Sonny Liston facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sonny Liston
Liston in 1963
Statistics
Real name	Charles L. Liston
Nickname(s)	The Big Bear
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 1 in
Reach	84 in
Born	c. 1930, exact date unknown Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	December 30, 1970 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	54
Wins	50
Wins by KO	39
Losses	4
Medal record Men's amateur boxing Chicago Golden Gloves Gold Chicago 1953 Heavyweight Intercity Golden Gloves Gold Chicago 1953 Light-heavyweight

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (born around 1930 – died December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. He was a very strong fighter in his time. In 1962, he became the world heavyweight champion by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round. He beat Patterson again the next year to keep his title and also became the first WBC heavyweight champion. Liston was known for his huge strength, powerful jab, long arms, toughness, and his scary look.

Even though many thought Liston could not be beaten, he lost his title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali (who was then known as Cassius Clay). Ali was a huge underdog, meaning most people thought he would lose. Liston stopped fighting in his corner because of a shoulder injury. There were rumors that his shoulder was already hurt before the fight. In their second fight in 1965, Liston was surprisingly knocked out in the first round. This led to many people wondering if the fight was fixed. He was still a top boxer when he died in 1970 under mysterious circumstances. His connections to organized crime and the unknown dates of his birth and death added to the mystery around him.

The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight boxer ever. Other boxing writers also ranked him very highly. Liston was added to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

Early Life of Sonny Liston

Family Background

Charles "Sonny" Liston was born around 1930 into a family of sharecroppers. They farmed poor land in Arkansas. His father, Tobe Liston, and mother, Helen Baskin, moved to Arkansas in 1916. Sonny was the second youngest of their 12 children.

When Was Sonny Born?

There is no official record of Liston's birth. Birth certificates were not required in Arkansas until 1965. In the 1940 census, he was listed as 10 years old. Some think Liston himself did not know his exact birth year. He used May 8, 1932, for official papers. However, by the time he won the world title, he looked older, making people think he was born earlier. One writer believes he was most likely born on July 22, 1930.

Sonny's Youth and Challenges

Sonny had a tough childhood. His father would beat him severely, leaving scars that were still visible years later. Liston once said, "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating." In 1946, his mother moved to St. Louis to find work. Sonny, who was about 13, stayed behind with his father. The next year, he earned money to travel to St. Louis to join his mother. Liston tried school but left because he was teased for not being able to read well. He could only find small, unfair jobs.

Liston then got into trouble. He joined a group that committed robberies. The police called him the "Yellow Shirt Bandit" because of a shirt he wore. In January 1950, he was caught. He said he was 20, but a newspaper reported he was 22. He was sent to prison for five years, starting on June 1, 1950.

Liston did not complain about prison. He said he was guaranteed three meals a day. The sports director at the prison, Rev. Alois Stevens, suggested Liston try boxing. Liston was very good at it. With Stevens' help, Liston was released early. Stevens even set up a sparring session with a professional boxer, Thurman Wilson, to show Liston's talent. After two rounds, Wilson said, "Better get me out of this ring, he is going to kill me!"

Amateur Boxing Career

After leaving prison on October 31, 1952, Liston had a short amateur boxing career, lasting less than a year. On March 6, 1953, he won the Chicago Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions. He beat Ed Sanders, who was the 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion. Then, on March 26, he won the Intercity Golden Gloves Championship, representing Chicago. He was knocked down in the first round but came back strong to win.

Liston also competed in the 1953 United States National Boxing Championships. He won his first fight but lost in the quarterfinals to 17-year-old Jim McCarter. Liston later hired McCarter to help him train.

On June 23, 1953, Liston was part of a team of St. Louis Golden Gloves champions who represented the United States in a competition against West Europe. Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer from West Germany in the first round. Schreibauer had won a bronze medal in the European Championships the month before. Tony Anderson, the coach of the St. Louis Golden Gloves team, said Liston was the strongest fighter he had ever seen.

