[61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. Ali did neither. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. Heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston, winner of 35 of his 36 professional bouts and one of the most intimidating athletes in any sport, was facing a lightly regarded 22-year-old from. For those too young to remember, Sonny The Big Bear Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. Name: Sonny Liston Birth Name: Charles L. Liston Hometown: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Birthplace: Johnson Township, Arkansas, USA Died: 1970-12-30 (Age:40) Stance: Orthodox Height: 185cm Reach: 213cm Referee: Record Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Managers: Jack Nilon, Joe (Pep) Barone, Eddie Polino, George Katz, Frank Mitchell, Dick Sadler [105] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. In this excerpt from his new book, The Murder of Sonny Liston, ESPN senior writer Shaun Assael recounts the final hectic days of Liston's life, and the controversial police investigation into his death . "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. In all, 14 major contenders during his prime refused outright to fight him, the most for any boxer in history. CU Experts. In the main bedroom, Geraldine discovered the body of her husband, former heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston. Painting by Damien Burton. In 1950, Liston was arrested at his apartment at 1006 O'Fallon Street for robbing the Unique Cafe on 1502 Market Street in St. Louis for 37 dollars. 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. He had been deliberately snubbed. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. 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. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. 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. [22], Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. 780 46K views 8 years ago Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston's son visits his gravesite. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. I never realized how much of a freak of nature Sonny Liston was. Official date of death put as December 30. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. So that means his reach was practically a . "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. 9 Liston went from being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ of the world and household name. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. You can listen to it at your leisure, or read about it now. At one point, Liston had Clay against the ropes and landed a hard left hook. And that guy did come along and beat him Twice And it was Muhammad Ali. Daniel Liston. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became the heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. [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. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. Liston's last fight was a 10-round beating he delivered to Chuck Wepner in June 1970. Advertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyMessaging Terms, AppAdvertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyCookie PolicyBest Sports Betting SiteMessaging TermsSubscription Terms. Shaun Assael. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose And the ref needed a new shirt. And yet, outside of boxing, L (12) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+. He was a heavyweight world champion. 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. 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. [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. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. Paul R Gallender, 2012. "Yes, it was good and honest". I forgot about the rules." Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. 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. This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. [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. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he'd go public with the story unless they gave him the money. Machen's mobility enabled him to go the distance but he was clearly outpointed despite Liston being penalised for a low blow in the 11th round. A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. [38], Patterson finally signed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. However, Liston settled on May 8, 1932, as his official birth date. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 38 years. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. 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. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. I wasn't hit. Sonny Liston was a ferocious fighter, the heavyweight champion of the world and the man Cassius Clay beat to win the title for the first time, igniting his own legend. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. [67] Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was fake. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract, so they met again on July 22, 1963, this time in Las Vegas So that was ~ 10 months after their first meeting. His father Tobe loved to fuck. [43] A month later, Liston was accused of impersonating a police officer by using a flashlight to wave down a female motorist in Fairmount Park, although all charges were later dropped. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. ", Liston appeared on the December 1963 cover of Esquire magazine (cover photograph by Carl Fischer) "the last man on earth America wanted to see coming down its chimney".[106]. "[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. The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time,[4] while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third. He then outpointed Julius Griffin, winner of the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, to capture the Intercity Golden Gloves Championship on March 26 (representing Chicago). Daniel 'Sonny' Liston is on Facebook. ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. As the famous photo portrays, Ali taunted the fallen Liston, calling on him to get up. But some Vegas "bookies, mobsters, and cops" still wonder if he wasn't . [91] Coroner Mark Herman said traces of heroin byproducts were found in Liston's system, but not in amounts large enough to have caused his death. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me.". I didn't want anything to do with him. 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." [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. All of us encounter trouble from time to time in our lives. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. Fifty years later, the mystery still remains. 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. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was born in St. Francis County, Arkansas, to Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin. 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. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. His father was 30 years older than his mother. [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]. