Shaun Assael. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. ", During an era when white journalists still described black athletes in stereotypes, Liston had long been a target of racially charged slurs; he was called a "gorilla" and "a jungle beast" in print. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. [56] Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury was legitimate.
Remembering One Of Boxing's Storied Bouts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block recall the fight between Cassius Clay and and Sonny Liston, the fight at the heart of the off-Broadway play Fetch Clay, . 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. Boston: Little, Brown. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. The World Boxing Association one of several boxing organizations was not too pleased, moving to strip Ali of his title and advising states not to agree to host the rematch. [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. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. 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. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. 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.. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists.
Sonny Liston - BoxRec The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. He was scared of the black-power movement. #1 December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses Ali defense, his contenders, even the JFK Assassination 12-02-2022, 12:32 PM Pretty cool interview. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. Hed shown up to the fight in the best shape of his life no hot dogs or beer in his diet this time and promised to take down Ali. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. [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.
Sonny Liston - Death, Muhammad Ali & Children - Biography The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. I was about to say look at those mitts! He would not close in until the accumulated inside damage and Liston's own frustration had sapped the challenger's strength and will." A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. 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. 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 [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. 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. Knopfler, who now records as a soloist and performs with a backup band, has a wide-ranging curiosity that has produced an eclectic collection of songs. 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. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, The Man Behind the First All-Black Basketball Team, 8 Times Brothers Have Faced Off in a Championship, Every Black Quarterback to Play in the Super Bowl, Soccer Star Christian Atsu Survived an Earthquake. (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. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. Beat me to it! Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. 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. 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. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. During the fourth round Liston appeared dominant as Clay coasted, keeping his distance. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. Patterson's fatal mistake was that he "did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with 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. Entire books have been written about the fight, and one, released in 2015, sought to end the suggestion that Liston took another fall. Who needed that? Sit down!' Half a mile above and beyond the shrine, looking down from the summit of the mountain, is a statue of the Sacred Heart. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. [100] A successful racehorse which won the Irish St Leger classic race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston. The photo captures the champions exhortations, with all the fire and passion and dynamic physicality that made him such a phenomenon. Maybe he was. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. 589 Share 23K views 1 year ago Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. [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. [74], Writer Gilbert Rogin assessed Liston's style and physique after his win over Zora Folley. The fight quickly descended into chaos. #muhammadali #henrycooper #sonnyliston #dougjones #heavyweight #greatness #boxing #legend #larryholmes #ironmike #sonnyliston #intimidating #bad #big #greatb. [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. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. That got him killed. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. His "Speedway at Nazareth" was about auto racing. Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and Joe Louis. Support this Channel:https://www.patreon.com/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise:LegendsofBoxing.redbubble.com I restore \u0026 colorize your projects, PayPal Donations: LegendsofBoxingYT@gmail.comThank you!________________________________________________________________________________All My YouTube ChannelsMy Main Channel \"Legends of Boxing\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73ffQAknNEWJlRoFSWH_awMy Second Boxing Channel \"Legends of Boxing Strikes Back\": 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/ The photo depicted Ali standing over his opponent, Sonny Liston, after delivering a final blow that knocked Liston to the ground. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. "[95], Sgt. It burned like hell. ", One of the most vivid verses creates a word-picture of Liston in his prime with photographic clarity: "Black Cadillac, alligator boots, money in the pockets of his sharkskin suits." "At about noon on the day of the fight, (Magids) reached Resnick again by phone," the memo read. [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. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. The story goes that Liston was born somewhere . Liston went down on his back. Im free to be who I want.. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over."
Savant Sundays: Sonny Liston - Bad Left Hook [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. Muhammad Ali biographer Jonathan Eig shared a new theory as to why Sonny Liston may have taken a dive in the boxers' second bout. Audiences at home were confused and outraged. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. 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. Sonny Liston is considered by many as the most intimidating boxer of all time with a devastating jab which is widely regarded as one of the best in heavyweight history. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. [30], Liston became the No. [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. His eyes swept the whole scene. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. He had the whole package. Liston was a heavy favorite.
'Raising Ali' Remembers The 'Worst Mess In The History Of Sports' - NPR Press J to jump to the feed. Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. "[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. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" [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]. One mile up on a mountain 13 miles west of Denver is the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. "You're putting things on and you're taking this out and molding it," Knopfler said. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was. Sonny Liston shot a gun at Muhammad Ali. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. 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. [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. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death.
Sonny Liston Once Shot a Gun at Muhammad Ali - Sportscasting