sonny liston interview sonny liston interview

Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." [32] Ironically, Patterson's manager, Cus D'Amato, associated with racketeers and had his manager's license revoked by the New York State Athletic Commission for alleged misconduct in connection with the Floyd PattersonIngemar Johansson title fight in June 1959. Rogin wrote. He died circa December 30,. I was about to say look at those mitts! This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. In "Sailing to Philadelphia," a duet with James Taylor, Knopfler told of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon traveling from England to North America to draw the Mason-Dixon line. 1 contender in 1960, but the handlers of world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to organized crime. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. Roy Harris, who had gone 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title match, was crushed in one round by Liston. [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. It was 1965, not 1955. Interviewing and trash-talk have both gone through some tremendous evolutions, havent they? The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. Never before seen Sonny Liston interview. Support this Channel: https://www.patreon.com/join/LegendsofBoxing Merchandise: https://www.redbubble.com/peo. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968, increasing his string to eleven. "[42], Liston made his second title defense on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. [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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [20], Liston signed a contract in September 1953, proclaiming: "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do. Cleveland Williams was the last person to defeat Liston and made $100,000 for his efforts. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." [11][12][10][13][14] One writer concluded that Liston's most plausible date of birth was July 22, 1930, citing census records and statements from his mother during her lifetime. Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread and all them sluggers went down like lead. Half a mile above and beyond the shrine, looking down from the summit of the mountain, is a statue of the Sacred Heart. The story goes that Liston was born somewhere . "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." He was a gentle man. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. 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 Clays father claimed had brainwashed his son. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. "[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. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. One of the reasons why sports stays alive in us is that there's part of us that wants to keep the child alive and recognizes that there is something important in doing that. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. [29] Machen's taunting and his spoiling tactics of dodging and grapplingat one point almost heaving Liston over the ropesso alienated the audience that Liston received unaccustomed support from the crowd. In the first fight, in Miami, a 22-year-old Cassius Clay danced around the ring, taunted Liston, promised reporters hed 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. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. ", 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. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. [76][77] Foreman stated: "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. 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." He also took his gun. Muhammad Ali biographer Jonathan Eig shared a new theory as to why Sonny Liston may have taken a dive in the boxers' second bout. "[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. Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. 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 [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Gary Robinov, director of Raising Ali, a film about the 50th anniversary of the heavyweight boxing match between Muhammed Ali and Sonny Liston in Lewiston, Maine.. [99] (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. 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. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. Good lord, Sonny's mitts are massive. "When he first got to the big city, he was hanging out with a bunch of people who were just looking for trouble.". [33], Civic leaders were also reluctant, worrying that Liston's unsavory character would set a bad example for youth. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. 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. "[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. 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). Boxings brightest young star was again squaring off against a renowned bruiser in a rematch of their thrilling and controversial heavyweight championship fight one year prior, a fight that was followed by 14 months of international intrigue and the combustible politics of the 1960s. 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]. The connections to organized crime were an advantage early in his career but were later used against him. #muhammadali #henrycooper #sonnyliston #dougjones #heavyweight #greatness #boxing #legend #larryholmes #ironmike #sonnyliston #intimidating #bad #big #greatb. Once he went down, I got excited. "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=1137950795, International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees, 20th-century African-American sportspeople, Articles with unsourced statements from February 2016, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2022, Articles with unsourced statements from December 2016, Pages with login required references or sources, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Hackman, Timothy. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. 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. Liston was overwhelmed by an abusive father, confrontations with the law, underworld managers and a change in African-American culture represented by Ali, Knopfler said. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. Watch the interview you be the judge.. [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. My man. Two more arrestsfor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and another for impersonating a copled to Liston being suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission on July 14, 1961. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Walcott never did pick up the count. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. "It really has made an impact, actually from the very first time I performed it on 'A Prairie Home Companion,"' Knopfler said in a telephone interview. "[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. 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 wax model of Liston appears in the front row of the iconic sleeve cover of the Beatles' Sgt. He sunk to the canvas, and as he was down, Ali stood over him, taunting and demanding his stunned opponent get back up. .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Remembering Just Fontaine and His World Cup Record, The Man Behind the First All-Black Basketball Team, 8 Times Brothers Have Faced Off in a Championship, Every Black Quarterback to Play in the Super Bowl, Soccer Star Christian Atsu Survived an Earthquake. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. I forgot about the rules." Ali did neither. [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. [24], In 1958, Liston returned to boxing. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. [35] There are several theories as to why: (1) publicist Harold Conrad and others believed Liston had been deeply involved as a bill collector of a loansharking ring in Las Vegas. It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." Audiences at home were confused and outraged. The champion was stripped of the belt when he refused to be drafted into the armed services during the Vietnam War, and he didnt box again in a match that counted until 1970. Press question mark to learn the rest of the keyboard shortcuts. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. On the album's lyric sheet, below the Liston song, Knopfler includes a famous quotation from Liston from 1962: "Some day, they're gonna write a blues for fighters. RARE Sonny Liston Interview before the first Ali fight 1964 in Color Legends of Boxing in Color 2.47K subscribers Subscribe 16K views 8 months ago Very Rare interview with Sonny Liston and. Anyone can read what you share. [52][53] It was the first time since 1919when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willardthat a world heavyweight champion had quit on his stool. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. "Yes, it was good and honest". "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. That would prove to be an understatement. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." 589 Share 23K views 1 year ago Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. "From Bad Buck to White Hope: Journalism and Sonny Liston, 19581965. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. For his part, Liston said that the referees inability to keep track of time doomed him, as he didnt know when to get up from the mat. "The public is not with me. Banker said he was told by police that Liston had been seen at a house that would be the target of a drug raid. 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. "It was common knowledge that Sonny was a heroin addict," said Sgt. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. [10][11] It has been suggested Liston himself may not have known what year he was born, as he was not precise on the matter. Very rare interview of Sonny Liston talking about how he got started in boxing, his fights with Williams and Patterson and his training routine. The FBI was on the hunt for evidence for match-fixing, given Listons mob ties mobsters still owned much of his fight promotion contract and the sports shady business model. Sonny Liston | Boxing's Most Intimidating and Unwanted Champion Rainy Day Boxing 302K subscribers 5.6M views 1 year ago Join Rainy Day Boxing for an in depth career tribute to arguably the most. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. He then left the fighters to go over to McDonough. There are no official records of his birth Reminds me of former UFC fighter Shane Carwin. After demolishing these top-ranked fighters in the heavyweight division, Liston was regarded as the top-contender champion-in-waiting.