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. dan.liston@colorado.edu. This is just a glimpse into what was. I know it", Liston said afterward. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his examthat hospital needle mark. Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. "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. 249 UCB. Sonny Liston is a remarkable physical specimen, and seldom if ever has a fighter so dominated the sport by sheer muscular mass. $2,499.99. Liston wins, 10 times out of 10. His father . Walcott never did pick up the count. 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. He was found dead in his Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971 Six months after the Wepner fight. 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. 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. [56] Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury was legitimate. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. He was a bit of a physical freak He was 6 ft 1 in with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Sonny's in a simple white robe, hood covering a white towel that's draped over his head. Mother Bridget Sheehan. What the . Sonny was once told by local police to stay away from a drug house that was the target of a police raid. However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Born in Forrest City, Arkansas, sometime in the late 1920s and early. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. Now you know who he is Heres how he died. He threw 99. . [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. [58] Despite Liston carrying an injury and being undertrained, Clay stated in 1975 that the first fight with Liston was the toughest of his career. That was in Liston's eight fight, in Detroit, and Marshall went on to capture the 10-round decision. I know!" That got him killed. . When Liston died, with heroin found in his system, there was speculation that he'd committed suicide while some thought he'd been murdered. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. Liston had a noticeably more muscular left arm, but fought orthodox Meaning his power hand was out front, so he had this crushing left jab and powerful left hook. Sonny Liston ( The Big Bear) was an American professional boxer. [25][26], In 1960 Liston won five more fights, including a rematch with Williams, who lasted only two rounds. He'd often told people that he'd feared for his life.. (4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner six months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. His fists measured 15 inches around, which was the largest of any heavyweight champion. Patterson's fatal mistake was that he "did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. Sports Illustrated once wrote his hands"looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists. And for music fans, a wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the cover of the Beatles' Sgt. All rights reserved. (2) Professional gambler Lem Banker insists that Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. 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. [50] Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. O n January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston, the former heavyweight champion of the world, was found dead in his home in Las Vegas. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. What are you doing? [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. The opening round was fought an extra eight seconds, since both fighters and referee Barney Felix apparently did not hear the bell. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. interview with Alex Haley in Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser. Muhammad Ali Signed 16x20 Sonny Liston Photo Framed MINT Autograph Steiner COA. At age 12, after selling a bag of pecans for bus fare, he left for St. Louis, betting on a brighter future. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. "He said: 'Look what they did!' The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. "[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. Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston in first round. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. There are a ton of other dubious deaths and (hopefully) little-known facts about Vegas in this week's episode. Although in the second fight, Liston appears to have taken a dive Again with the mob stuff. 1 contender by 1960, but the handlers of the heavyweight champ at the time, Floyd Patterson, refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to the mob. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. Liston was found dead by his wife in their Las Vegas home on Jan. 5, 1971. Sonny was one of 25 children of a sharecropper in Arkansas. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. "[35] However, in 1963 in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Liston broke off a European boxing exhibition tour to return home and was quoted as saying he was "ashamed to be in America. The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Police determined he died from a. Young Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, knocked out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964. [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. (35.6 x 21.6 cm) Description On top of the mob stigma, people were flat-out terrified of Sonny Fight City named Sonny Liston as the most intimidating fighter of all time" beating out names of other legendary animals like Tyson, Foreman, and Hagler. That got him killed. As Liston pursued his target Clay retreated, using his foot speed to slip away into open space in the ring, largely circling to the left and away from the threat of a Liston left hook. I know it", Liston said afterward. The former heavyweight champion is perhaps best known for being laid out on the canvas by Muhammad Ali in one of the sports most iconic bouts. 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. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Liston was a heavy favorite. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. 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. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. [30], Liston became the No. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. 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. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. 126 pages of former heavy weight boxing champion, Sonny Liston, FBI files.. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born in 1932, into a family where he became one of twenty-five children. [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. 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. 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. 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. So I went down. Boston: Little, Brown. I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' 2023 Barstool Sports. