Ali's "Phantom Punch" Controversy Explained - PBS Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. That would prove to be an understatement. All Rights Reserved. I was about to say look at those mitts! Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. Unlike Dylan or Carter, however, Knopfler does not present Liston as innocent of a crime for which he was imprisoned. [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. 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. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. 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. And the face, it was an unforgettable face. 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. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. The match had more storylines than a soap opera. "When he first got to the big city, he was hanging out with a bunch of people who were just looking for trouble.". [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. I never saw. 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. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. Liston had never been knocked out before, and most people didnt even see the punch happen. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. 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 . "[96], Many people who knew Liston insisted he was afraid of needles and never would have used heroin. 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. For his part, Liston said that the referees inability to keep track of time doomed him, as he didnt know when to get up from the mat. This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. 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 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]. THE PREFIGHT MOODS OF SONNY LISTON. Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? One mile up on a mountain 13 miles west of Denver is the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. Frank Mir was around that height and was noticeably taller than Carwin. Sit down!' His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. "He was scared of the police. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. McDonough, however, claimed Walcott was looking at the crowd and never at him. Liston kept running into trouble with the law and Ali had a target on his back after the assassination of Malcolm X, whom he had disavowed after Elijah Muhammad forced him out of the Nation of Islam. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. [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. 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. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." 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. Liston did eventually rise from the mat, but soon after, the referee broke up the two boxers once again the former champion had been down for more than 10 seconds, ending the fight. 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. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". [67] Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was fake. Sonny Liston: The Tragic Story of a Terrifying Man [8] Convicted and sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. 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. 'Raising Ali' Remembers The 'Worst Mess In The History Of Sports' - NPR 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. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. He had been deliberately snubbed. I'm the best ever. "[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. 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]. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. Ali did neither. [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. THE PREFIGHT MOODS OF SONNY LISTON - Sports Illustrated "At about noon on the day of the fight, (Magids) reached Resnick again by phone," the memo read. Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston: The Controversial Fight Behind Their 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. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. Ali called it "the anchor punch." 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. [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. 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]. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was reluctant to talk to the press - the always painted a bad picture of him.Dwight Muhammad Qawi Braxton ATG Philly Joe Frazier Bernard HopkinsTags:pernell whitaker jersey joe walcott louis julio chavez evander holyfield lennox lewis felix sturm oscar de la hoya floyd mayweather miguel cotto marquez manny pacquiao pacman boxing boxer ko knockout tribute robbery mike tyson rocky marciano oscar de la hoya manny pacquiao foreman fight miguel cotto dead death muhammad ali cassius mike tyson clay lennox lewis eric morales barrera floyd mayweather fedor emelianenko ufc boxing ko k.o. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. Never before seen Sonny Liston interview. 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Maybe he was. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. "[82] Johnny Tocco, a trainer who worked with George Foreman and Mike Tyson as well as Liston, said Liston was the hardest hitter of the three. [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. Sonny Liston: The mysterious death that haunts boxing . I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. 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. So I went down. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. Ali brought his big personality to the small town, but Liston was still the favorite. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? Clay brought Malcolm X along with him to Miami, and amid the controversy, the fight was almost canceled. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Pan, 2017. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" 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.
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