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. I wasn't hit. 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. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. When Machen clinched in . 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, David Remnick, for his book King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero, interviewed one of Liston's cornermen, who told him that Liston could have continued: "[The shoulder] was all BS. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. His death was, too. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. 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. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. "Yes, it was good and honest". 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. "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. He returned with four consecutive knockout victories in Sweden between July 1966 and April 1967, all four co-promoted by former world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson. 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. Sonny Liston shot a gun at Muhammad Ali. Never before seen Sonny Liston interview. Support this Channel: https://www.patreon.com/join/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise: https://www.redbubble.com/peo. "[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? It was a shocking result, not only because Liston was favored in the match, but because hardly anybody saw the punch that took him down. [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. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating: "Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. 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 . [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. The World Boxing Association one of several boxing organizations was not too pleased, moving to strip Ali of his title and advising states not to agree to host the rematch. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. ", 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. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. Lennox is a conqueror? "[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. He had been deliberately snubbed. According to a New York Times report the day after the fight, Clay was indeed an official member of the Nation of Islam. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 2.47K subscribers Subscribe 16K views 8 months ago Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and. He was poking the bear a bit there . Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. . Be respectful and come chat with us. Liston was the subject of a 2008 feature film based upon his life titled Phantom Punch. "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. Muhammad Ali talking about Henry Cooper, Sonny Liston, and - YouTube #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. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was reluctant to talk to the press - the always painted a bad picture of him.Dwight Muhammad Qawi Braxton ATG Philly Joe Frazier Bernard HopkinsTags:pernell whitaker jersey joe walcott louis julio chavez evander holyfield lennox lewis felix sturm oscar de la hoya floyd mayweather miguel cotto marquez manny pacquiao pacman boxing boxer ko knockout tribute robbery mike tyson rocky marciano oscar de la hoya manny pacquiao foreman fight miguel cotto dead death muhammad ali cassius mike tyson clay lennox lewis eric morales barrera floyd mayweather fedor emelianenko ufc boxing ko k.o. Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. He also took his gun. I'm the best ever. The Devil and Sonny Liston. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. 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. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. (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. [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. "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. In the months ahead of the fight, Muhammad Ali went all sorts of routes to get into Sonny Liston's head. Hall of Fame announcer Don Dunphy said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards used to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 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. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. Mark Knopfler's tribute to Liston, "Song for Sonny Liston", appeared on his 2004 album Shangri-La. 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. 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, . Sonny Liston was a bad, bad guy who was also a victim, and I dont know that anyone can point to when a victim becomes a perpetrator and how much sympathy he deserves, but I also think any holistic take is fair this far in history. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. At the IBHOF, the casts of Listons hands were bigger than Lennox Lewis' which were also gigantic. There was something caustic in both eyes." ", Knopfler compared writing a song about Liston to the work a sculptor performs on a statue. What are you doing? 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 . Sonny Liston: The mysterious death that haunts boxing However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned that it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. 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. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. After Ali's win against Sonny Liston, he wouldn't . During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. He used the platform to expound on the political theory that was so reviled in white America, defending Malcolm X and condemning racial oppression this was still months before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 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. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. [22], Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. 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. Book Review: Was Sonny Liston Murdered? - The Arts Fuse "He said: 'Look what they did!' According to a report in the Miami Herald a few weeks before the 1964 fight, Clay was consorting with members of the Nation of Islam, who Clays father claimed had brainwashed his son. To this day, I'm convinced that's what the coroner saw in his examthat hospital needle mark. In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before his death in May 2009, Liston said he regretted . The fight quickly descended into chaos. 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. With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. "[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. #muhammadali #henrycooper #sonnyliston #dougjones #heavyweight #greatness #boxing #legend #larryholmes #ironmike #sonnyliston #intimidating #bad #big #greatb. [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]. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. [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. Rocky Marciano, the former heavyweight champion, said that he appreciated the punchs strength upon re-examination. 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. Watch the interview you be the judge. Liston was a heavy favorite. "When he first got to the big city, he was hanging out with a bunch of people who were just looking for trouble.". That got him killed. The second fight? In The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches, published in 2000, when many of Liston's former acquaintances were still alive, Tosches posits that Liston's idol Joe Louis introduced him to heroin, and that he ultimately overdosed. 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. Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston: The Controversial Fight Behind Their Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. Audiences at home were confused and outraged. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. 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. All Rights Reserved. Alois Stevens, suggested to Liston that he try boxing, and his obvious aptitude, along with an endorsement from Stevens, who was also a priest, aided Liston in getting an early parole. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. "He was scared, he was scared of so many things," Knopfler said. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. 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.". Knopfler, 55, said inspiration for the Liston song has been growing for a long time. However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. Sonny Liston RARE Interview - YouTube Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day.