Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. I forgot about the rules." Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. 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. One memo, dated 24 May 1966, outlined an interview with Houston gambler Barnett Magids, who believed Liston would win. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. The fight lasted less than one full round, with Ali knocking out Liston at the 1:44 mark. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he would go public with the story unless they gave him the money. The photo depicted Ali standing over his opponent, Sonny Liston, after delivering a final blow that knocked Liston to the ground. Technically, contracts for boxing matches werent supposed to have rematch clauses, though pretty much all of them had some sort of loophole and agreement when each side wanted to guarantee a return bout again, the laws by which boxing governed itself were really more suggestions at the time. 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. . 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. Interview Date: March 13, 1989 Camera Rolls: 2104-2105 Sound Rolls: 248 Editorial Notes: Interview with , conducted by Blackside, Inc. on March 13, 1989, for . [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. interview with Alex Haley in Muhammad Ali by Thomas Hauser. QUESTION 1 [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. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. He also cited medical evidence: "A team of eight doctors inspected Liston's arm at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and agreed that it was too badly damaged for Liston to continue fighting. 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. In the sixth round, he carried it at belt level so that it was of no help in warding off the right crosses with which Clay probed at the cut under his left eye." However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. [8], Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed robberies. 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. 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 told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." Knopfler said the track "uses a lot of the country-blues style of playing that I started to absorb when I was young.". Sonny Liston in his prime . He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. After Ali's win against Sonny Liston, he wouldn't . The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. Knopfler, 55, said inspiration for the Liston song has been growing for a long time. "You're putting things on and you're taking this out and molding it," Knopfler said. "[35] However, in 1963 in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Liston broke off a European boxing exhibition tour to return home and was quoted as saying he was "ashamed to be in America. Half a mile above and beyond the shrine, looking down from the summit of the mountain, is a statue of the Sacred Heart. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. Im free to be who I want.. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. In an Associated Press poll, 64 of 102 reporters picked Patterson. [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. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. Night Train is like $11 on Amazon, peep that if you want to get more of the story, i don't like how max was squeezing sonny's bicep. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. "There is power in both his left and his right, even though the fists move with the languor of motoring royalty or as if passing through a gaseous envelope more dense than air." Please read the rules before posting/commenting. The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. The suspension was honored in all states. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. His death was, too. More on that in a second. You really never watched the first fight did you? This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. Concert Preview/Interview: John Lodge of the Moody Blues on Reprising "Days of Future Passed . [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. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. He had been deliberately snubbed. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. 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. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. [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. But a Senate subcommittee hearing turned up no evidence of any match-fixing, and doctors confirmed his explanation that hed taken such damage to his shoulder that he couldnt feel his arm. [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]. Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932, and used this for official purposes[11] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. It was more likely that Liston was out of shape according to a story in Esquire at the time, Liston trained as normal, running around five miles a day, eating hot dogs and drinking beer. He was also possibly much older than his listed 32 years than anything else Liston was the second-youngest of 25 children to parents who didnt exactly keep records of birthdates. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. 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. 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]. "It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict," said Sgt. [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. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. [84], Liston married Geraldine Chambers in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. 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. 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. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. I didn't want anything to do with him. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. "And I suppose Sonny Liston always stuck with me. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. He also took his gun. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." He found a quarter-ounce of heroin in a balloon in the kitchen, and a half-ounce of marijuana in Liston's pants pocket, but no syringes or needles. [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. "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. Unlike Dylan or Carter, however, Knopfler does not present Liston as innocent of a crime for which he was imprisoned. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [74], Writer Gilbert Rogin assessed Liston's style and physique after his win over Zora Folley. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. 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. In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. Paul R Gallender, 2012. "Yes, it was good and honest". 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. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. 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. r/boxing does not tolerate racism or intolerance of any kind. For Sonny Liston, a Ballad to a Heavyweight, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/sports/othersports/for-sonny-liston-a-ballad-to-a-heavyweight.html. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. [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. 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. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. Sonny Liston in Denver, Colorado. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. [50] He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. Liston was the subject of a 1995 HBO documentary titled Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion. Tale of the tape: Fight poster for Sonny Liston v Cassius Clay in 1964. . At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. Liston had thrown a jab with his left arm and, leaning forward, took a right hook from Ali right to the skull. Liston was a heavy favorite. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. "Some songs just seem to reverberate with people.". Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. The FBI was on the hunt for evidence for match-fixing, given Listons mob ties mobsters still owned much of his fight promotion contract and the sports shady business model. Governor John H. Reed of Maine stepped forward, and within a few hours the promoters had a new site: Lewiston, Maine, a mill town with a population of about 41,000 located 140 miles (230km) north of Boston.

Mchire Olivia Interview, Articles S