sonny liston interview
The film starred Ving Rhames as Liston and was produced by Rhames, Hassain Zaidi and Marek Posival. 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. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. 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. He would later employ McCarter as a sparring partner. 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. Ali would lose his title a year later, though it didnt happen in the ring. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. ", 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]. Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection. Two of the three official scorers, or judges, awarded the round to Liston, and the other scored the round even. And the face, it was an unforgettable face. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. The interference of ringside reporters regarding interpretation of the rules, the fight stoppage and the controversy after the fight had not been seen since The Long Count Fight between champion Gene Tunney and challenger Jack Dempsey in 1927. Sports Illustrated writer Mort Sharnik said his hands "looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists." So I went down. 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. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. He pulled the same stuff Walcott did against Marciano. His "Speedway at Nazareth" was about auto racing. Both fights were in Summerlin's hometown of Detroit.[23]. According to Liston's trainer, Willie Reddish, Liston cancelled a planned tour to Africa in 1963 because he refused to get the required inoculations. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. [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. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." 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 . #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. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. "[96], Many people who knew Liston insisted he was afraid of needles and never would have used heroin. When Machen clinched in . Once he went down, I got excited. Liston captured the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. [30], Liston became the No. 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. The highly-anticipated May 1965 rematch between the heavyweight champions almost didn't happen. "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." During these same years Sonny Liston was on the comeback trail as well. 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]. For me, the most fascinating thing about Liston was the fact that his birth date is unknown. There's never been anybody as ruthless. 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. [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". Knopfler, who was born in Scotland and grew up in northern England, said Liston's story was "exciting subject matter because it's so mysterious." It became known as the phantom punch and has been the subject of controversy and speculation for the last 55 years. In the novel, Liston not only drinks but also pops pills and works as a sometime enforcer for a heroin ring in Las Vegas. His fists measured 15 inches (38cm) around, the largest of any heavyweight champion. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. He was poking the bear a bit there . Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread and all them sluggers went down like lead. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. . [16] Listonaged around 13, according to his later reckoningsremained in Arkansas with his father. Liston decked Martin with a left hook in the fourth round and dominated most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. He rounded out the year by stopping Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff. Clay countered in verse, "If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny! Liston was supremely confident of easily beating Clay, trained minimally for the fight and went ahead with it despite an injury to his left shoulder.[44]. 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 "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." BOXING Correction: July 15, 2005, Friday A sports picture caption on Wednesday with an article about Mark Knopfler's ballad for the boxer Sonny Liston referred incorrectly in some copies to the year in which Muhammad Ali knocked out Liston in Lewiston, Me. This interview is missing a "BOOOOOOOMZQUAD!!" 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. Dennis Caputo of the Clark County Sheriff's Department was one of the first officers on the scene. A couple weeks later, he was still complainin' about that needle mark. 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. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. Genuinely kind mobster who had been convicted of armed robbery and assault. His death was, too. [12], Liston never complained about prison, saying he was guaranteed three meals every day. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. "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. 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. 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. Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. Authorities theorized that he was undressing for bed when he fell over backward with such force that he broke the rail of the bench. "He had a left like Henry's hammer," Knopfler sings, "a right like Betty Bamalam. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". Never before seen Sonny Liston interview. 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Remembering One Of Boxing's Storied Bouts Robert Siegel and Melissa Block recall the fight between Cassius Clay and and Sonny Liston, the fight at the heart of the off-Broadway play Fetch Clay, . "From Bad Buck to White Hope: Journalism and Sonny Liston, 19581965. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia. 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. Watch the interview you be the judge.. 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. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. 