Liston also threw some wild uppercuts that missed everything. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? Something was bothering Ali at the top of round five, and Liston could smell blood. Liston was no stranger to the Mob, and trouble accompanied his lifestyle. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." He had no glaring weaknesses on offense, save light feet, and would stand a great chance against most heavyweight greats. 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. ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. [88] On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine had smelled a foul odor emanating from the main bedroom and on entering saw him slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. Caputo, one of the investigating police officers, "The whole department knew about it." 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. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. "[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. After a rough upbringing, with little formal education, Liston found himself in trouble with the law. When Machen clinched in the second, Liston focused on the body, punishing his rib cages with hooks. Sonny Liston. I didn't want anything to do with him. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." The public's addiction to good-fellas and gangster lore remains strong, but even now, as he seeks a publisher, Swaim is probably still taking his life into his hands. 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. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. After a loss to Marty Marshall in only his eighth professional fight, Liston strung together 28 consecutive victories, earning himself a shot at the title and a bogeyman allure, trademarked by his stone-faced glare underneath his hooded robe. Time magazine said Liston had worked himself into the best shape of his career. 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. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. A few years before Tocco died, he allegedly told one of his good friends, Tony Davi, that he went to Liston's house and found the door locked and his car in the driveway. 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. A wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. This book is as much about Las Vegas as it is about Sonny Liston. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? [61] The new date was set for May 25, 1965. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. The third round was a beautiful spectacle of Ali landing and making Liston miss, using much ring space, before Liston caught Ali with a nice uppercut and a small right hand later in the round. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Mob connections pressure Novak to tell Liston to take a dive in the upcoming match against Patterson so that they can win on a bet but Novak asks Liston to win instead. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. The commotion was not lost on referee Barney Felix, who was walking toward Clay's corner. 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. [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. [4] Both of Vitale's parents were born in Sicily; his father in Trapani [4] and his mother in Termini Imerese. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Together they began working on a book that also links Cline with Robert Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and the notorious ber-Mobster Mickey Cohen. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. [5] They immigrated to the United States a few years before John was born. A powerhouse, knockout artist who changed the face of boxing.one thunderous combination at a time. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. Liston was knocked down in the first round, but came back to control the next two rounds and had Griffin hanging on at the end. They fought for a third time on March 6, 1956, which Liston won by a ten-round unanimous decision. Liston retired on his stool citing an injured shoulder; After this fight Cassius Clay changed his name to Cassius X and then to Muhammad Ali; 1964 Ring Magazine Fight of the Year. said Liston's Philadelphia dentist, Dr. Nick Ragni. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. The film is a biopic of Sonny Liston, with Ving Rhames in the lead role. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." [citation needed], Rogin wrote that Patterson backers expected him to "go inside on Liston, fire away and then run like a thief in the night. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. In round 10, both fighters stood their ground and traded crosses. Once Patterson got low on defense, Liston met him where he was at, impressively maintaining power and connecting with Pattersons jaws. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. 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.'" "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. Folley knocked down twice in 2nd round; 9 count and saved by the bell at 9 count. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." The irritant works but Liston nevertheless gives up the fight. He appeared on the On the Spot show with host Max Goldberg in 1964 ahead of his fight with Muhammad Ali. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. Liston had been suffering from bursitis in his shoulders for close to a year and had been receiving cortisone shots. Ali called it "the anchor punch." The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. [101], Liston played a fist fighter in the 1965 film Harlow, made a cameo appearance in the 1968 film Head, which starred The Monkees, and played the part of The Farmer in the 1970 film Moonfire, which starred Richard Egan and Charles Napier. Liston is surprised by Cassius Clay's unusual style in their boxing match and asks Catfish to spread an irritating substance on his gloves to bother Clay's eyes. Philadelphia wanted nothing to do with him. Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born in a place called Sand Slough, Arkansas. 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. Liston penalized two points for low blows. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. "If you work hard in training, the fight is easy." - Manny Pacquiao. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. "[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. After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting. [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 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. The son of tenant farmer Tobey Liston and his second wife, Helen, Liston was the 24th of his father's 25 children. [37] Frustrated, Liston changed his management in 1961 and applied pressure through the media by remarking that Patterson, who had faced mostly white challengers since becoming champion, was drawing the color line against his own race. The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. Many cannot see the punch and the press once again attacks Liston, accusing him of taking a dive. Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. [36], Jack Dempsey spoke for many when he was quoted as saying that Sonny Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. 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. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. Unwilling to ingratiate himself, he did little to help his own cause. John J. Vitale was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1909, [3] the eldest of eight children of Joseph Vitale, Sr. and Mary Theresa Bovacanti. