Like Dylan's subject, Rubin Carter, Knopfler's version of Liston is sympathetic. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. 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. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. [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. "[35] However, in 1963 in the aftermath of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, Liston broke off a European boxing exhibition tour to return home and was quoted as saying he was "ashamed to be in America. Sad how they portrayed sonny in such a negative light he seems like a genuinely kind person. Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. [105], Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote and recorded a song titled "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows. Traduo Context Corretor Sinnimos Conjugao Conjugao Documents Dicionrio Dicionrio Colaborativo Gramtica Expressio Reverso Corporate 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. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. [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. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c.1930 December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Due to Listons long association with the mafia and the reputation as a peerless tough guy, there was speculation that hed thrown the fight for some financial reward. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. #1 December 1963 extended Interview with Champion Sonny Liston - discusses Ali defense, his contenders, even the JFK Assassination 12-02-2022, 12:32 PM Pretty cool interview. . [citation needed], The fight turned out to be a mismatch. [8] Convicted and sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. Any objective observer would have had to concede that Ali's counterpunch had landed, and landed with enough force to turn Liston's head, Rob Sneddon wrote in The Phantom Punch: The Story Behind Boxing's Most Controversial Bout. [84], Liston married Geraldine Chambers in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. Technically, contracts for boxing matches werent supposed to have rematch clauses, though pretty much all of them had some sort of loophole and agreement when each side wanted to guarantee a return bout again, the laws by which boxing governed itself were really more suggestions at the time. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. "[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. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. The fight quickly descended into chaos. I dont have to be what you want me to be, Clay told agitated reporters. Good lord, Sonny's mitts are massive. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. [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. Maybe he was. Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine. "[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. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." Pan, 2017. "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. 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. [14], Tobe Liston inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible decades later. [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. 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. It burned like hell. [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. [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. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. There's never been anybody as ruthless. "[35], Patterson and Liston had a rematch clause in their contract. "Yes, it was good and honest". The commotion was not lost on referee Barney Felix, who was walking toward Clay's corner. He also wrote that Liston's win over Patterson proved that "in a fair fight between good and evil, evil must win." More on that in a second. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. (4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner six months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. [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. Sonny Liston vs Eddie Machen (1960) As usual, Liston wasted no time throwing his jab and keeping Machen at bay, who was trying to get his hands off with minimal success. Watch the interview you be the judge. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." [100] A successful racehorse which won the Irish St Leger classic race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston. Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, Heroin, and Heavyweights", published in 2016. At the IBHOF, the casts of Listons hands were bigger than Lennox Lewis' which were also gigantic. I'm the best ever. He could have remained typecast as a musician performing rock songs. The most iconic photo in boxing history documents the knockout that almost nobody saw happen. [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. "I was rooting around in my childhood, maybe the way you do when you get to a certain age," Knopfler said. For those too young to remember, Sonny "The Big Bear" Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. "I'm doing a portrait of a life, really, in a way, so you are trying to get the whole thing into just a few verses. "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. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. In "Song for Sonny Liston," Knopfler's voice is backed by electric guitar, a bass and drums as he tells the story of a sharecropper's son who went from prison to the championship to an early. "There is power in both his left and his right, even though the fists move with the languor of motoring royalty or as if passing through a gaseous envelope more dense than air." He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. Paul R Gallender, 2012. These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. But others contend he just was not the same Liston. "There was nothing Sonny feared more than a needle. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. At about 30 seconds into the round he hit Liston with several combinations, causing a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which eventually required eight stitches to close. Sonny Liston, once the heavyweight champ, died at the age of who-knows-what some days before Dec. 30, 1970. Sit down!' 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. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and his doctor, but did not notify the police until two to three hours later. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. Liston did eventually rise from the mat, but soon after, the referee broke up the two boxers once again the former champion had been down for more than 10 seconds, ending the fight. ", It was later theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cut man, may have caused the irritation. Former champions James J. Braddock, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. The previous month, Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships. There are no official records of his birth 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. [107] The story speculates that Liston threw the Ali match for the good of society. [22], Early in his career, Liston faced capable opponents. During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. Dude was only 6'2 and his hands dwarfed Lesnar's. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." Ali called it "the anchor punch." However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. 