It was more likely that Liston was out of shape — according to a story in Esquire at the time, Liston “trained as normal, running around five miles a day, eating hot dogs and drinking beer.” He was also possibly much older than his listed 32 years than anything else — Liston was the second-youngest of 25 children to parents who didn’t exactly keep records of birthdates. But soon enough, it was also surrounded by controversy, well before the first bell was rung. Montreal is The Fight City. The photo captures the champion’s exhortations, with all the fire and passion and dynamic physicality that made him such a phenomenon. 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. Only Massachusetts was willing to host the fight, though it was delayed from November 1964 to May 1965 so that Ali could recover from hernia surgery. With Liston on the canvas, Ali shouted at him to rise before circling the ring in a manic victory dance. "The Greatest" had 61 matches during his career - and won 56 of them. 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 attack that prompted Liston to toss in the towel after the sixth round. 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. Indeed, Sonny later stated to more than one writer that the reason he didn’t get to his feet was because 1. This sparked national outrage and accusations that Liston threw the bout. Ticket for Ali vs. Liston, 55 years ago tonight: pic.twitter.com/2cx2Ariymw. The champion was stripped of the belt when he refused to be drafted into the armed services during the Vietnam War, and he didn’t box again in a match that counted until 1970. Clay boasted that he proved the world wrong and told reporters to eat their words, but mystery surrounded Liston’s decision to quit on his chair. Some speculated Liston wanted an early exit for fear of being killed by an errant bullet if a follower of Malcolm X tried to assassinate Ali. Martin Scorsese's 1990 film about Hill and the mafia comes to a climax during the now-infamous Lufthansa Heist. First, there was the fact that its prelude, Clay vs Liston I, had inspired more than its share of controversy all on its own as the defending champ, an overwhelming betting favorite, quit on his stool at the end of round six, this after his corner likely tried to sabotage the bout by putting liniment on Sonny’s gloves which got into Clay’s eyes and rendered the challenger blind for much of round five. For his part, Liston said that the referee’s inability to keep track of time doomed him, as he didn’t know when to get up from the mat. I imagine it will come as no surprise for most fight fans that Ali vs Liston II tops that list. A few months after Ali’s fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion — though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. Once again Sonny Liston’s reputation was officially in tatters. 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. The bottom line is we will never know for certain the true story of Ali vs Liston II. Films show that Ali did connect with a chopping counter right hand to the side of Liston’s head — he later dubbed it his “Anchor Punch” — and the challenger then toppled forward before rolling onto his back. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. According to a report in the Miami Herald a few weeks before the 1964 fight, Clay was consorting with members of the Nation of Islam, who Clay’s father claimed had “brainwashed” his son. Liston, not for the first time, was arrested for a series of misdemeanours, and the fact that his promoters were involved with organised crime drew plenty of criticism from the mainstream media, who were questioning the legitimacy of the heavyweight title bout. Just five years after the second and most controversial fight against Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas home. Similarly to their first meeting, months of investigating failed to come up with any hard evidence that the rematch was fixed. It became known as the “phantom punch” and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. That would prove to be an understatement. However, the fight was watched by millions of viewers all around the world. "Now (after seeing video) I think Clay, seeing the opening, snapped the punch the last six inches. This resulted in Massachusetts officials declining to host the fight, as they were not comfortable with the fixing allegations, criminal links and all round mystery which plagued Sonny Liston. But just days before the match, Ali suffered a hernia which necessitated surgery. To this day some believe Liston, an ex-con and former mob enforcer, threw both fights with Ali, though hard evidence to bolster that idea has never surfaced. The two most common theories suggest that Liston was forced and threatened by the mafia to lose, as they had placed money on Ali, or that Liston took it upon himself to throw the fight as he had debts with several mob identities. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didn’t happen in the ring. It was a shocking result, not only because Liston was favored in the match, but because hardly anybody saw the punch that took him down. A metropolis where hundreds of young warriors train and battle each day in its many gyms, it is where Archie Moore, Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran and Bernard Hopkins all found greatness. Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. Re: Ali vs Liston 2 Post by Controversial » 06 Nov 2015, 09:27 Just my opinion here, I know there are cases where non-punchers have scored one punch KOs over durable opponents but the difference is a solid punch is normally landed. He refused to come out for the seventh round, making Cassius Clay the new heavyweight champion of the world. Ever since theories have abounded as to what exactly transpired. Only five years ago, the son of notorious hitman James John Warjac claimed that his father killed Liston, with an enforced heroin overdose. Less than 10 days later, he was Muhammad Ali, a name given him to Elijah Muhammad, the head of the Nation of Islam. And without doubt, the most high profile bouts that people believe were fixed were the two heavyweight title fights between Muhammad Ali (formerly Cassius Clay), and Sonny Liston. Others concluded the fight had to be fixed, though it’s difficult to imagine a more clumsy way to execute a dive. After winning the heavyweight title, Cassius Clay announced his allegiance to the Black Muslim cult and its leader, Elijah Muhammad, before changing his name to Muhammad Ali. But while a punch did land and appeared to precipitate a flash knockdown, the blow hardly seemed powerful enough to incapacitate the durable Liston. Regardless of the accusations, the public were hugely anticipating the rematch, and the fight was set for the Boston Garden. In the meantime, a bitter and public quarrel was unfolding between the leader of the Black Muslims and prominent former follower Malcolm X, one which forced the new champion to choose sides. © 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. The film 'Green Book' is based on a real-life road trip taken by Black pianist Don Shirley and white bouncer Tony Lip and the unlikely friendship that resulted from the journey. He’d 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. But a Senate subcommittee hearing turned up no evidence of any match-fixing, and doctors confirmed his explanation that he’d taken such damage to his shoulder that he couldn’t feel his arm. Still on the rise, the Fab Four and the Greatest goofed around before one of Ali's fights for a now-epic photo op. He sunk to the canvas, and as he was down, Ali stood over him, taunting and demanding his stunned opponent get back up. The King of Rock 'n' Roll visited the White House in 1970 with one goal: to have Nixon grant him a federal narc badge. The bottom line is the mysterious and bizarre Ali vs Liston rematch has never not been controversial in all the years since, and it will forever stand as a surreal episode of infinite weirdness, indeed, the most controversial match in the long history of the prize ring. At the time, Liston was regarded as one of the greatest fighters in boxing history, but unfortunately, his reputation would soon be tarnished. Herewith my recap with a concluding point that I would argue is impossible to disprove. Jordan Zakarin is a New York-based writer and editor focused on culture, media and politics. Ali brought his big personality to the small town, but Liston was still the favorite. Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson refers to two heavyweight professional boxing matches between Muhammad Ali and Floyd Patterson.The first match took place on November 22, 1965 for the WBC/Ring/lineal world heavyweight championship; and the second on September 20, 1972, for the regional North American Boxing Federation (NABF) heavyweight title. There are many theories as to why the former heavyweight champion of the world would deliberately lose his own fights, but his ties to the mob often rendered him guilty by association. Just how controversial was this particular clash for the heavyweight championship of the world? Liston had never been knocked out before, and most people didn’t even see the punch happen. Naturally, they decided that Ali would take on Liston. Liston had thrown a jab with his left arm and, leaning forward, took a right hook from Ali right to the skull. “I don’t have to be what you want me to be,” Clay told agitated reporters.
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