View the profiles of people named Daniel 'Sonny' Liston. Charles "Sonny" Liston was an enigma that, by way of testimonial, put fear in the hearts of men all throughout the 1960s. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band He is seen in the far left of the first row, wearing a white and gold robe. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. 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. "[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. Liston had a noticeably more muscular left arm, but fought orthodox Meaning his power hand was out front, so he had this crushing left jab and powerful left hook. [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. 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.'" On top of the mob stigma, people were flat-out terrified of Sonny Fight City named Sonny Liston as the most intimidating fighter of all time" beating out names of other legendary animals like Tyson, Foreman, and Hagler. Rogin wrote. dan.liston@colorado.edu. [15] In 1946, Helen Baskin, along with some of her children, moved to St. Louis to seek factory work. In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was portrayed by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. [85] Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. 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. Ali biographer Wilfrid Sheed wrote, in his Muhammad Ali: A Portrait in Words and Photographs, that Liston planned to throw the fight for reasons unknown and used the legitimate first-round knockdown for that end. In five months, Sonny Liston had gone from unknown ex-con to amateur champion. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. 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. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. As the famous photo portrays, Ali taunted the fallen Liston, calling on him to get up. (12) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+. On May 5, 1956, a policeman confronted Liston and a friend about a cab parked near Liston's home. 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. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. Maule, Tex (March 9, 1964). A lot of his life was mysterious and messy. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. Paul R Gallender, 2012. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. World light-heavyweight champion Jos Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." (2) Professional gambler Lem Banker insists that Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. 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. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. "Johnny wasn't a braggart," Davi told Liston biographer Paul Gallender. [73] The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c. 1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. But former Las Vegas police Sgt. 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 walks to the ring with his gloves on the shoulders of his manager, Eddie Polino. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. He was not the tear-shedding type.. [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. He was a bit of a physical freak He was 6 ft 1 in with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches. Also, scar tissue, possibly from needle marks, was found in the bend of Liston's left elbow. Because of that, the dealers may have thought Sonny ratted on them and they shot him with a hot dose as retribution. 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. Floyd Patterson was Ben Mintz's "Minty Lock Of The Week" and Megan Makin' Moneyloved Patterson in a decision. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. Sonny Liston, I think was possibly the greatest intimidator of all time. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." The inaugural WBC world heavyweight champion cemented himself in. The bout was stopped after the ninth round due to cuts over both of Wepner's eyes. Liston wins, 10 times out of 10. [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. Only a rising contender at the time named Cassius Clay predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. "Yes, it was good and honest". Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. 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. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. Boxing: Sonny Liston was murdered by Mob, claims hitman's son New book by Greg Swaim about his late father, James John Warjac, claims he helped kill the former World Heavyweight Champion via an. Although the opening round saw Clay largely on the defensive, it was soon established that Clay could reverse roles quickly and take to the offensive with a remarkably fast series of combinations delivered to Liston's head. Liston was the subject of a 1995 HBO documentary titled Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion. Liston went down on his back. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. 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. Mickey Mantle, who could hit a baseball as far as any man, had the forearms of a blacksmith but only average-sized hands. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. Sonny was probably born in 1929, but no one knows for sure. He inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible in the ring decades later as an adult. You've probably seen it a thousand times, but you may not have known who the poor bastard on the ground was until now. Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. Liston would keep Frazier out of range with that monster of a jab which was better than Foreman's! Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston rivalry Before Cassius Clay took on the name Muhammad Ali, he was a young and brash fighter who worked his way up the ranks. [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. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. After two rounds, Wilson had taken enough. [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. Or it would be history, if boxing "historians" would stop sweeping the legacy of Sonny Liston under the ring canvas. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. Boxer Sonny Liston ducks and covers up as Cassius Clay aims a right at him during their title fight. 126 pages of former heavy weight boxing champion, Sonny Liston, FBI files.. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born in 1932, into a family where he became one of twenty-five children. 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. 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. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas Pan publisher; 2017. Tocco left the house before the police did. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. When he moved to town here he Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. At one point, Liston had Clay against the ropes and landed a hard left hook. At one point, Clay was wiping his eyes with his right hand while extending his left arm"like a drunk leaning on a lamppost" Bert Sugar wroteto keep Liston at bay. Subsequently, Liston spent some months in Denver where a Catholic priest who acted as his spiritual adviser attempted to help bring his drinking under control. Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch. 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