Professional Boxing Career

First Fights

Liston signed a professional boxing contract in September 1953. He said, "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do." The people who helped him start his professional career had connections to organized crime. Liston also earned money by working for criminals, scaring people. These connections helped him early on but later caused problems.

Liston's first professional fight was on September 2, 1953. He knocked out Don Smith in the first round in St. Louis. He was 6 feet 1 inch tall and had a very strong body. His arms were unusually long, reaching 84 inches. His fists were 15 inches around, which was the largest of any heavyweight champion. A writer said his hands "looked like cannonballs." Even though he fought with an orthodox stance, many thought he was left-handed because of his strong left arm, jab, and hook.

Early in his career, Liston fought good opponents. In his sixth fight, he beat Johnny Summerlin (who had a record of 18 wins, 1 loss, and 2 draws) on national television. He won again in a rematch with Summerlin.

On September 7, 1954, Liston lost for the first time in his eighth professional fight. He lost to Marty Marshall, a boxer with an unusual style. In the third round, Marshall hit Liston and broke his jaw. Liston bravely finished the fight but lost by a split decision. On April 21, 1955, he beat Marshall in a rematch, knocking him down four times before winning by knockout in the sixth round. They fought a third time on March 6, 1956, and Liston won by a clear decision.

Liston's past criminal record and his connections to criminals caused problems with the police. He started to avoid main streets. On May 5, 1956, he got into a fight with a police officer, breaking his knee and cutting his face. He also took the officer's gun. Liston said the officer used bad language. Stories about Liston fighting off police, even after they supposedly hit him with clubs, made the public see him as a scary "monster." He was released from prison after six months of a nine-month sentence. He was allowed to box in 1957. After being held by St. Louis police many times and feeling his life was in danger, Liston moved to Philadelphia.

Road to the Title

In 1958, Liston started boxing again. He won eight fights that year, six by knockout. He also got a new manager who was connected to mobsters. The year 1959 was great for Liston. He knocked out Mike DeJohn and then faced Cleveland Williams, a fast and hard-hitting fighter. Liston showed how tough, powerful, and skilled he was, beating Williams in the third round. Many think this was one of Liston's best performances. He also beat Nino Valdez and Willi Besmanoff that year.

In 1960, Liston won five more fights, including another win against Williams. He also quickly beat Roy Harris, who had lasted 13 rounds with Floyd Patterson in a title fight. Liston then stopped top contender Zora Folley in three rounds. After beating these strong fighters, Liston was seen as the next champion.

Liston's streak of nine straight knockout wins ended when he beat Eddie Machen by a clear decision on September 7, 1960. Machen was quick and avoided Liston's punches, lasting the whole fight. But Liston clearly won on points. Machen's teasing and avoiding tactics made the audience cheer for Liston, which was unusual for him. Before his fight with Liston, Muhammad Ali talked to Machen, who told him that making Liston angry was key to winning.

Waiting for a Title Shot

Liston became the top contender in 1960. However, the people managing world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson did not want him to fight Liston because of Liston's connections to organized crime. While Liston trained for a title shot, he also continued to get into trouble. Two more arrests, one for being disorderly and resisting arrest, and another for pretending to be a police officer, led to Liston being suspended from boxing in July 1961. This suspension was followed in all states.

Community leaders were also worried. They thought Liston's bad reputation would be a poor example for young people. The NAACP asked Patterson not to fight Liston. They feared a Liston victory would harm the civil rights movement. Many African-Americans did not like Liston. In 1963, after a church bombing, Liston stopped a boxing tour in Europe to return home. He said he was "ashamed to be in America."

U.S. President John F. Kennedy also did not want Patterson to fight Liston. When Patterson met the president in January 1962, Kennedy suggested he avoid Liston because of Liston's ties to organized crime.

Jack Dempsey, a famous former boxer, said Liston should not be allowed to fight for the title. Liston angrily replied by asking if Dempsey's choice not to fight in World War I made him able to judge others. Frustrated, Liston changed his management in 1961. He also put pressure on Patterson through the media, saying that Patterson, who had mostly fought white challengers, was avoiding a black fighter.

