At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in history to win the title, and was also the first heavyweight to regain the title after losing it. 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. 1,75m. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. Maule, Tex (March 9, 1964). Charles "Sonny" Liston was born circa 1930 into a sharecropping family who farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. He particularly resented a 1961 arrest by a black patrolman for loitering, claiming to have merely been signing autographs and chatting with fans outside a drugstore. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. 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. Lv 7. Weight: 193 pounds. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fight—awarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" From Jacksons Gap, Alabama. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. "The public is not with me. 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. Liston was particularly known for his toughness, formidable punching power, long reach, and intimidating appearance. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. [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. Cus wanted his Sonny Liston! When he tried to muscle in for a bigger share, Conrad thinks his employers got him very drunk, took him home and stuck him with a needle. Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932 and used this for official purposes[10] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. [104] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. Boxing legends Rocky Marciano and Sonny Liston finished third and fourth respectively, with Lewis rounding off the top five. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." [18], 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. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. Boxing: Sonny Liston, Heavy Weight World Champion. [59] Liston is ranked 2nd in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' He knocked his opponent out in the first round.After winning more than five bouts in St. Louis, Liston faced and defeated John Summerlin in Detroit, Michigan. [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. The fight quickly descended into chaos. And as a result, he converted to Islam in 1965 by saying that “Cassius Clay is a slave name. [7] Convicted and sentenced to five years in Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. However, Rocky Marciano and Charles ‘Sonny’ Liston get special consideration for one unique characteristic they both shared: Marciano stood 5’10” and weight 179 to 192 pounds. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. With a 25-pound weight advantage (214 to 189), Liston took control from the start, pounding away at the champion's ribs with a two-fisted attack in their bout at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Many did not see the punch land and some of those who did see it land, didn't think it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. [93], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Chest/Exp. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. [11], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: “The punch jarred him. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. [13], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up ... to save family embarrassment. [25][26], In 1960 Liston won five more fights, including a rematch with Williams, who lasted only two rounds. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. 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. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. "[68] The fact that Liston didn't 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?" Ali confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. The interference of ringside reporters regarding interpretation of the rules, the fight stoppage and the controversy after the fight had not been seen since The Long Count Fight between champion Gene Tunney and challenger Jack Dempsey in 1927. (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Walcott never did pick up the count. [27][28], Liston's streak of nine straight knockout victories ended when he won a unanimous twelve-round decision against Eddie Machen on September 7, 1960. Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. He also went with a new manager in 1958: Joseph "Pep" Barone, who was a front man for mobsters Frankie Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Ali. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. Although Ali often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. [16] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. Malcolm X, a spiritual and political leader had a great impact on him. [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. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. On September 2, 1953, Liston made his professional debut against Don Smith in St. Louis. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. I know it", Liston said afterward. [87] 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. The Daily Bread Mailbag returns with Stephen "Breadman" Edwards tackling topics such as the Charlo Brothers, heavyweight legend Sonny Liston, … He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." 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, saying Liston also had the most natural talent and skill. The suspension was honored in all states. I didn't want anything to do with him. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. "[17] 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. They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his exam—that hospital needle mark. 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