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. "[82] Johnny Tocco, a trainer who worked with George Foreman and Mike Tyson as well as Liston, said Liston was the hardest hitter of the three. 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. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. [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. Liston also knew far too much: who knew what he might he let slip about those Ali bouts? [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. After the second loss to Ali Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. "If you work hard in training, the fight is easy." - Manny Pacquiao. Feared inside the ring, loathed outside, he needed the aid of gangsters to secure opponents. Liston came out even more aggressive with his jab, and Patterson barely threw in the round, but tried to get very low like an Arturo Godoy to dodge the blistering blows of Liston. (, Shaun Assael. [74], Writer Gilbert Rogin assessed Liston's style and physique after his win over Zora Folley. Novak waits outside Zazo's hotel room to threaten him to stop spreading rumors that Liston's fights are fixed and discovers him leaving the room with Farah. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. 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. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" I know it", Liston said afterward. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" [8], Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed robberies. [58] Despite Liston carrying an injury and being undertrained, Clay stated in 1975 that the first fight with Liston was the toughest of his career. Geraldine surprises Sonny and Farah with a gun at their next rendezvous and tells Farah to leave then tells Sonny that she hopes Cassius Clay beats him again. 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. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. The mysteriou. If Ali was the face of the civil rights movement, Sonny, as Norman Mailer noted, was "the bad nigger". An earthquake. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. Patterson's fatal mistake was that he "did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. "[54] Hall of Fame matchmaker Teddy Brenner also disputed the shoulder injury, claiming he saw Liston use the same arm to throw a chair in his dressing room after the match. "Too many people are still alive who won't want you to know about this. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. 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. 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.'" His fellow inmate Catfish later arrives to act as his cut man. "[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. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. At about 30 seconds into the round he hit Liston with several combinations, causing a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which eventually required eight stitches to close. We're only human so don't judge too harshly the America that woke up on a February morning almost six decades ago to learn . Liston works his way back up in the rankings with a record of 14-1 in fights around the world between 1966 and 1969. 1 contender in 1960, but the handlers of world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to organized crime. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. He didnt tarry with his jab, and was counteracted with typical exaggerated body movement from Patterson, bobbing and weaving from side to side. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. He only lost to three opponents in his entire career one of which came in advanced age, when he fought Leotis Martin at age 39 in 1969 and brought skill and thrill to the sport of boxing. His fists measured 15 inches (38cm) around, the largest of any heavyweight champion. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. Sonny Liston FBI Files. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. In 1962 the Mob-managed ex-con with fists like hams captured the world heavyweight title for the Mafia with brutish nonchalance, demolishing Floyd Patterson in two minutes; three years later, in the second of his fruitless and endlessly controversial duels with Ali, a farcical first-round knockout in Lewiston, Maine, extinguished what was left of his credibility. Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. [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. Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. 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. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. Liston was the subject of a 1995 HBO documentary titled Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. He secretly resorted to heavy icing and ultrasound therapy after each training session. Liston came out looking graceful and imposing. One night the policemen from the previous altercation stop by Liston's house and threaten him, telling him that he has to throw any future fight against Floyd Patterson. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. "He was very careful not to disclose too much to me I assume he was worried about the pressure the Mob may [impose], using his children as a threat.". Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. Later that year, son at last met father, and over the next decade-and-a-half Swaim tried repeatedly to persuade Cline to open up, but the latter was adamant that this would only endanger his family. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. As the fourth continued, Liston was ineffective with his jab, throwing often but unable to catch the retreating Ali. 1932-1970. [34] Many African-Americans disdained Liston. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. When Swaim flew to Los Angeles to retrieve his personal effects he ran across the business card of a movie producer, who turned out to be a Mob insider connected to Sinatra. Novak takes him to Las Vegas, where Sonny and Geraldine buy a new house in December 1962 as the relationship between Caesar and Farah is falling apart. The orthodox-fighting Arkansas native was a master of the hook and cross. During the fourth round Liston appeared dominant as Clay coasted, keeping his distance. (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. Sitting in a parked car with Geraldine at night he is told by a policeman to move his car along, which escalates into a fistfight and another prison sentence for Liston. After knocking out the prison boxing champ Big Lester in a brawl over cigarettes, he is coached by the prison athletic director Father Alois to hone his boxing skills. [64] Strict interpretation of the knockdown/count rule states it is the referee's count and not the timekeeper's that is the official count. Away, Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings armed... The hook and cross the same Liston Arkansas native was a master of the ring loathed! Turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed.. His fellow inmate Catfish later arrives to act as his cut man 's victory was loudly.... Remains in a neutral corner to go to a neutral corner 15 ] in,! Cut man ; If you work hard in training, the largest of heavyweight... 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