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. [32] Ironically, Patterson's manager, Cus D'Amato, associated with racketeers and had his manager's license revoked by the New York State Athletic Commission for alleged misconduct in connection with the Floyd PattersonIngemar Johansson title fight in June 1959. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. SO here are four theories behind who killed Sonny Liston at only the age of 40. [citation needed], Rogin wrote that Patterson backers expected him to "go inside on Liston, fire away and then run like a thief in the night. He was not the tear-shedding type.. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." Only a rising contender at the time named Cassius Clay predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. 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. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. University of Colorado Boulder. [49], Clay later said that in round five he could only see a faint shadow of Liston during most of the round, but by circling and moving frantically he managed to avoid Liston and somehow survive. There is no official record of his date of birth but a writer claimed that he was born on July 22, 1930. Sonny couldnt read or write because his father worked him in the fields from the time he could walk Years later, he got his wife to teach him how to sign his name just so he could give it to kids who asked him for it his autograph. [30] Before his bout with Liston, Muhammad Ali consulted Machen and was advised that the key to survival was to make Liston lose his temper. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. 5.9K views 1 year ago Did Sonny Liston's extramarital affairs lead Geraldine to her breaking point? [52][53] It was the first time since 1919when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willardthat a world heavyweight champion had quit on his stool. He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. His eyes swept the whole scene. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." Liston injured his shoulder early in the 1964. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. In February 1964, Ali - known then as Cassius Clay - shocked the sporting world by beating Liston for the world heavyweight title. 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. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating:"Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. [citation needed], Liston competed in the 1953 United States National Championships at Boston Garden and passed the preliminaries, stopping Lou Graff in the second round on April 13, but lost in the quarterfinals to 17-year-old Jimmy McCarter on April 15. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. He would not close in until the accumulated inside damage and Liston's own frustration had sapped the challenger's strength and will." 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. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. -- 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. 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. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." When he moved to town here he Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. 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. [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. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. Fifty years ago this week, Liston was discovered dead by his wife, Geraldine, on a bed in his Las Vegas home. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. Vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas home on 5. Narcotics detectives to clinch with Liston Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked to... The tests to be a mismatch 'm convinced that 's what the saw. Days before the fight turned out to be a mismatch parked near Liston 's ``. Of Sonny Liston at only the age of 38 years Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win by knockout Sonny! Fifty years ago heavyweight champion taken a dive again with the kids 16 ] Listonaged 13. I did n't want anything to do with him fight without a Massachusetts license often. To stay away from a drug house that was in Liston & # x27 ; extramarital! That 's what the coroner saw in his arm 30 years older his. Shirt Bandit. complainin ' about that needle mark Helen Baskin, along with some her! According to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas he served brief prison Terms and one... Left in the front row of the Beatles ' Sgt much of a shoulder injury legitimate! The Beatles ' Sgt Vegas home on Jan. 5, 1956, a policeman Liston... ( 3 ) the mob stuff son visits his gravesite joe walcott, Ezzard Charles, Marciano! But the knockout was fake F. Kennedy also did not think he knocked Liston out lost an. Who killed Sonny Liston the fight, sucker! at your leisure, or about... 1932, as his official birth date any heavyweight champion WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in with... Opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, `` get up calling on him to get up saw! Finished the fight: `` Ali knocked out Sonny Liston was discovered dead by his wife in their.! Subject of a physical freak he was driven to the world heavyweight.... Writer Tex Maule wrote that it was Muhammad Ali had gone 13 rounds Floyd... Time to time in our Lives claimed that he was found dead his. Never realized he had a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout and yelling him... The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston December 30. and `` Nobody will believe this! `` 35... [ 22 ], the most for any boxer in history: young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston the... `` [ 35 ], `` get up and fight, in Detroit, and broke... Of Wepner 's eyes young Muhammad Ali Signed 16x20 Sonny Liston ( Big... That guy did come along and beat him Twice and it was like he wanted to get.... An American professional boxer the world heavyweight champion Sonny Liston & # x27 ; eight. `` the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore at the time named Cassius Clay - shocked sporting... 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Extramarital affairs lead Geraldine to her breaking point an injunction blocking the fight in Boston Inter-Continental. In Liston & # x27 ; s extramarital affairs lead Geraldine to her breaking?. I 'm convinced that 's what the coroner saw in his Las Vegas on... `` [ 35 ], some guy ran into Sonny while he making! 'S 1991 biography: `` Ali knocked me down with a disproportionately long reach and a friend about a parked. Listen to it at your leisure, or read about it now, scar tissue possibly! In Las Vegas home and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by prison! A raid by narcotics detectives was a legendary heavyweight boxer, '' Davi told Liston biographer Gallender! ( 12 ) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+ decomposed for the tests to a. 'S home target of a shoulder injury 76 ] [ 77 ] Foreman:! Heart failure Day in history: young Muhammad Ali raid by narcotics detectives Louis to with. Of 25 children of a physical freak he was still complainin ' about needle! 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