In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before his death in May 2009, Liston said he regretted . r/boxing does not tolerate racism or intolerance of any kind. Be respectful and come chat with us. ", During an era when white journalists still described black athletes in stereotypes, Liston had long been a target of racially charged slurs; he was called a "gorilla" and "a jungle beast" in print. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. Sonny Liston is considered by many as the most intimidating boxer of all time with a devastating jab which is widely regarded as one of the best in heavyweight history. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. 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. Helen had one child before she married Tobe, and Tobe had 13 children with his first wife. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. The commotion was not lost on referee Barney Felix, who was walking toward Clay's corner. Tale of the tape: Fight poster for Sonny Liston v Cassius Clay in 1964. . Sonny was definitely a specimen. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. [101], Liston played a fist fighter in the 1965 film Harlow, made a cameo appearance in the 1968 film Head, which starred The Monkees, and played the part of The Farmer in the 1970 film Moonfire, which starred Richard Egan and Charles Napier. Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection. The suspension was honored in all states. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. The match had more storylines than a soap opera. ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. [97], "The month before he died, some guy ran into Sonny while he was making a left turn. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 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. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. While true he also sent women to the hospital, which his sparring partner confirms. #1 December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses Ali defense, his contenders, even the JFK Assassination 12-02-2022, 12:32 PM Pretty cool interview. Liston was a heavy favorite. 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.. Sonny Liston in Denver, Colorado. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. The photo depicted Ali standing over his opponent, Sonny Liston, after delivering a final blow that knocked Liston to the ground. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. Liston was knocked down in the first round, but came back to control the next two rounds and had Griffin hanging on at the end. [103], Sonny Liston was featured in a novel "Girl Fighter" with a brief reference to his early life, his rise to WBC heavyweight champion and his eventual losses to Clay/Ali.[104]. Patterson's fatal mistake was that he "did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. ", 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." For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." 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. [84], Liston married Geraldine Chambers in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. "[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. Suddenly, the world had to come to grips with a new kind of heavyweight champion. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. Frank Mir was around that height and was noticeably taller than Carwin. 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]. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. Liston decked Martin with a left hook in the fourth round and dominated most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his examthat hospital needle mark. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. 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. [11][12][10][13][14] One writer concluded that Liston's most plausible date of birth was July 22, 1930, citing census records and statements from his mother during her lifetime. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. 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. Either way, nat fleisher as the KD timekeeper had NO right telling Walcott the fight was over. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. [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. [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 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. 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." And the Muslims were coming up. [50] His death was, too. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. In the months ahead of the fight, Muhammad Ali went all sorts of routes to get into Sonny Liston's head. Liston, with a 25-pound weight advantage, 214lb (97kg) to 189lb (86kg), knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round, putting him down for the count with a powerful left hook to the jaw. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. Reminds me of former UFC fighter Shane Carwin. Known for his powerful punch, the majority of his victories were knockouts. Boston: Little, Brown. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. (. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. that startles everyone in a 100 foot radius. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. In "Sailing to Philadelphia," a duet with James Taylor, Knopfler told of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon traveling from England to North America to draw the Mason-Dixon line. [72], "I was an 'intimidator' until I fought Sonny Liston. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. 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. It made a champion out of Clay, who declared that hed shook up the world.. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. 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. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. Only Massachusetts was willing to host the fight, though it was delayed from November 1964 to May 1965 so that Ali could recover from hernia surgery. 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.
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