The suspension was honored in all states. 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. During the fourth round Liston appeared dominant as Clay coasted, keeping his distance. A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved. . "[42], Liston made his second title defense on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). 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. Although in the second fight, Liston appears to have taken a dive Again with the mob stuff. Banker said he was told by police that Liston had been seen at a house that would be the target of a drug raid. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston canceled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. And the Muslims were coming up. [24], In 1958, Liston returned to boxing. He inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible in the ring decades later as an adult. I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." I know!" Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. 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. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. [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. "[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. interview with Alex Haley in Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser. [19], On June 23, 1953, a team consisting of ten recent St. Louis Golden Gloves champions of all weight classes, with Liston on top as the heavyweight, was gathered to represent the United States in an International Golden Gloves (USA vs. West Europe) competition at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. 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. His death is still a mystery, but Mike Tyson puts flowers on his grave every year at Paradise Memorial Gardensin Las Vegas. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. There are no official records of his birth His home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965, but people believe he was born sometime around 1930-1932. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. 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. Boston: Little, Brown. While "doing his nickel", the athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary suggested that Liston try boxing The prison organized sparring sessions and Sonny dominated his incarcerated brethren. 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". [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. Tosches, Nick (2000). Liston claimed he was born in 1932, yet his rap sheet for his 1950 arrest for armed robbery listed his age as 22, making him born in 1928. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. Fans rejected Liston after he won the heavyweight title over Floyd Patterson in 1962. Mickey Mantle, who could hit a baseball as far as any man, had the forearms of a blacksmith but only average-sized hands. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 38 years. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. Cassius Clay is embraced by his handlers after he won the world heavyweight championship on a TKO over Sonny Liston in the 7th round. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. 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. 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. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. In all, 14 major contenders during his prime refused outright to fight him, the most for any boxer in history. 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. The opening round was fought an extra eight seconds, since both fighters and referee Barney Felix apparently did not hear the bell. The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. "[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? Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. Ali biographer Wilfrid Sheed wrote, in his Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs, that Liston planned to throw the fight for reasons unknown and used the legitimate first-round knockdown for that end. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. 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. 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. [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. [citation needed] At this time, the head coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, Tony Anderson, stated that Liston was the strongest fighter he had seen. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. 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. 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. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. Childhood & Early Life. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band He is seen in the far left of the first row, wearing a white and gold robe. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. His father Tobe loved to fuck. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. (2) Professional gambler Lem Banker insists that Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. 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. Patterson defended against Liston in Comiskey Park, Chicago, on September 25, 1962, and the rest is history. 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 Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. January 5, 2017. Charles "Sonny" Liston was an enigma that, by way of testimonial, put fear in the hearts of men all throughout the 1960s. Fifty years ago this week, Liston was discovered dead by his wife, Geraldine, on a bed in his Las Vegas home. 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