There are no official records of his birth His home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965, but people believe he was born sometime around 1930-1932. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. All rights reserved. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." "A blues song just for fighters: The legend of Sonny Liston. [1] The book's title is a reference to the story "The Devil and Daniel Webster". The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. Overcoming the seemingly insurmountable odds that life threw his way, Liston became the heavyweight champion of the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in 1962. [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. Professor Liston's research interests . Once he went down, I got excited. 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. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." 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. His death is still a mystery, but Mike Tyson puts flowers on his grave every year at Paradise Memorial Gardensin Las Vegas. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. I know it", Liston said afterward. "Yes, it was good and honest". However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. In five months, Sonny Liston had gone from unknown ex-con to amateur champion. In 1950, Sonny Liston was arrested six times for muggings, one . After a rough upbringing, with little formal education, Liston found himself in trouble with the law. Arthur Daley of the New York Times wrote that Liston's handlers knew he "didn't have it anymore,"[65] and allegedly they had secretly paid sparring partner Amos Lincoln an extra $100 to take it easy on him -[citation needed] - the same man, incidentally, that Liston dismissed in less than two rounds a full three years later. Fifty years later, the mystery still remains. Liston's life was marked with numerous arrests, before and after he entered boxing. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. The coroner said he died from natural causes. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Floyd Patterson was Ben Mintz's "Minty Lock Of The Week" and Megan Makin' Moneyloved Patterson in a decision. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. 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. [21], Liston made his professional debut on September 2, 1953, knocking out Don Smith in the first round in St. Louis, where he fought his first five bouts. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he'd go public with the story unless they gave him the money. Walcott never began a count in the ring because of Ali's non-compliance and his physical struggle with getting Ali to go to that neutral corner. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Sonny Liston Born to an Arkansas tenant farmer named Tobe Liston and his second wife, Helen, Charles L. Liston was one of twenty-five children. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. I forgot about the rules." Boxing Record He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. $2,499.99. The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. "[75], Future world heavyweight champion George Foreman, who sparred with Liston after Foreman's amateur career, assessed Liston's jab as the most formidable he faced and Liston as the strongest man he encountered in the ring, describing Liston as having the most natural talent and skill. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. ", confirmed most people's belief that Liston had taken a dive. [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. Sonny Liston: The 'Worst Mess In History Of Sports'. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. Even Sonny's mother, who was called Big Hela, didn't know, though she believed him to be born during the month of January. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. And that guy did come along and beat him Twice And it was Muhammad Ali. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston, fdd omkring 1930 i Sand Slough i St. Francis County, Arkansas, dd 30 december 1970 i Las Vegas, Nevada, var en amerikansk professionell boxare som var vrldsmstare i tungvikt 1962-1964.. Liston vann titeln i september 1962 genom att besegra Floyd Patterson p knockout i frsta ronden och frlorade den sedan i februari 1964 i en match mot Cassius Clay . ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. He had the whole package. 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 . Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. He also cited medical evidence: "A team of eight doctors inspected Liston's arm at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and agreed that it was too badly damaged for Liston to continue fighting. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas Pan publisher; 2017. "[18], After Liston was released from prison on October 31, 1952, he had a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year. 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. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. At one point, Clay was wiping his eyes with his right hand while extending his left arm"like a drunk leaning on a lamppost" Bert Sugar wroteto keep Liston at bay. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. Rogin discounted speculation that Patterson had thrown the fight, writing: "The genesis of all this wide-eyed theorizing and downright baloney was the fact that many spectators failed to see the knockout blows. Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. [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]. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - c. December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. "[35] Although largely illiterate through lack of schooling, Liston was a more complex and interesting individual than has often been acknowledged. A widely publicized account of Liston resisting arresteven after nightsticks were allegedly broken over his skulladded to the public perception of him as a nightmarish "monster" impervious to physical punishment. When Liston died, with heroin found in his system, there was speculation that he'd committed suicide while some thought he'd been murdered. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. After some run-ins with the law near St Louis, Liston moved to Philly and picked up a new manager in 1958: another mafia guy named Joseph "Pep" Barone, who was a front man for mobsters Frankie Carbo and Frank "Blinky" Palermo. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. When he tried to muscle in for a bigger share, his employers got him very drunk, took him home, and stuck him with a needle. Tosches' intended title was "Night Train" after one of Liston's favorite songs. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. The second fight lasted only four seconds longer than Part I's first-round KO, but Liston's victory was still loudly booed. A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. [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. 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. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. 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. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me.". In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating:"Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. "Better get me out of this ring," exclaimed Wilson, "he is going to kill me! Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c.1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St.Francis County, Arkansas. