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch.