Sonny Liston

2007-09-20T21:31:35Z

Tommy Mohan: syntax, grammar

[[file:Liston.sonny.jpg|left]]
<boxer>009031</boxer>
'''Managers:''' [[Jack Nilon]], [[Joe (Pep) Barone]], [[Eddie Polino]], [[George Katz]], [[Frank Mitchell]], and [[Dick Sadler]] 
'''Trainers''': [[Boxer:Willie Reddish:013601|Willie Reddish]], Dick Sadler and [[Johnny Tocco]] 
'''Cut Men''': [[Joe Polino]] and [[Milt Bailey]]

== Mysteries Surrounding Birth and Death ==
Charles "Sonny" Liston was born May 8, 1932 in rural Arkansas, one of eleven children of his biological mother, Helen Baskin, and purportedly the twenty-fourth of twenty-five children sired by his father, Tobe Liston. Although many make a mystery out of his date of birth, as his mother was recorded as stating different dates, his prison records confirm his date of birth.

Liston died December 30, 1970 in Las Vegas, Nevada, and was discovered by his wife over a week later. The police declared it a drug overdose, however, referee [[Davey Pearl]] said he had a phobia of needles, prompting some rumors that he could have been murdered by some of his underworld contacts. His funeral was attended by many of boxing's dignataries, including former heavyweight champion Joe Louis as a pall-bearer.

== Early Life and Amateur Career ==
Liston's childhood was one of poverty, pain, and illiteracy. Brutal and frequent beatings from his father caused Liston to pursue his mother to St Louis at age 13.

In St. Louis, Liston was in frequent trouble with the law. After many minor arrests, Liston was arrested for armed robbery and sentenced to prison. During his stay, his talent was discovered by a Catholic priest. Through the actions of the Priest, Liston was paroled early and began a career in boxing.

In a brief amateur career, spanning less than a year, Liston captured the [[Chicago Golden Gloves]] Tournament of Champions on March 6, 1953, with a victory over [[Boxer:Ed_Sanders:034909|Ed Sanders]], and the [[Intercity Golden Gloves]] championship by decision over Julius Griffin. In the United States National (A.A.U.) Championship, Liston was defeated by Jimmy McCarter of Chester, Pennsylvania.

==Early Professional Career ==

==Heavyweight Contender ==

==Heavyweight Champion ==
Many of his business affairs were handled by Bob Nilon, Jack Nilon's brother at Inter-Continental Promotions.

==Post Championship ==

== Media ==
*Liston appeared on the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ed_Sullivan_Show "The Ed Sullivan Show"], performing his jump-roping talent, and made an appearance on ''The Jack Benny Program.''
*Liston also forayed into a career in acting. He appeared in the movies [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066095 Moonfire], [http://www.imdb.com/tittle/tt0063049 Head], and [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059253 Harlow (1965)].
*Also appeared in a television commercial for [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braniff_International_Airways Braniff International Airways] with acclaimed new age artist [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Warhol Andy Warhol].

== External Links ==
*Fight Record: [http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=009031]
*International Boxing Hall of Fame bio: [http://www.ibhof.com/liston.htm]
*Grave Site: [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=632]
*Seconds Out article: [http://www.secondsout.com/legends/legends_31480.asp]
*Cyber Boxing Zone Article: [http://cyberboxingzone.com/boxing/box2-00.htm#liston]
*International Movie Database: [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0514288/]

== Published References ==
#A. S. Young, ''Sonny Liston: The Champ Nobody Wanted'' (1963).
#R. Burnes, "Heavyweight with a Past" ''Saturday Evening Post'', 13 August 1960, pp. 56-58.
#J. Flaherty, "A Right to the Jaw-That's Black Power" ''Esquire'', March 1969, pp. 112-14.
#B. J. Friedman, "Requeim for a Heavy" ''Esquire'', Aug. 1971, ppg. 55-57.
#L. V. Davis, "Sonny Liston"; in ''American National Biography'', pp. 733-34. (1999).

----
Books on Liston: [[Devil and Sonny Liston|''Devil and Sonny Liston'']]

{{start box}}
{{Succession box|
before=[[Floyd Patterson]] Retired|
title=[[World Heavyweight Champion]]|
after=[[Cassius Clay]]|
years=25 Sep 1962–19 Jun 1964
}}
{{end box}}

[[Category:World Heavyweight Champions|Liston, Sonny]]
[[Category:American World Champions|Liston, Sonny]]
[[Category:IBHOF Members|Liston, Sonny]]
[[Category:World Boxing Hall of Fame Members|Liston, Sonny]]
[[Category:Intercity Golden Gloves Champions|Liston, Sonny]]
[[Category:Chicago Golden Gloves Champions|Liston, Sonny]]

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting)

2007-09-20T21:11:26Z

Tommy Mohan: grammar, syntax

<fight>19595</fight>

[[file:alioverlistonc.jpg|right|300px|Ali over Sonny Liston]]

*World Heavyweight Title
*Referee: [[Boxer:Jersey_Joe_Walcott:011028|Jersey Joe Walcott]]
*Time: 2:12
*Judges: [[Coley Wallace]], [[Russ Leonard]], [[Joe Colvin]]
*Weights: Ali 206 lbs (93 kg); Liston 215 (98 kg)
*Attendance: 2,434 ( the smallest audience ever to see a modern world heavyweight championship bout)
*Knock-out punch is known as "anchor punch," as coined by Ali.

----

Three days before this rematch was originally scheduled to take place, Ali suffered a hernia and was rushed to the hospital. The bout was postponed, resulting in a fifteen-month gap between their two fights.

The venue for this rematch was then changed because the authorities in Massachusetts suspected the promoter was linked to organized crime.

==Quotes==
*"Get up and fight, Sucker!" -- Ali, after knocking Liston down (see picture above).

*"It was a good punch but I didn’t think I hit him so hard he couldn’t get up." -- Ali, after the fight.

*"Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. I was down but not hurt. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can’t control him. I have to put one knee and one glove on the canvas to get up. You know Ali is a nut. You can tell what a normal man is going to do but you can’t tell what a nut is going to do and Ali is a nut." -- Liston, two years later.

[[Category:1965 Bouts|Ali vs. Liston]]
[[Category:Muhammad Ali|Liston2]]

BoxRec - User contributions [en]

Sonny Liston

Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting)