It's widely accepted that Liston, a former heavyweight boxing champ, died from an accidental heroin overdose in 1970. He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. "[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? Last thing I will say about a heavyweight champ who was an ex-con and a leg-breaker for the mob He was deathly afraid of needles. Cassius Clay was just 22-years-old when he beat the world champion in a seven round TKO. [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. dan.liston@colorado.edu. But the year of Sonny's birth, like the circumstances of his death, remain a mystery. He had the whole package. He particularly resented a 1961 arrest by a black patrolman for loitering, claiming to have merely been signing autographs and chatting with fans outside a drugstore. Pan, 2017. That got him killed. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. Liston made his professional boxing debut at the age of 21 on September 2, 1953. There are a ton of other dubious deaths and (hopefully) little-known facts about Vegas in this week's episode. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. "That really broke Sonny's heart," said Simon George, who wrote and directed Showtime's "Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston." [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. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. Liston. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. Daniel Liston. Liston went from being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ of the world and household name. 249 UCB. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. Birth 1935 - County Limerick, Ireland. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. [89], Following an investigation, Las Vegas police concluded there were no signs of foul play and declared Liston's death a heroin overdose. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. 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. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. Skeptics called the knockout blow "the phantom punch." [86] Former light-heavyweight champion Jose Torres said, "I have never met an athlete in baseball, basketball or football who is smarter, more intelligent than Sonny Liston". I know!" In remembrance of Muhammed Ali, NPR looks back at Robert Siegel's conversation with filmmaker Gary Robinov, director of Raising Ali, about the . Sonny Liston ( The Big Bear) was an American professional boxer. The heavyweight champion's mysterious death is covered in tonight's all-new episode of. During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and went 15 rounds with Ali before being knocked out (that fight was Stallones inspiration for Rocky), said after his career was over that Liston was by far the hardest puncher he faced. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. CU Experts. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. Sonny Liston stands over Albert Westphal in first round of bout in Philadelphia, Dec. 4, 1961. February 25, 1964. His father was 30 years older than his mother. The following year, Sonnydetermined to reunite with his mother and siblingsthrashed the pecans from his brother-in-law's tree and sold them in Forrest City, Arkansas. BOXING legend Sonny Liston was murdered by the MAFIA in a death staged to look like an overdose, a new documentary has claimed. Ali called it "the anchor punch." 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. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? 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. The coroner said that there was not a lethal amount of heroin discovered in Listons system during the autopsy, but authorities still attributed his death to an accidental drug overdose even though police on the scene 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, or maybe a needle that he was fucking terrified of. The two American fighters met again 15 months later, Ali winning . 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. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. Also in 1970, Liston appeared on an episode of the TV series Love, American Style and in a television commercial for Braniff Airlines with Andy Warhol.[12][102]. As Liston pursued his target Clay retreated, using his foot speed to slip away into open space in the ring, largely circling to the left and away from the threat of a Liston left hook. His eyes swept the whole scene. [51], Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston canceled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. [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. [67] Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was fake. It burned like hell. 1 contender by 1960, but the handlers of the heavyweight champ at the time, Floyd Patterson, refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to the mob. 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. He was a bit of a physical freak He was 6 ft 1 in with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches. [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. Liston's noticeably more muscular left arm, crushing left jab and powerful left hook lent credence to the widely held belief that he was left-handed, although he fought in an orthodox stance. [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. The date of death listed on his death certificate is December 30, 1970,[90] which police estimated by judging the number of milk bottles and newspapers around the front door of the property. ", 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]. 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. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. His father Tobe loved to fuck. He was a gentle man. Clearly, it was time to turn pro. said Liston's Philadelphia dentist, Dr. Nick Ragni. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. 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. 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. 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 champion. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. 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.'" [60] The extent to which Liston's heavy drinking and possible drug use may have contributed to his surprisingly poor performances against Ali is not known.[15]. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. Sonny Liston FBI Files. [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]. What are you doing? Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." It's a terrible matchup. In the main bedroom, Geraldine discovered the body of her husband, former heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. Former champions Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man), Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano, and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. Other than that, little is definite about his birth, but he seems to have been born in a shack on the cotton plantation where his parents worked, a little outside Forrest City, in Arkansas, which did . 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. ", During an era when white journalists still described black athletes in stereotypes, Liston had long been a target of racially charged slurs; he was called a "gorilla" and "a jungle beast" in print. Patterson's fatal mistake was that he "did not punch enough and frequently tried to clinch with Liston. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. This was his first visit. His baleful, obsidian stare intimidates fighters, sportswriters and. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 8. toukokuuta 1932 Arkansas (syntymaika ja tarkka paikka kiistanalaisia) - 30. joulukuuta 1970 Las Vegas, Nevada) oli yhdysvaltalainen raskaansarjan nyrkkeilij ja painoluokkansa maailmanmestari. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. [92] He had been suffering from hardening of the heart muscle and lung disease before his death. Born into poverty and the 12 th of 13 children born to Tobe and Helen Liston (and the 24 th of 25 children fathered by Tobe in total), Sonny did not enjoy a privileged upbringing. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. Eddie's brother, Joe, is Sonny's cut man and his trainers, Willie Reddish and Johnny Tocco, round out his entourage. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating:"Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. [27][28], Liston's streak of nine straight knockout victories ended when he won a unanimous twelve-round decision against Eddie Machen on September 7, 1960. Sonny Liston. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. Now you know who he is Heres how he died. In fact, Sonny Liston had not been right for a long time, and not only for the strangely dual life he had been leadingspells of choirboy abstinence squeezed between binges of drinking and. [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. 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. But upon arrival, Liston was met by only a handful of reporters and public-relations staff. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. SO here are four theories behind who killed Sonny Liston at only the age of 40. Facebook gives. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. He got out of prison in 52, won the Golden Gloves in Chicago, and went pro after less than a year Unfortunately, the only financial backers willing to put up the necessary money for him to turn professional were local mobsters, and Liston supplemented his income by working for the local mob as an intimidator-enforcer. 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. 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. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. Liston went down on his back. "From Bad Buck to White Hope: Journalism and Sonny Liston, 19581965. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. [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. ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. Sit down!' This Day in History: Young Muhammad Ali Knocks out Sonny Liston for First World Title. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. 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. Maule, Tex (March 9, 1964). The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. . Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. Born to a large and impoverished sharecropping family, Charles 'Sonny' Liston probably came into the world four years before his official 1932 birthdate, and his struggle to fashion a real identity would remain with him his whole life. In the 2020 film One Night in Miami, Liston is played by Aaron D. Alexander. His death is still a mystery, but Mike Tyson puts flowers on his grave every year at Paradise Memorial Gardensin Las Vegas. Liston was allegedly present at dealer Earl Cage's residence during a raid by narcotics detectives. 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. Because of that, the dealers may have thought Sonny ratted on them and they shot him with a hot dose as retribution. 15 months earlier, they'd accused him of pulling over a woman around 3 a.m. and impersonating a police officer. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. 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. 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. Sonny Liston became world heavyweight champion in 1962 and fought Muhammad Ali twice In January 1971, former heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston was found dead at his Las Vegas. Sonny Liston: The 'Worst Mess In History Of Sports'. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Listons last fight as a professional was against Chuck The Bayonne Bleeder Wepner He was given that nickname because his eye would open up during the National Anthem. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. I know it", Liston said afterward. Listons body was discovered by his wife who was returning home from a two-week trip. [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. 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 . Fifty years later, the mystery still remains. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - c. December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. Boston: Little, Brown. (12) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+. Certainly Johnson had more going for him than enormous hands. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. Fans rejected Liston after he won the heavyweight title over Floyd Patterson in 1962. 780 46K views 8 years ago Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston's son visits his gravesite. 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. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. 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. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. 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