KOJOE90 wrote:jamesmcdonnell wrote:The thing which makes me suspect is Ali's reaction. Ali is visibly annoyed that Liston has gone down, and screams at him to get up.
Maybe that was just because Ali was just so hyped up? I lean to the theory that it was a good sharp shot that caught Liston cold and/or by surprise.
Liston by this point was an old fighter with a big drink problem, whom had struggled for years and finally won the Title and guess what? Still nobody cared about him. He was the Heavyweight Champion of the World and he felt still nobody cared. That's bound to have an effect on a fighters spirit.
Liston was also in with a fighter who had the style to beat him every day of the week and I believe deep down Liston knew this to.
So when he got caught early I believe a mixture of shock, confusion over the count and Ali stood over him shouting and acting like a nut, Liston thought "sod it, nobody will care if I win anyway, so why take the chance of another beating".
Well that's my theory, but like you rightly say none of us can be really certain.
Yes I think you're probably close to the truth there. Ali just wanted to show a few more of his talents, and was frustrated is was over so quickly, after all that training plus the cancellation.
Deep down, I think Sonny knew Ali had his number. As for a dive, well he'd have probably made it look a little better than he did, plus he did actualy beat the ref's count ( but not the Ring's time keeper, ringside ).
And while Liston was favorite in the rematch, the odds were still pretty close.
Watch Liston's foot as the punch lands: it acutaly leaves the canvas in what looks an involuntary reaction, almost like he's gone into shock.
As for fight #1, well Liston's cornerman admitted, years later, that Sonny told him to "juice em up" ( his gloves ) just before the 5th, when Ali was blinded for a few minutes.
I really don't think Sonny wanted to lose that one.