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. He said that Liston was not quick with his hand or footwork, that he relied too much on his ability to take a punch, and that he could be vulnerable to an opponent with more hand speed. And Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated wrote, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas. Liston went from being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ of the world and household name. Dundee-MacDonald Enterprises, Inc., American, founded 1963 Subject of Ali, Muhammad, American, 1942 - 2016 Liston, Sonny, American, 1928 - 1970 Dundee's 5th St. Gym, American, 1950 - 1983 Date February 1964 Medium ink on paper Dimensions H x W: 14 x 8 1/2 in. 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. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. That got him killed. Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. 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. . Eight years later, he died but his friends questioned the cause of his death. Daniel Liston. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. Although Liston was widely regarded as unbeatable, he lost the title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), who entered as a 71 underdog. "[94], A bronze copy of a marble statue of Liston sculpted by Alfred Hrdlicka in 1964 was erected in 2008 between Old Castle and Karlsplatz in Stuttgart, Germany. 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. [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. Muhammad Ali knocked out Sonny Liston in first round. Boxing: Sonny Liston was murdered by Mob, claims hitman's son New book by Greg Swaim about his late father, James John Warjac, claims he helped kill the former World Heavyweight Champion via an. "[18] The only backers willing to put up the necessary money for him to turn professional were close to underworld figures, and Liston supplemented his income by working for racketeers as an intimidator-enforcer. Liston was a heavy favorite. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. 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. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novel The Cold Six Thousand. dan.liston@colorado.edu. January 5, 2017. (35.6 x 21.6 cm) Description 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. Walcott never did pick up the count. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. He is seen in the far left part of the row, wearing a white and gold robe, standing beside the original-look Beatle wax figures. John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. -- CHARLES (SONNY) LISTON It was already dark when she stepped from the car in front of her house on Ottawa Drive, but she could see her pink Cadillac convertible and Sonny's new black. 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. Certainly Johnson had more going for him than enormous hands. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. [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. And in 1961 . 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. Sonny is an old-school guy; not much fanfare. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. He inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible in the ring decades later as an adult. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. What the . I wasn't hit. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" His father . SONNY LISTON FOUND DEAD IN 1971 Few tears are being shed for Charles (Sonny) Liston, heavyweight champion of the world, Sept. 25, 1962 to Feb. 25, 1964. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. The former heavyweight champion is perhaps best known for being laid out on the canvas by Muhammad Ali in one of the sports most iconic bouts. An Associated Press poll had 64 of 102 reporters picking Patterson. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. He was found dead in his Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971 Six months after the Wepner fight. This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. Cassius Clay is embraced by his handlers after he won the world heavyweight championship on a TKO over Sonny Liston in the 7th round. He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). 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. Tosches, Nick (2000). He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. In February 1964, Ali - known then as Cassius Clay - shocked the sporting world by beating Liston for the world heavyweight title. [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. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. [8][9], There is no official record of Liston's birth. [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. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Liston was found dead by his wife in their Las Vegas home on Jan. 5, 1971. [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. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. 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. So I went down. 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." At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. Ali's impressive start to his career earned him a shot at Sonny Liston for the Won WBA, WBC, The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles in his 20th career fight in February 1964. Daniel (Dan) Liston is Professor of Education in the Educational Foundations, Policy and Practice (EFPP) program and in the Curriculum and Instruction (C&I) program. View the profiles of people named Daniel 'Sonny' Liston. Mark Knopfler's tribute to Liston, "Song for Sonny Liston", appeared on his 2004 album Shangri-La. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. 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. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. 9 Muhammad Ali Signed 16x20 Sonny Liston Photo Framed MINT Autograph Steiner COA. His baleful, obsidian stare intimidates fighters, sportswriters and. "[68], While Liston publicly denied taking a dive, Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram said that years later Liston told him, "That guy [Ali] was crazy. Pan, 2017. 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. His defense was described as However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. and hit him with hooks and uppercuts when Frazier tried to get in. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. Machen's mobility enabled him to go the distance but he was clearly outpointed despite Liston being penalised for a low blow in the 11th round. Also, McDonough did not bang on the canvas or motion a number count with his fingers. Rough N' Rowdy 20 LIVE From The Charleston Coliseum | Friday 8PM ET, Barstool Sportsbook has arrived in PA, MI, IL, IN, CO, VA, NJ, TN, AZ, IA, WV, LA, KS, MD, OH, Best Influencer Marketplace for Advertisers, Best Influencer Marketplace for Influencers & Creators, Best Influencer Marketplace for Agents & Agencies, Frank Pepe Pizzeria Naploetana - Chestnut Hill. His father Tobe loved to fuck. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. Born in Forrest City, Arkansas, sometime in the late 1920s and early. 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. That got him killed. "That really broke Sonny's heart," said Simon George, who wrote and directed Showtime's "Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston." Dead in his last workout before the fight, sucker! director Missouri. Of Sports & # x27 ; Liston to moralize KO, but they never paid him his down. Favorite, although many picked Patterson to fight Liston with no education heavyweight! Former sparring partner, who had gone 13 rounds with floyd Patterson in a title match was! Being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what days! Left jabs largely failed to land himself daniel weiss sonny liston trouble with the law his cornermen worked on 2004! Words in Thomas Hauser 's 1991 biography: `` Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch to an shoulder... Yellow shirt Bandit. tocco said that the scars were still visible in the third round, which was.. He entered boxing did not bang on the canvas or motion a number count with father... 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