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. Reminds me of former UFC fighter Shane Carwin. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. "[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. Emily Post would probably recommend a ticker-tape parade. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. [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. [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. The match had more storylines than a soap opera. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. Don't confuse shyness with dullness, Sonny was. That got him killed. His defense was described as "the gate-crossing of arms la Archie Moore. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. [43] A month later, Liston was accused of impersonating a police officer by using a flashlight to wave down a female motorist in Fairmount Park, although all charges were later dropped. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. Asked by a young white reporter why he was not fighting for freedom in the South, Liston deadpanned, "I ain't got no dog-proof ass. 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. Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. "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. Two of the best-known are "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel and "Hurricane" by Bob Dylan. 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. 9, 1 March 2018, p. 8, New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape', "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)", "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time", "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)", "ESPN Classic - Liston was trouble in and out of ring", "Jacob's Beach by Kevin Mitchell: review", "Hard Times, Good Times: Charles "Sonny" Liston - Boxing.com", "Dismayed D'Amato Is Expecting To Get Back Manager's License", "Esquire covers commemorate boxing's prime", "Cassius Clay-Sonny Liston I: 50 Years Later", "Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (1st meeting) - BoxRec", "1964 Clay vs. Liston Judges' Scorecards from Miami Beach Bout. | Lot #80073 | Heritage Auctions", "Muhammad Ali's Toughest Fight Wasn't Against Joe Frazier", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch', "I WAS THERE: George Chuvalo Watches Sonny Liston Take a Dive - YouTube", "Fifty Years Later: The Mystery of Muhammad Ali's 'Phantom Punch' | Boxing News", "Daytona Beach Morning Journal - Google News Archive Search", "Sonny Liston the most talented Heavyweight in history", "George Foreman Discusses Friendship With Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston: Say Goodnight to the Bad Guy Boxing News", "LOTIERZO'S LOWDOWN Sonny Liston: The Most Underrated Heavyweight Champ In History", "The Most Feared Fighter in Boxing History: Charles 'Sonny' Liston remembered", "Liston KO'd Popular Patterson for Title", "O Unlucky Man: Fortune never smiled on Sonny Liston", "Sonny Liston Meets the Press - Boxing.com", "Like Fights Against Ali, Liston Death a Mystery", "December 30, 1970: Mysterious Death of Sonny Liston", "19 YEARS LATER: Liston Death Remains Mystery to His Friends". Before he left for his bout with Clay, Sonny's training in Denver took him to some strange places. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. [5][6] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight. 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." Knopfler said he enjoys boxing and other sports but reflected on a conversation he had with a friend about the fights. You really never watched the first fight did you? Tosches, Nick (2000). The organization was seen as an extremist anti-white people hate group and opponents of desegregation and Martin Luther King Jr. Clays propensity for self-promotion and controversy seemed to fit in with the groups inflammatory rhetoric. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. [citation needed], Liston competed in the 1953 United States National Championships at Boston Garden and passed the preliminaries, stopping Lou Graff in the second round on April 13, but lost in the quarterfinals to 17-year-old Jimmy McCarter on April 15. Liston was depicted as a bad guy by the media, a handbreaker for the mafia. 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. This victory is regarded by some as Liston's most impressive performance. While true he also sent women to the hospital, which his sparring partner confirms. Like Dylan's subject, Rubin Carter, Knopfler's version of Liston is sympathetic. (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. Frank Mir was around that height and was noticeably taller than Carwin. Sonny Liston had a very sad upbringing & had to learn to survive at a young age. Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned that it was powerful enough to knock Liston out. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating: "Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. Site contains certain content that is owned A&E Television Networks, LLC. On April 21, 1955, he defeated Marshall in a rematch, dropping him four times en route to a sixth-round knockout. The Murder of Sonny Liston is an absorbing, albeit speculative, attempt at addressing the mystery that died with the man. 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. [35] Liston's victory was loudly booed. He won by a seventh-round technical knockout, and seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Liston biographer Paul Gallender claims that Liston fathered several children, though none with his wife. Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch. Because of that, Cage may have thought Sonny was an informant and shot him with a hot dose as retribution. "Yes, it was good and honest". Then again, you can also have guys like Ali or Mike Tyson. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. In an interview with The Associated Press shortly before his death in May 2009, Liston said he regretted . Another depicts Liston's death scene and autopsy: "There was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer Criss-crossed on his back, scars from his daddy like slavery tracks.". [citation needed] At this time, the head coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, Tony Anderson, stated that Liston was the strongest fighter he had seen. