Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Lennox is a conqueror? 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 death under mysterious circumstances. So I went down. It burned like hell. He had the whole package. "[95], Sgt. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. 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. The fight quickly descended into chaos. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. Liston had never been knocked out before, and most people didnt even see the punch happen. He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. 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Hed shown up to the fight in the best shape of his life no hot dogs or beer in his diet this time and promised to take down Ali. 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. "He said: 'Look what they did!' 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. When Machen clinched in . And it was probably for the best ticket-buyers didnt exactly get their moneys worth. He died circa December 30,. [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. "He was scared of the police. Liston assaulted the officer, breaking his knee and gashing his face. 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. Some found it suspicious that authorities could not locate any drug paraphernalia that Liston presumably would have needed to inject the fatal dose, such as a spoon to cook the heroin or a tourniquet to wrap around his arm. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. One memo, dated 24 May 1966, outlined an interview with Houston gambler Barnett Magids, who believed Liston would win. He could probably drive his thumb through your skull like Michael Myers, It's crazy to think about the fact that Sonny Liston was an actual gangster running with gangs.. and then he looks so soft spoken in the interview. "[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. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was. No, I'm Alexanderhe's no Alexander. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. 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. 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. "[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? "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." The Devil and Sonny Liston. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. He sunk to the canvas, and as he was down, Ali stood over him, taunting and demanding his stunned opponent get back up. One of the reasons why sports stays alive in us is that there's part of us that wants to keep the child alive and recognizes that there is something important in doing that. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. [10][11] It has been suggested Liston himself may not have known what year he was born, as he was not precise on the matter. "[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. Unlike Dylan or Carter, however, Knopfler does not present Liston as innocent of a crime for which he was imprisoned. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. 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. He allegedly later told an assistant that he took a dive because he was afraid of the consequences of beating Ali he thought it would put a target on his own back. He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. [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. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. [36], Jack Dempsey spoke for many when he was quoted as saying that Sonny Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! [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. said Liston's Philadelphia dentist, Dr. Nick Ragni. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. I never saw. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. 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. 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 took one and went down. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. 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. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Knopfler, who now records as a soloist and performs with a backup band, has a wide-ranging curiosity that has produced an eclectic collection of songs. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. The mysterious life of Sonny Liston. He had been deliberately snubbed. Liston was a heavy favorite. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." [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. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. [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. The interference of ringside reporters regarding interpretation of the rules, the fight stoppage and the controversy after the fight had not been seen since The Long Count Fight between champion Gene Tunney and challenger Jack Dempsey in 1927. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. Biographer Wilfrid Sheed wrote in his book, Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs, that Clay's protests were heard by ringside members of the Nation of Islam who initially suspected Dundee had blinded his fighter, and that the trainer deliberately wiped his own eyes with the corner sponge to demonstrate to Clay's approaching bodyguards that he had not intentionally blinded him. That got him killed. (. kos k.o.s ko.s knockouts fight of the year joe louis lewis primo carnera buddy max baer tony galento lamon brewster monte barrett barret amir khan oleg maskaev nicolai valuev nikolai joe calzaghe sergej sergey liakhovich liakovich shannon briggs evander holyfield zultan ibragimov sultan meldrick taylor pauli ayala paul spadafora prince prinze naseem hamed naz johnny tapia john ruiz wilfredo gomez wilfried benitez george foreman big ron lyle earnie shavers joe frazier ken norton angelo dundee eddie futch riddick bowe Henry Akinwande Muhammad Ali Max Baer Michael Bentt Riddick Bowe James J. Braddock Shannon Briggs Tommy Burns Primo Carnera Ruslan Chagaev Ezzard Charles Gerrie Coetzee James J. Corbett Francesco Damiani Jack Dempsey Michael Dokes Jimmy Ellis Bob Fitzsimmons Joe Frazier Marvin Hart Herbie Hide Evander Holyfield James J. Jeffries Ingemar Johansson Jack Johnson Vitali Klitschko Sonny Liston Joe Louis Rocky Marciano Ray Mercer Tommy Morrison Greg Page Floyd Patterson John Ruiz Max Schmeling Bruce Seldon Jack Sharkey James Smith John L. Sullivan John Tate Ernie Terrell Tony Tubbs Nikolay Valuev Jersey Joe Walcott Mike Weaver Jess Willard Tim Witherspoon Muhammad Ali Lou Ambers Sammy Angott Fred Apostoli Ray Arcel Alexis Argello Baby Arizmendi Henry Armstrong Abe Attell Max Baer Caleb Baldwin Carmen Basilio Wilfred Bentez Nino Benvenuti Jack Kid Berg Jimmy Bivins Umberto Branchini Joe Brown Panama Al Brown Ken Buchanan Charley Burley Orlando Canizales Miguel Canto Tony Canzoneri Michael Carbajal Jem Carney Jimmy Carter Marcel Cerdan Antonio Cervantes Bobby Chacon Arthur Chambers Ezzard Charles Kid Chocolate Joe Choynski Stanley Christodoulou Billy Conn Eugne Criqui Jos Cuevas Jack Dempsey Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey Jack Dillon Professor Mike Donovan Paddy Duffy Don Dunphy Roberto Durn Lou Duva Billy Edwards Gabriel Elorde Jeff Fenech Bob Fitzsimmons George Foreman Bob Foster Joe Frazier Gene Fullmer Khaosai Galaxy Vctor Galndez Joe Gans Kid Gaviln Joey Giardello Mike Gibbons Wilfredo Gmez Humberto Mike Tyson [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. 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, . Naturally, they decided that Ali would take on Liston. Ali did neither. Sonny Liston in Denver, Colorado. [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. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. 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. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. In this case, Intercontinental Promotions Inc., which had the rights to Listons fight, also got to choose the first opponent for the new champion, should Liston lose. [62] The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed-circuit television commitment around the country. "There's no doubt that he was mean," Knopfler said of Liston. Soon, he was known as Cassius X, eschewing the last name given to his enslaved family by their owners.
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