BoxRec

Well, I think he got hit with a right hand that resulted in a flash knockdown, could’ve got up and for whatever reason, said hell with it and spit the bit. Here’s the thing. How come no one ever talks about his bride Geraldine’s response when she saw it. She ripped him up and down for that “ performance “. Who knows though? Maybe that’s legend.

Ali landed a quick hard right hand shot. Not enough to knock someone out cold but enough to take them off their feet. As said above me a decade ago. Liston got up before Walcott reached 10 and was ready, willing and did resume fighting. As to why Liston stayed down for so long in that weird situation, that can simply be put down to Ali screaming at him telling him to get up. Liston may have thought at the time that the moment he got up Ali would jump all over him, or he may have been doing what many fighters do after they have been shook and waited until the last second to get up and get the best recovery possible.
Walcott stuffed it up big time. Fleischer informed Walcott that the timekeepers count had been over 10 seconds. The count is not supposed to continue when one fighter refuses to go to a neutral corner. Fleischer thought he was doing the right thing by telling Jersey Joe the fight should be over, the timekeeper Francis McDonough was also yelling at Walcott that the fight should be over.
Joe did the wrong thing by listening to Fleischer and McDonough and calling the fight. It was against the rules to stop the fight but Liston didn't seem to fight it that much either. Maybe he didn't protest because he thought that the fight had been fixed by the NOI and didn't want to run the risk of getting Malcolm X'd.
I think Walcott was presented with a situation he had never been in nor had been prepared for and listened to the more 'senior' people in the room.

- Surprised I missed this bit if idiocy, but maybe figured wrongly that it would correct itself.

Don't always intend to sound condescending, but Guys, C'mon as my big buddy Lyndon used to challenge!

I've practiced that punch on my heavy bag endlessly by putting the bag into a similar motion that Sonny was moving in, ie off balance from a huge missed left hook when he was tagged. It was a snapping counter straight left aimed downward as ali was moving backward that caught the crouched Liston, a punch with most of it's energy expended that expanded the off balance of Sonny that put him on the canvas. A next to nothing punch that demonstrated Ali's natural countering abilities that did it's job, but again, the punch might've crushed a gnat, but was nothing punch that 90% of healthy males and even healthy females could handle, even a decent % of high school males and females.

Pay ATTENTION por favor---Walcott immediately moved to guide Ali to neutral corner with Ali trying to muscle around him for what looked like was a kick in Liston's head. Walcott was strong and experienced enough from his career to successfully put Ali in his corner. As he turned back to Liston, Nat Fleischer called him over to tell him the timekeeper had already counted Liston out.

Now Walcott turns to the fighters who have been fighting for quite some time because Sonny had no choice since Ali had run back to him while Walcott was distracted.

The refereeing, officiating, Ali, and bystander( Nat)were about as negligent as possible, a total sham initiated by Ali as was his first fight when hysterically calls on Angie to cut the gloves off during his liniment in his eye episode. I could go further into the first Liston fight, but Ali was stripped by the WBA for accepting the Liston rematch which was about as unpromotable as any fight in history. Hence the remote wilderness rematch in Podunk, Maine that helped to screen out most of the Black Muslim crowd and gamblers.

Nat should've been banned for being anywhere near ringside again. Ali should've been stripped for a new WBC title match for the new champion. He might've learned a small modicum of judgement and respect likely to enhance his career that otherwise was in sad neglect at various times...

Liston was caught cold by a clean backhand by arguably the best heavyweight in history. Did Liston want to continue? Only he would know the answer to that.