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 . "[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. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. kos k.o.s ko.s knockouts fight of the year joe louis lewis primo carnera buddy max baer tony galento lamon brewster monte barrett barret amir khan oleg maskaev nicolai valuev nikolai joe calzaghe sergej sergey liakhovich liakovich shannon briggs evander holyfield zultan ibragimov sultan meldrick taylor pauli ayala paul spadafora prince prinze naseem hamed naz johnny tapia john ruiz wilfredo gomez wilfried benitez george foreman big ron lyle earnie shavers joe frazier ken norton angelo dundee eddie futch riddick bowe Henry Akinwande Muhammad Ali Max Baer Michael Bentt Riddick Bowe James J. Braddock Shannon Briggs Tommy Burns Primo Carnera Ruslan Chagaev Ezzard Charles Gerrie Coetzee James J. Corbett Francesco Damiani Jack Dempsey Michael Dokes Jimmy Ellis Bob Fitzsimmons Joe Frazier Marvin Hart Herbie Hide Evander Holyfield James J. Jeffries Ingemar Johansson Jack Johnson Vitali Klitschko Sonny Liston Joe Louis Rocky Marciano Ray Mercer Tommy Morrison Greg Page Floyd Patterson John Ruiz Max Schmeling Bruce Seldon Jack Sharkey James Smith John L. Sullivan John Tate Ernie Terrell Tony Tubbs Nikolay Valuev Jersey Joe Walcott Mike Weaver Jess Willard Tim Witherspoon Muhammad Ali Lou Ambers Sammy Angott Fred Apostoli Ray Arcel Alexis Argello Baby Arizmendi Henry Armstrong Abe Attell Max Baer Caleb Baldwin Carmen Basilio Wilfred Bentez Nino Benvenuti Jack Kid Berg Jimmy Bivins Umberto Branchini Joe Brown Panama Al Brown Ken Buchanan Charley Burley Orlando Canizales Miguel Canto Tony Canzoneri Michael Carbajal Jem Carney Jimmy Carter Marcel Cerdan Antonio Cervantes Bobby Chacon Arthur Chambers Ezzard Charles Kid Chocolate Joe Choynski Stanley Christodoulou Billy Conn Eugne Criqui Jos Cuevas Jack Dempsey Jack (Nonpareil) Dempsey Jack Dillon Professor Mike Donovan Paddy Duffy Don Dunphy Roberto Durn Lou Duva Billy Edwards Gabriel Elorde Jeff Fenech Bob Fitzsimmons George Foreman Bob Foster Joe Frazier Gene Fullmer Khaosai Galaxy Vctor Galndez Joe Gans Kid Gaviln Joey Giardello Mike Gibbons Wilfredo Gmez Humberto Mike Tyson Sonny Liston was one of the hardest hitters the boxing world has ever seen. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. "But can he hit!" 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. His fists measured 15 inches (38cm) around, the largest of any heavyweight champion. His family's home state of Arkansas did not make birth certificates mandatory until 1965. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. "[95], Sgt. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. Please read the rules before posting/commenting. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." Theories regarding the circumstance of Liston's death. 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. While true he also sent women to the hospital, which his sparring partner confirms. He was more angry about that shot than he was about the car wreck. He sunk to the canvas, and as he was down, Ali stood over him, taunting and demanding his stunned opponent get back up. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin wrote that "that final left hook crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch. Sonny Liston had a controversial boxing career, winning 54 of 58 bouts from 1953 to 1970. You've seen him before but probably didn't realize it because the most famous photo ever taken of Sonny was not at his best angle. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. ", One of the most vivid verses creates a word-picture of Liston in his prime with photographic clarity: "Black Cadillac, alligator boots, money in the pockets of his sharkskin suits." A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970. I forgot about the rules." In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. The suspension was honored in all states. There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. [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. 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. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. He was poking the bear a bit there . For Sonny Liston, a Ballad to a Heavyweight, https://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/13/sports/othersports/for-sonny-liston-a-ballad-to-a-heavyweight.html. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. The year 1959 was a banner one for Liston: after knocking out contender Mike DeJohn in six rounds he faced Cleveland Williams, a fast-handed fighter who was billed as the hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world against whom he showed durability, power and skill, nullifying Williams' best work before stopping him in the third round. Tocco left the house before the police did. 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. 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. 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. Liston had thrown a jab with his left arm and, leaning forward, took a right hook from Ali right to the skull. The photo depicted Ali standing over his opponent, Sonny Liston, after delivering a final blow that knocked Liston to the ground. The toxicology report said his body was too decomposed for the tests to be conclusive. Beat me to it! When Walcott got back to Liston and looked at the knockdown timekeeper, Francis McDonough, to pick up the count, Liston had fallen back on the canvas. Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" Suffolk County, where Boston is located, ultimately pulled the plug, leaving them without a venue with less than a month to go. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. Tosches, Nick (2000). 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. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." Gallender claimed, "A lot of officers knew Sonny was dead before Geraldine returned home on January 5, but they chose to let him rot. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. 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. He is seen in the far left part of the row, wearing a white and gold robe, standing beside the original-look Beatle wax figures. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. 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. But he spoke to his friend Resnick on the day of the fight and was told not to bet on the champion. It'll just be for slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell.". [30], Liston became the No. (, Shaun Assael. He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). The opening round was fought an extra eight seconds, since both fighters and referee Barney Felix apparently did not hear the bell. This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. 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. 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." (2) Professional gambler Lem Banker insists that Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. 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. While valuing the photograph, appraiser Kathleen Guzman told. 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. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. 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. 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/ Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down.
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