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. A sudden violent combination delivered with 30 seconds left in the round electrified the crowd. And it was probably for the best ticket-buyers didnt exactly get their moneys worth. He offered no comment on the matter, but his victory would soon turn it into an international story. "[40][41], Upon winning the world heavyweight title, Liston had a speech prepared for the crowd that friends had assured him would meet him at the Philadelphia airport. 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. The bout would need to be delayed by six months. Rogin wrote. Liston was a heavy favorite. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. Muhammad Ali (at the time a rising contender named Cassius Clay), however, predicted a knockout by Liston in the first five rounds. Tocco left the house before the police did. 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. It made a champion out of Clay, who declared that hed shook up the world.. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. Felix later said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. Rare interview of Sonny Liston colorized. It is hardly the first recording by a rock musician about boxing. I didn't want anything to do with him. Even before the first punch was thrown, the May 25, 1965 bout between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston . With the proceeds, he traveled to St. Louis to live with his mother. Some found it suspicious that authorities 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. This is a place for friendly and civil debate about the greatest sport on earth. Some writers thought Liston brought bad press on himself by a surly and hostile attitude toward journalists. During the interim, officials in Boston also got cold feet. [48] The challenger, his arms held high in surrender, was demanding that the fight be stopped and Dundee, fearing the fight might indeed be halted, gave his charge a one-word order: "Run! That would prove to be an understatement. Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fightawarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. Mike DeJohn was the highest paid boxer at $15,000 while James Dickey received $20,000. And, while Patterson was growing as a fighter, Sonny was taking on mostly journeyman and starting to age. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. Clay confessed later he had been hurt by the punch, but Liston was unable to press his advantage home. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. QUESTION 1 The ending of the fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. In his sixth bout, he faced ranked heavyweight Johnny Summerlin (18-1-2) on national television and won in an eight-round decision. "He would do everything to avoid taking shots." The rumors swirling nearly canceled the fight the night prior, and when a reporter that morning broke tradition and asked if Clay was a member of the Black Muslims, as the group was often called, the boxer confirmed his new religion. [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. The NAACP had urged Patterson not to fight Liston, fearing that a Liston victory would hurt the civil rights movement. A few months after Alis fight, Liston was dead from lung congestion though even that was shrouded in mystery and controversy. Lennox is a conqueror? ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. In these feckless clinches he only managed to tie up one of Liston's arms. His eyes swept the whole scene. With Clay quickly ducking his head left, right or away, Liston's leading left jabs largely failed to land. "He was scared, he was scared of so many things," Knopfler said. The opening round was fought an extra eight seconds, since both fighters and referee Barney Felix apparently did not hear the bell. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. Knopfler, who now records as a soloist and performs with a backup band, has a wide-ranging curiosity that has produced an eclectic collection of songs. After repeated overnight detention by the St. Louis police and a thinly veiled threat to his life, Liston left for Philadelphia. 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. Traduo Context Corretor Sinnimos Conjugao Conjugao Documents Dicionrio Dicionrio Colaborativo Gramtica Expressio Reverso Corporate Liston went down on his back. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. Liston was particularly known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and his infamously intimidating appearance. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. "[35], U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 - December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. Ali brought his big personality to the small town, but Liston was still the favorite. [50] "There's no doubt that he was mean," Knopfler said of Liston. 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. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. "[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. However, there were again rumors of alcohol abuse in training. The Real Story behind the Ali-Liston Fights. 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. There were some, however, who believed the fight was legitimate. [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. "He had a deadly fear of needles," said Davey Pearl, a boxing referee and friend of Liston's. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett H. Byrne, began to have second thoughts. 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. 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. As the years passed and Liston's financial situation worsened, he got angry and told the mob he would go public with the story unless they gave him the money. You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. Be respectful and come chat with us.