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. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 38 years. [citation needed] At this time, the head coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, Tony Anderson, stated that Liston was the strongest fighter he had seen. "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Municipal Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Midwest Gymnasium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Pittsburgh Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. New Masonic Temple, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Motor City Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Sources vary on his reach, with some listing it as 80in, Reputations: Sonny Liston: The Champion Nobody Wanted (2001), 50 min, BBC Documentary, Mailer: A Biography By Mary V. Dearborn, page 186. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. At age 12, after selling a bag of pecans for bus fare, he left for St. Louis, betting on a brighter future. I didn't want anything to do with him. The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six rounds he faced Cleveland Williams, a fast-handed fighter who was billed as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world against whom he showed durability, power and skill, nullifying Williams' best work before stopping him in the third round. Born into poverty and the 12 th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and the 24 th of 25 children fathered by Tobe in total), Sonny did not enjoy a privileged upbringing. It's been 43 years since Sonny passed. [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. [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. Sonny was one of 25 children of a sharecropper in Arkansas. His father . All of us encounter trouble from time to time in our lives. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. Cassius Clay is embraced by his handlers after he won the world heavyweight championship on a TKO over Sonny Liston in the 7th round. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. . Other than that, little is definite about his birth, but he seems to have been born in a shack on the cotton plantation where his parents worked, a little outside Forrest City, in Arkansas, which did . Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Liston went down on his back. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he'd go public with the story unless they gave him the money. When he moved to town here he Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. Sonny Liston was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas to a sharecropper, Tobey Liston, who fathered 25 children, the second youngest of whom was Charles, Sonny's real name, born from Tobey's marriage to Helen Baskin, a woman nearly three decades younger than he. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. 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. Death April 29, 2016 - Carrhubane Beg, Limerick, Ireland. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. You've seen him before but probably didn't realize it because the most famous photo ever taken of Sonny was not at his best angle More on that in a second. Liston wins, 10 times out of 10. 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. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. The grave's headstone reads Sonny Liston: A Man. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. The commotion was not lost on referee Barney Felix, who was walking toward Clay's corner. "[57] Those findings were confirmed in a formal investigation immediately after the fight by Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein, who also noted that there was little doubt that Liston went into the fight with a sore or lame shoulder. Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. Sonny Liston was a ferocious fighter, the heavyweight champion of the world and the man Cassius Clay beat to win the title for the first time, igniting his own legend. Liston is a Hall of Famer. That was in Liston's eight fight, in Detroit, and Marshall went on to capture the 10-round decision. I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. Only a rising contender at the time named Cassius Clay predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. In this excerpt from his new book, The Murder of Sonny Liston, ESPN senior writer Shaun Assael recounts the final hectic days of Liston's life, and the controversial police investigation into his death . "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. said Liston's Philadelphia dentist, Dr. Nick Ragni. Liston stacked up the wins and became the No. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. Sonny knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round, with that powerful left hook to the jaw 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. "[95], Sgt. [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. 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. (, Shaun Assael. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. "The public is not with me. Top contender Zora Folley was stopped in three rounds. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. JustinvR Brown Belt. "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. Sonny was once told by local police to stay away from a drug house that was the target of a police raid. He had been dead several days. 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." [30], Liston became the No. Once he went down, I got excited. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. Boxer Sonny Liston ducks and covers up as Cassius Clay aims a right at him during their title fight. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. 780 46K views 8 years ago Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston's son visits his gravesite. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. 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. Rogin wrote. He was a gentle man. 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. What the . [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'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. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. 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. Childhood & Early Life. In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. [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. He'd often told people that he'd feared for his life.. "[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. [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. But some Vegas "bookies, mobsters, and cops" still wonder if he wasn't . Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. 249 UCB. Fifty years later, the mystery still remains. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. [105] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. So that means his reach was practically a . With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. 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. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. The coroner said he died from natural causes. I never realized how much of a freak of nature Sonny Liston was. "[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. Sonny Liston is a remarkable physical specimen, and seldom if ever has a fighter so dominated the sport by sheer muscular mass. This was his first visit. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. . His father was 30 years older than his mother. This is just a glimpse into what was. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. [14], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time,[4] while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. Clearly, it was time to turn pro. He is seen in the far left part of the row, wearing a white and gold robe, standing beside the original-look Beatle wax figures. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. Fans rejected Liston after he won the heavyweight title over Floyd Patterson in 1962. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. Banker said, "Sheriff [Ralph] Lamb told me, 'Tell your pal Sonny to stay away from the West Side because we're going to bust the drug dealers.'" I know it", Liston said afterward. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and went 15 rounds with Ali before being knocked out (that fight was Stallones inspiration for Rocky), said after his career was over that Liston was by far the hardest puncher he faced. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. -- CHARLES (SONNY) LISTON It was already dark when she stepped from the car in front of her house on Ottawa Drive, but she could see her pink Cadillac convertible and Sonny's new black. Tosches, Nick (2000). [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. He had the whole package. There are no official records of his birth His home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965, but people believe he was born sometime around 1930-1932. John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. Ali did neither. There was something caustic in both eyes." You've probably seen it a thousand times, but you may not have known who the poor bastard on the ground was until now. ", 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]. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. He was a heavyweight world champion. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. Police determined he died from a. And yet, outside of boxing, L 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. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. And the Muslims were coming up. "[69] The fact that Liston did not 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? Sonny Liston. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. His eyes swept the whole scene. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. Which means he owned one of the biggest reach in boxing, while "only" being 6'1 tall (which is about 73 inches). The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. Liston's last fight was a 10-round beating he delivered to Chuck Wepner in June 1970. [50] Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" [52][53] It was the first time since 1919when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willardthat a world heavyweight champion had quit on his stool. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. Shaun Assael. He also took his gun. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on May 8, 1932. [94], On January 1, Liston's wife, Geraldine, called Johnny Tocco and said she had not heard from her husband in three days and was worried. Former champions Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man), Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano, and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Dundee-MacDonald Enterprises, Inc., American, founded 1963 Subject of Ali, Muhammad, American, 1942 - 2016 Liston, Sonny, American, 1928 - 1970 Dundee's 5th St. Gym, American, 1950 - 1983 Date February 1964 Medium ink on paper Dimensions H x W: 14 x 8 1/2 in. I was down but not hurt, but I looked up and saw Ali standing over me. In 1950, Sonny Liston was arrested six times for muggings, one . The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. 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. In the first fight, in Miami, a 22-year-old Cassius Clay danced around the ring, taunted Liston, promised reporters he'd shock the world, and then delivered on that promise with a blistering late. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." He was not the tear-shedding type.. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. Skeptics called the knockout blow "the phantom punch." Liston's noticeably more muscular left arm, crushing left jab and powerful left hook lent credence to the widely held belief that he was left-handed, although he fought in an orthodox stance. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. There are a ton of other dubious deaths and (hopefully) little-known facts about Vegas in this week's episode. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. Young Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, knocked out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. 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