Charles Liston
Titles: Heavyweight Champion 1962-1964
Record: 50-4
Born: May 8, 1932 in St. Francis Co., Arkansas (USA)
Years active: 1953-1970
Nickname: "Sonny" and "Old Stoneface"
If you want to describe the life of Sonny Liston in one word it would mysterious.
Was Sonny Liston a Mob fighter? Did Liston take a dive in one or both Ali fights?
Did Liston commit suicide or was he killed? How old was he really? When he fought
Ali he was supposedly 31 years old, yet he had a 17 year old daughter? All questions
still remain open to interpretation. Liston was a icon of sorts who carried a aura
of dread around him much the same as Tyson does. His career was strange as he only
fought 54 times over a 16 years and although he is rated very high by some on their
all time heavyweight rankings he only had a 17 month title reign. Thought to be
unbeatable by most after he gained the championship from Floyd Patterson because
of his brute power and a ram rod jab. The jab of Liston has been really underrated
and I believe was on a par with Holmes or Joe Louis. Liston only stood 6 foot 1
inches but he still had a amazing 84 inch reach to stick his jab out with, his
large fists was measured as 15 inches. At his peak condition he weighed 215 pounds.
In the ring Liston possessed everything needed for greatness a powerful left hook
was actually secondary to his straight right hand. His powerful right hand was the
finishing punch to many a fight and along with Max Baer's must be thought of a one
of the best of all time. If his punches were not his best weapon than perhaps it
was his intimidating stare which would often beaten before the bell even sounded.
If he lacked in any area it might have been handspeed but only the great Ali take
advantage of it...... so was it a real weakness? But like Foreman who many thought
was also unbeatable Ali was to be his downfall. Liston was born in a Shanty town
in Arkansas as one of 25 children, he ran away at the age of 13 heading for the
big city of St. Louis where trouble seemed to find him easily. At age 18 after a
conviction for armed robbery he was sent to the penitentiary where he was introduced
to boxing by the prison Chaplain, boxing would vent his aggression and channel
his energies. When paroled he fought as a amateur and won the heavyweight Golden
Gloves championship and immediately turned pro in search of much needed money.
In his first 34 fights Liston suffered only one loss when his jaw was broken. This
was in his 8h fight against veteran trialhorse Marty Marshall, yet he finished the
fight only to loose on points. The loss was twice avenged in rematches. Those first
34 fights were spread over nine years as in between fights Liston was plagued by
run ins with the law that ended up with Liston spending several months in prison.
After his 15th fight almost two entire years (1956-57) were lost when Liston was
convicted of hitting a police officer and sentenced to nine months in prison. He
and other maintained that Liston was the victim of constant police harassment which
led to this arrest. He might be correct since he was arrested 19 times by the St.
Louis police for minor violations, that is hard to do even if you are a bad crimial!
When he was released from prison Liston went back to boxing and winning. In 1958
Liston was ranked by The Ring magazine as the ninth rated contender, within two
years he would be listed as the number one contender by the same unbiased magazine.
Liston made his claim to being the number 1 contender by ripping through all the
contenders. He knocked out Cleveland Williams (twice), Nino Valdez, Zora Folley,
Roy Harris and only Eddie Machen could last the distance with this boxing machine.
In the Machen fight Liston proved he could box as well as slug, he won on points
against a Machen who was a skilled counterpuncher. In 1962 Liston was finally given
a title shot by Floyd Patterson who was man enough to veto the decision of his
trainer Cus D'Amato to avoid Liston. The result was a forgone conclusion to most
as Patterson was giving away 25 pounds to Liston at Chicago's Cominsky Park. It
was over quick, two left hooks were followed by a straight right hand that dropped
the champion for the count. The boxing insiders were right as Liston destroyed
Patterson in 2 minutes and 6 seconds establishing his myth of invincibility. A
rematch 10 months later ended in the same fashion but Patterson was able to last
4 seconds longer this time. The menacing appearance of Liston along with his past
criminal record made Liston a anti hero to most Americans but still they flocked
