[71] Credence to the latter theory is provided by the fact that Liston, immediately after his fight with Chuck Wepner, seemed more concerned about supporting the proposed Ali-Frazier bout and Ali's claims to be champion than promoting his own career. With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. THE PREFIGHT MOODS OF SONNY LISTON. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. "[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. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. 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. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. The fight lasted less than one full round, with Ali knocking out Liston at the 1:44 mark. There's never been anybody as ruthless. [62] The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country. But then again, he took a pretty good beating in the fight. "When he first got to the big city, he was hanging out with a bunch of people who were just looking for trouble.". Two more arrestsfor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and another for impersonating a copled to Liston being suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission on July 14, 1961. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. I forgot about the rules." "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. [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. 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. Due to Listons long association with the mafia and the reputation as a peerless tough guy, there was speculation that hed thrown the fight for some financial reward. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." Please read the rules before posting/commenting. Tradues em contexto de "with Sonny" en ingls-portugus da Reverso Context : I think you should stay here with Sonny. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. The Devil and Sonny Liston. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. [24], In 1958, Liston returned to boxing. 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. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. The fight lasted four seconds longer than the first one. "The public is not with me. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. He was a gentle man. [64] Strict interpretation of the knockdown/count rule states it is the referee's count and not the timekeeper's that is the official count. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. [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. Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. 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. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. [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. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. "I'm doing a portrait of a life, really, in a way, so you are trying to get the whole thing into just a few verses. Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. "[96], Many people who knew Liston insisted he was afraid of needles and never would have used heroin. "[95], Sgt. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. Asked by a young white reporter why he was not fighting for freedom in the South, Liston deadpanned, "I ain't got no dog-proof ass. During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. Tale of the tape: Fight poster for Sonny Liston v Cassius Clay in 1964. . [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. When Machen clinched in . The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. Knopfler, who was born in Scotland and grew up in northern England, said Liston's story was "exciting subject matter because it's so mysterious." "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." 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. "[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. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. Lennox is a conqueror? Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. [22], Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. Never before seen Sonny Liston interview. 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Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. On July 28, 1963, Liston joined a group of 500 African Americans in Denver who marched to a post office to mail letters urging the Colorado congressional delegation to pass the Kennedy administration's civil rights package. The match had more storylines than a soap opera. Pan, 2017. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. That saw him drive a big red bus to Liston's home that read, "Sonny Liston is a great but will fall in eight" along with the words "World's most colorful fighter Cassius Clay.". [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. One memo, dated 24 May 1966, outlined an interview with Houston gambler Barnett Magids, who believed Liston would win. ", 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." [36], Jack Dempsey spoke for many when he was quoted as saying that Sonny Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. It was 1965, not 1955. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. What are you doing? Another depicts Liston's death scene and autopsy: "There was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer Criss-crossed on his back, scars from his daddy like slavery tracks.". In this case, Intercontinental Promotions Inc., which had the rights to Listons fight, also got to choose the first opponent for the new champion, should Liston lose. On the album's lyric sheet, below the Liston song, Knopfler includes a famous quotation from Liston from 1962: "Some day, they're gonna write a blues for fighters. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. While valuing the photograph, appraiser Kathleen Guzman told. Maybe he was. Knopfler, 55, said inspiration for the Liston song has been growing for a long time. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. . I didn't think it was a powerful punch when I saw the fight from ringside," he said. 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.. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Mark Knopfler enjoyed widespread popularity in the 1980's as the leader of Dire Straits, lending his husky voice to hit songs like "Sultans of Swing" and "Money for Nothing." Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. 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. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 22K views 10 months ago On the Spot show with Max Goldberg featuring the heavyweight champion. 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 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. 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. In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before his death in May 2009, Liston said he regretted . 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. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. And the face, it was an unforgettable face. [38], Patterson finally signed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. 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. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Dude was only 6'2 and his hands dwarfed Lesnar's. [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. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The story goes that Liston was born somewhere . In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. One mile up on a mountain 13 miles west of Denver is the Shrine of Mother Cabrini. . This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. He was poking the bear a bit there . Sonny was definitely a specimen. There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. He could have remained typecast as a musician performing rock songs. Was Pariah boxing legend Sonny Listons OD really a mob murder? I know it", Liston said afterward. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. A few years before Tocco died, he allegedly told one of his good friends, Tony Davi, that he went to Liston's house and found the door locked and his car in the driveway. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. 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. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. Liston had never been knocked out before, and most people didnt even see the punch happen. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. 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. "I remember him telling me one day that he found himself watching boxing but he didn't like the way it made him feel," Knopfler said. [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. [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. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. His "Speedway at Nazareth" was about auto racing. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. 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. [100] A successful racehorse which won the Irish St Leger classic race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston. "[40][41], Upon winning the world heavyweight title, Liston had a speech prepared for the crowd that friends had assured him would meet him at the Philadelphia airport. One of the reasons why sports stays alive in us is that there's part of us that wants to keep the child alive and recognizes that there is something important in doing that. He had the whole package. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. Reminds me of former UFC fighter Shane Carwin. Liston went down on his back. (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. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. Skeptics called the knockout blow "the phantom punch." said Liston's Philadelphia dentist, Dr. Nick Ragni. [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. Less than 10 days later, he was Muhammad Ali, a name given him to Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. Audiences at home were confused and outraged. [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. "Yes, it was good and honest". Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. (2) Professional gambler Lem Banker insists that Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. Sonny Liston | Boxing's Most Intimidating and Unwanted Champion Rainy Day Boxing 302K subscribers 5.6M views 1 year ago Join Rainy Day Boxing for an in depth career tribute to arguably the most. "It really has made an impact, actually from the very first time I performed it on 'A Prairie Home Companion,"' Knopfler said in a telephone interview. Sonny Liston vs Eddie Machen (1960) As usual, Liston wasted no time throwing his jab and keeping Machen at bay, who was trying to get his hands off with minimal success. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. 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. 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. [8] Convicted and sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. [67] Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was fake. [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. In an unearthed, unaired TV interview, Sonny Liston's wife once said that the fighter needed to get out of the ring as fast as possible because he had diarrhea. "[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. 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. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. 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. Boston: Little, Brown. Liston's story, Knopfler said, "is great for a writer for many reasons. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. . On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. [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. "But can he hit!" [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. I remember thinking as a child that this was a man who wanted to be left alone.". [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. I dont have to be what you want me to be, Clay told agitated reporters. "And I suppose Sonny Liston always stuck with me. Boxings brightest young star was again squaring off against a renowned bruiser in a rematch of their thrilling and controversial heavyweight championship fight one year prior, a fight that was followed by 14 months of international intrigue and the combustible politics of the 1960s. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. America's first look at Liston since the Ali rematch was when he fought fifthranked Henry Clark in a nationally broadcast bout in July 1968. One memo, dated 24 May 1966, outlined an interview with Houston gambler Barnett Magids, who believed Liston would win. He could probably drive his thumb through your skull like Michael Myers, It's crazy to think about the fact that Sonny Liston was an actual gangster running with gangs.. and then he looks so soft spoken in the interview. When you can kill almost anybody in the world with your bare hands, you don't really have to go around proclaiming it to everyone. He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). [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. "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.