sonny liston interview
sonny liston interview
"He was scared, he was scared of so many things," Knopfler said. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. 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. There were plenty of tough questions after the first fight for Liston, too, namely, why didnt he come out for another round? "[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. Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? 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. 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. Night Train is like $11 on Amazon, peep that if you want to get more of the story, i don't like how max was squeezing sonny's bicep. [94], Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. I'm the best ever. I didn't think it was a powerful punch when I saw the fight from ringside," he said. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. "[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. Press J to jump to the feed. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. "I remember him telling me one day that he found himself watching boxing but he didn't like the way it made him feel," Knopfler said. Shaun Assael. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. The suspension was honored in all states. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. 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. Ira Gay Sealy/The Denver Post via Getty Images According to the post, he returned back home later that morning and called his sparring partner Gary Bates to tell him he was leaving for Los Angeles but that they should get together when he returned in a couple of days. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. Muhammad Ali biographer Jonathan Eig shared a new theory as to why Sonny Liston may have taken a dive in the boxers' second bout. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas. People around the world tuned in via satellite to watch the match, which was fought in front of 2,434 paying ticket-holders, the smallest crowd in heavyweight championship fight history; people there suggested the crowd was more like 4,000, but nonetheless, it was a very small in-person audience. He took one and went down. Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. "[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. [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. Numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. Sheed says that the punch and the knockdown "may have been genuine, but when referee Joe Walcott blew the count and gave him all evening to get up, Liston's rendition of a coma wouldn't have fooled a possum. When Machen clinched in . Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. Another depicts Liston's death scene and autopsy: "There was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer Criss-crossed on his back, scars from his daddy like slavery tracks.". 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. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. 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. Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. BOXING Correction: July 15, 2005, Friday A sports picture caption on Wednesday with an article about Mark Knopfler's ballad for the boxer Sonny Liston referred incorrectly in some copies to the year in which Muhammad Ali knocked out Liston in Lewiston, Me. I didn't want anything to do with him. 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. "It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict," said Sgt. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. 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 . The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. He died circa December 30,. He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. The second round saw Liston continue to pursue Clay. 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. 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. And it was probably for the best ticket-buyers didnt exactly get their moneys worth. 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. It burned like hell. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. 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. The photo captures the champions exhortations, with all the fire and passion and dynamic physicality that made him such a phenomenon. On September 7, 1954, Liston suffered defeat for the first time in his eighth professional fight, losing to Marty Marshall, a journeyman with an awkward style. [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. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Liston kept running into trouble with the law and Ali had a target on his back after the assassination of Malcolm X, whom he had disavowed after Elijah Muhammad forced him out of the Nation of Islam. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. . After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting. The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. [8], Liston turned to crime and led a gang of thugs who committed muggings and armed robberies. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. 589 Share 23K views 1 year ago Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. 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." Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned that it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. [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. [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. ", Liston appeared on the December 1963 cover of Esquire magazine (cover photograph by Carl Fischer) "the last man on earth America wanted to see coming down its chimney".[106]. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. 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. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. He then outpointed Julius Griffin, winner of the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, to capture the Intercity Golden Gloves Championship on March 26 (representing Chicago). 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. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. (, Shaun Assael. He could have remained typecast as a musician performing rock songs. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. That would prove to be an understatement. Name: Sonny Liston Birth Name: Charles L. Liston Hometown: Saint Louis, Missouri, USA Birthplace: Johnson Township, Arkansas, USA Died: 1970-12-30 (Age:40) Stance: Orthodox Height: 185cm Reach: 213cm Referee: Record Pro Boxer: Record Amateur Boxer: Record Managers: Jack Nilon, Joe (Pep) Barone, Eddie Polino, George Katz, Frank Mitchell, Dick Sadler In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before his death in May 2009, Liston said he regretted . Good lord, Sonny's mitts are massive. Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. 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. Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. Clay brought Malcolm X along with him to Miami, and amid the controversy, the fight was almost canceled. [52][53] It was the first time since 1919when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willardthat a world heavyweight champion had quit on his stool. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. "[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. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. After Ali's win against Sonny Liston, he wouldn't . Watch the interview you be the judge.. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. 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. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. Liston didn't seem to mind though. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and Joe Louis. Support this Channel:https://www.patreon.com/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise:LegendsofBoxing.redbubble.com I restore \u0026 colorize your projects, PayPal Donations: LegendsofBoxingYT@gmail.comThank you!________________________________________________________________________________All My YouTube ChannelsMy Main Channel \"Legends of Boxing\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC73ffQAknNEWJlRoFSWH_awMy Second Boxing Channel \"Legends of Boxing Strikes Back\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8-QLrFyDnskqz5_z95mcOAMy History Channel \"Time Travel: Colorized Archive\": https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC29VFkNvVVi6_OzwFV2oTqQMy Documentary Channel \"Tales From The Past\":https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZpFIIYrCc1lOHbG-fUo5vwMein Dokumentation Channel \"Geschichten aus der Vergangenheit\" (Tales From The Past in Deutsch) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXBfWoE1KVXEzh9d2NrwBhASocial https://www.instagram.com/legends_of_boxing1/ The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. 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. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970.
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