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. Liston experiences nightmares remembering abuse suffered at the hands of his father. Soon, the fighters would get tied up after Patterson landed a jab, and then Liston brought the thunder to Pattersons rib cage. America's first look at Liston since the Ali rematch was when he fought fifthranked Henry Clark in a nationally broadcast bout in July 1968. 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. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. 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. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. As youll see throughout this profile, Liston was formidable in punishing fighters to the body, whether clinched, toe-to-toe, or at a distance. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. After many tie-ups, Liston unloaded a short yet devastating uppercut-type shot to the center of Machens midsection that forced him to take a knee at the end of round 11. 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. Out of lock down Sonny makes the acquaintance of gym operator and trainer Caesar Novak (Nicholas Torturro), a man with known mob ties, who manages Sonny to a series of wins in the late 50's. Having shown improvement, he is released after serving just two years of a five-year sentence. 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. Along with his many siblings, Liston . The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. So long as he was winning he was useful; after Lewiston, he became increasingly dispensable. Yet as Al Braverman, one his more trustworthy managers, assured me while I was researching my biography of Liston, Sonny Boy, his fear of needles was pathological. [49], Clay later said that in round five he could only see a faint shadow of Liston during most of the round, but by circling and moving frantically he managed to avoid Liston and somehow survive. Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932, and used this for official purposes[11] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. 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. [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]. Tommy Morrison 84. Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. Timothy Bradley says Ryan Garcia has some advantages over Gervonta Davis, but also faces some stylistic challenges in the matchup. Clay countered in verse, "If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny! Liston was supremely confident of easily beating Clay, trained minimally for the fight and went ahead with it despite an injury to his left shoulder.[44]. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. "[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. 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. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. [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. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. Bad end: James John Warjac confessed to giving Sonny Liston an overdose, {{ #verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ ^verifyErrors }}Something went wrong. Banker said he was told by police that Liston had been seen at a house that would be the target of a drug raid. Caesar's mob connections are likewise suspicious but after speaking with Sonny he convinces them that Sonny was not throwing the fight. Every purchase you make puts money in an artist's pocket. [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. Liston's life was marked with numerous arrests, before and after he entered boxing. Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. They attempt to pin a drunk driving charge on him, even though he is walking, and another fistfight ensues. 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. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. "Yes, it was good and honest". and "Nobody will believe this!"[63]. 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. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. Many in the small crowd had not even settled in their seats when the fight was stopped. Joe Louis v. Abe Simon 1951-July 18. [39] Leading up to the fight, Liston was an 85 betting favorite, although many picked Patterson to win. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, Norton was the fairest of them all," said Foreman as he recalled his former adversary, who passed away last September. Patterson, a 4-1 betting underdog, was knocked down three times and counted out at 2:10 of the first round. Charles Sonny Liston was an enigma that, by way of testimonial, put fear in the hearts of men all throughout the 1960s. 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. ", 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]. "Sonnyboyliston | Race Record & Form | Racing Post", "Moonfire (1972), a film by Michael Parkhurst -Theiapolis", NYSAC World Heavyweight Champion - BoxRec, Lyrics to a song about Liston by Mark Knopfler, FBI Records: The Vault - Charles Sonny Liston, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Liston&oldid=1133574312, Hackman, Timothy. In 1962 Novak attacks Bobby Zazo in a club in a dispute over Farah, a girl Novak stole from him, and arranges through mutual organized crime connections to pay Zazo $10,000 in retribution. The victim sought out the executioner." Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating: "Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. 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. [71] Credence to the latter theory is provided by the fact that Liston, immediately after his fight with Chuck Wepner, seemed more concerned about supporting the proposed Ali-Frazier bout and Ali's claims to be champion than promoting his own career. 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). In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. 9, 1 March 2018, p. 8, New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape', "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)", "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time", "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)", "ESPN Classic - Liston was trouble in and out of ring", "Jacob's Beach by Kevin Mitchell: review", "Hard Times, Good Times: Charles "Sonny" Liston - Boxing.com", "Dismayed D'Amato Is Expecting To Get Back Manager's License", "Esquire covers commemorate boxing's prime", "Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston I: 50 Years Later", "Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting) - BoxRec", "1964 Clay vs. Liston Judges' Scorecards from Miami Beach Bout. | Lot #80073 | Heritage Auctions", "Muhammad Ali's Toughest Fight Wasn't Against Joe Frazier", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch', "I WAS THERE: George Chuvalo Watches Sonny Liston Take a Dive - YouTube", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch' | Boxing News", "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search", "Sonny Liston the most talented Heavyweight in history", "George Foreman Discusses Friendship With Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston: Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy Boxing News", "LOTIERZO'S LOWDOWN Sonny Liston: The Most Underrated Heavyweight Champ In History", "The Most Feared Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston remembered", "Liston KO'd Popular Patterson for Title", "O Unlucky Man: Fortune never smiled on Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston Meets the Press - Boxing.com", "Like Fights Against Ali, Liston Death a Mystery", "December 30, 1970: Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston", "19 YEARS LATER: Liston Death Remains Mystery to His Friends". 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