to see the man they thought to be unbeatable. His time as a champion should have
been joyous but the editorial pages of the newspapers derided him as a bad example
to the youth and touted his supposed mob connections. Still he was made a 7 to 1
favorite against a brash young challenger named Cassius Clay (later changing his
name to Muhammad Ali) and many feared for the challenger who purposely angered
the champion. In Miami on fight night Ali proved he knew what he was doing when
he confused and was simply to fast for the lumbering champion. After six rounds
of fighting Liston remained on his stool at the start of the 7th round refusing
to come out stating a shoulder injury as the reason. Many believed the fight was
fixed thinking Liston to be unbeatable, his past mob connections and the fact no
one knew how great Ali would become. X-ray's did show some damage to his shoulder
but most think not enough to make Liston quit, most believe he was demoralized by
Ali's speed and countering tactics. The fight destroyed the Liston myth of
invincibility. Still when the two men stepped into the ring again it was Liston
who the odds favored once again. The rematch would end in a even more controversial
manner as the famous "Phantom Punch" which many say never landed while other stated
they clearly saw, knocked Liston down in the first round. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott
was confused to the extent to which he gave Liston 30 seconds to reach his feet
and had to be told Liston did not beat the count. The bout was stopped when it
became clear Liston would not have beaten the original 10 count, many still claim
Liston took a dive and it hurt his chances of ever getting another title shot. A
inglorious 4 years of comeback fights ensued and covered 14 wins yet he was never
considered for a title shot. His first 4 fights back were held in Sweden far away
from American crowds and newspapermen. A knockout at the hands of Leotis Martin
for the NABF title ended any chance Liston had over ever getting another title
shot and Liston retired. One last fight a 1970 knockout of Chuck Wepner would send
Liston of in a winning fashion. The death of Liston is surrounded be mystery and
most think he was killed (though the motive and person remain a mystery) and did
not commit suicide as the coroner report states. It is said a overdose of heroin
thorough intervenious injection killed Liston, but Liston had stated to many persons
and was reported in various magazines as having a intense fear of needles. Liston
died as he lived, under confusing and mysterious circumstances.
Sonny Liston
Career Record: 50 W, 4 L (39 KO's)
1953
Sep 2 Don Smith St. Louis, MO KO 1
Sep 17 Ponce DeLeon St. Louis, MO W4
Nov 21 Ben Thomas St. Louis, MO W6
1954
Jan 24 Martin Lee St. Louis, MO KO 6
Mar 31 Stanley Howlett St. Louis, MO W 6
Jun 24 John Summerlin Detroit, Mi W 8
Aug 10 John Summerlin Detroit, Mi W 8
Sep 7 Marty Marshall Detroit, Mi L 8
1955
Mar 1 Neil Welch St. Louis, MO W 8
Apr 21 Marty Marshall St. Louis, MO KO 6
May 5 Emil Brtko PA KO 5
May 25 Calvin Butler St. Louis, MO KO 2
Sep 13 John Gray IN KO 6
Dec 13 Larry Watson E. St. Louis, MO KO 4
1956
Mar 6 Marty Marshall PA W 10
1958
Jan 29 Bill Hunter IL KO 2
Mar 11 Benjamin Wise IL KO 4
Apr 3 Bert Whitehurst MO W 10
May 14 Julio Mederos IL KO 3
Aug 6 Wayne Bethea IL KO 1
Oct 7 Frankie Daniels FL KO 1
Oct 24 Bert Whitehurst MO W 10
Nov 18 Ernie Cab FL KO 8
1959
Feb 18 Mike DeJohn FL KO 6
Apr 15 Cleveland Williams FL KO 3
Aug 5 Nino Valdes IL KO 3
Dec 9 Willie Bermanoff OH KO 7
1960
Feb 23 Howard King FL KO 8
Mar 21 Cleveland Williams TX KO 2
Apr 25 Roy Harris TX KO 1
Jul 18 Zora Folley CO KO 3
Sep 7 Eddie Machen WA W 12
1961
Mar 8 Howard King FL KO 3
Dec 4 Albert Westphal PA KO 1
1962
Sep 25 Floyd Patterson Chicago KO 1
(Wins World Heavyweight Championship)
1963
Jul 22 Floyd Patterson Las Vegas KO 1
(Retains World Heavyweight Championship)
1964
Feb 25 Cassius Clay Miami Beach KO by 7
(Loses World Heavyweight Championship)
1965
May 25 Muhammad Ali Lewiston, Me KO by 1
(For World Heavyweight Championship)
1966
May 29 Gerhard Zech Sweden KO 7
Aug 19 Amos Johnson Sweden KO 3
1967
Mar 30 Dave Bailey Sweden KO 1
Apr 28 Elmer Rush Sweden KO 6
1968
Mar 16 Billy McMurray NV KO 4
May 23 Billy Joiner CA KO 8
Jul 6 Henry Clark CA KO 7
Oct 14 Sonny Moore AZ KO 3
Nov 3 Willie Earls Mexico KO 2
Nov 12 Roger Rischer PA KO 3
Dec 10 Amos Lincoln MD KO 2
1969
Mar 28 Billy Joiner MO W 10
May 19 George Johnson NV KO 7
Sep 23 Sonny Moore TX KO 3
Dec 6 Leotis Martin NV KO by 9
1970
Jun 29 Chuck Wepner NJ KO 10