Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 8. toukokuuta 1932 Arkansas (syntymaika ja tarkka paikka kiistanalaisia) - 30. joulukuuta 1970 Las Vegas, Nevada) oli yhdysvaltalainen raskaansarjan nyrkkeilij ja painoluokkansa maailmanmestari. 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. [50] Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. [14], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. Sonny was one of 25 children of a sharecropper in Arkansas. Maybe he was. "[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? Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. This was Liston's second arrest by Fairmount Park police. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? 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. You can listen to it at your leisure, or read about it now. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." 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. 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. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. When Patterson met with the president in January 1962, Kennedy suggested that Patterson avoid Liston, citing Justice Department concerns over Liston's ties to organized crime. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. I wasn't hit. Tocco left the house before the police did. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. Facebook gives. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. 2023 Barstool Sports. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. The Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. 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. I know it", Liston said afterward. He'd often told people that he'd feared for his life.. Listons last fight as a professional was against Chuck The Bayonne Bleeder Wepner He was given that nickname because his eye would open up during the National Anthem. 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. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. Now you know who he is Heres how he died. Certainly Johnson had more going for him than enormous hands. [56] Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury was legitimate. 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. 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." Charles "Sonny" Liston was an enigma that, by way of testimonial, put fear in the hearts of men all throughout the 1960s. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. Subsequently, Liston spent some months in Denver where a Catholic priest who acted as his spiritual adviser attempted to help bring his drinking under control. [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. His defense was described as Even Sonny's mother, who was called Big Hela, didn't know, though she believed him to be born during the month of January. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. 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. [19], 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. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. [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. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. 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. based on 17 ratings | 6,556 views This sermon from The Exchanged Life perspective attempts to assist the believer in coming to a point of trust in Christ as Savior, Lord and Life through suffering thus ultimately being set free from Self. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." 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. The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. [79][80][81] These include Muhammad Ali, who stated in a 1975 interview that he was a great admirer of Liston's talents: "Liston had a tremendous jab, could punch with either hand, was smart in the ring and as strong as any heavyweight Ive ever seen. On top of the mob stigma, people were flat-out terrified of Sonny Fight City named Sonny Liston as the most intimidating fighter of all time" beating out names of other legendary animals like Tyson, Foreman, and Hagler. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Mother Bridget Sheehan. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." "[95], Sgt. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. The fight quickly descended into chaos. Daniel 'Sonny' Liston is on Facebook. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. [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]. In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. While "doing his nickel", the athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary suggested that Liston try boxing The prison organized sparring sessions and Sonny dominated his incarcerated brethren. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. Sonny couldnt read or write because his father worked him in the fields from the time he could walk Years later, he got his wife to teach him how to sign his name just so he could give it to kids who asked him for it his autograph. (, Shaun Assael. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." 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. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. 9, 1 March 2018, p. 8, New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape', "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)", "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time", "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)", "ESPN Classic - Liston was trouble in and out of ring", "Jacob's Beach by Kevin Mitchell: review", "Hard Times, Good Times: Charles "Sonny" Liston - Boxing.com", "Dismayed D'Amato Is Expecting To Get Back Manager's License", "Esquire covers commemorate boxing's prime", "Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston I: 50 Years Later", "Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting) - BoxRec", "1964 Clay vs. Liston Judges' Scorecards from Miami Beach Bout. | Lot #80073 | Heritage Auctions", "Muhammad Ali's Toughest Fight Wasn't Against Joe Frazier", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch', "I WAS THERE: George Chuvalo Watches Sonny Liston Take a Dive - YouTube", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch' | Boxing News", "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search", "Sonny Liston the most talented Heavyweight in history", "George Foreman Discusses Friendship With Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston: Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy Boxing News", "LOTIERZO'S LOWDOWN Sonny Liston: The Most Underrated Heavyweight Champ In History", "The Most Feared Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston remembered", "Liston KO'd Popular Patterson for Title", "O Unlucky Man: Fortune never smiled on Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston Meets the Press - Boxing.com", "Like Fights Against Ali, Liston Death a Mystery", "December 30, 1970: Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston", "19 YEARS LATER: Liston Death Remains Mystery to His Friends". [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. Boxing Record BOXING legend Sonny Liston was murdered by the MAFIA in a death staged to look like an overdose, a new documentary has claimed. Overall, Liston earned around $500,000 during his career. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on May 8, 1932. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. "[78] While much has been written about the effectiveness of his left jab, others have commented favorably on Liston's wide range of boxing skills. In all, 14 major contenders during his prime refused outright to fight him, the most for any boxer in history. In the 2015 British crime film Legend, Liston is played by Mark Theodore in a scene where gangster Reggie Kray poses for a picture with the boxer. Although the opening round saw Clay largely on the defensive, it was soon established that Clay could reverse roles quickly and take to the offensive with a remarkably fast series of combinations delivered to Liston's head. In the main bedroom, Geraldine discovered the body of her husband, former heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston. Born to a large and impoverished sharecropping family, Charles 'Sonny' Liston probably came into the world four years before his official 1932 birthdate, and his struggle to fashion a real identity would remain with him his whole life. O n January 5, 1971, Sonny Liston, the former heavyweight champion of the world, was found dead in his home in Las Vegas. 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. [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. University of Colorado Boulder. For those too young to remember, Sonny The Big Bear Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. He also took his gun. Rogin wrote. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. 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. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. 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