Liston vs. Patterson: The First Fight

Liston standing over Patterson in the ring.

Patterson finally agreed to fight Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. Before the fight, Liston was favored to win, but many still thought Patterson would win. In a poll, 64 out of 102 reporters picked Patterson. Sports Illustrated predicted Patterson would win in 15 rounds. Former champions also picked Patterson. However, Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay) predicted Liston would win by knockout in the first five rounds.

The fight was very one-sided. Liston was 25 pounds heavier than Patterson. He knocked out Patterson at 2:06 of the first round with a powerful left hook to the jaw. A writer said the punch "crashed into Patterson's cheek like a diesel rig going downhill, no brakes." It was one of the fastest knockouts in a world heavyweight title fight. It was also the first time a defending champion had been knocked out in the first round.

Some people thought Patterson had given up the fight, but a writer said that many people just did not see the knockout punches clearly.

Becoming World Heavyweight Champion

When Liston won the world heavyweight title, he had a speech ready for the crowd he thought would meet him at the Philadelphia airport. But when he arrived, only a few reporters and public relations staff were there. A writer said, "You could feel the deflation, see the look of hurt in his eyes. ... He had been deliberately snubbed." Philadelphia did not want to celebrate him.

During that time, some white journalists used unfair words to describe black athletes. Liston was called a "gorilla" and "a jungle beast" in print. One writer said, "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. ... For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." Some thought Liston caused bad press because he was often rude to journalists. He also had a reputation for being mean to people like porters and waitresses.

Liston continued to have problems with the police in Philadelphia. He was especially upset about an arrest in 1961 by a black police officer for loitering. He said he was just signing autographs and talking to fans. A month later, Liston was accused of pretending to be a police officer. All charges were later dropped. After this, Liston spent some months in Denver. A Catholic priest there tried to help him with his drinking. After winning the title, Liston moved to Denver permanently. He said, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia."

Liston vs. Patterson II

Patterson and Liston had a contract for a rematch. Patterson wanted another chance to win, so they fought again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Patterson was a 4-1 underdog. Liston knocked him down three times and won by knockout at 2:10 of the first round. The fight lasted only four seconds longer than the first one. Liston's victory was loudly booed. Liston said afterward, "The public is not with me. I know it. But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me."

Liston vs. Clay (Muhammad Ali)

Liston's second title defense was on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida, against Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). Liston was expected to win easily. In a poll, 43 out of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. Betting odds showed Liston as a 7–1 favorite. Clay famously said, "If you want to lose your money, then bet on Sonny!” Liston was very confident he would beat Clay easily. He did not train much for the fight and went ahead with it even though his left shoulder was injured.

From the start, Liston tried to get close to Clay to land a hard punch and end the fight quickly. Clay often held his gloves low, looking open to attack, but he was very hard to hit. Clay quickly moved his head, and Liston's jabs mostly missed. As Liston chased him, Clay moved away quickly, using his speed to stay in open space in the ring. He mostly circled to the left, away from Liston's powerful left hook. Clay was mostly on defense in the first round, but he quickly switched to offense with fast punches to Liston's head. A sudden, strong series of punches from Clay with 30 seconds left in the round excited the crowd. The first round lasted an extra eight seconds because neither fighter nor the referee heard the bell.

In the second round, Liston continued to chase Clay. At one point, Liston had Clay against the ropes and landed a hard left hook. Clay later said the punch hurt him, but Liston could not follow up. Two of the three judges gave the round to Liston, and the third scored it even.

In the third round, Clay started to take control. About 30 seconds into the round, he hit Liston with several combinations. This caused a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which needed eight stitches. It was the first time Liston had been cut in his career. Liston was clearly angry but fought back at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, landing strong body shots. This was probably Liston's best moment in the fight. However, when he sat on his stool between rounds, Liston was breathing heavily, and his corner men worked on his cut.

In the fourth round, Liston seemed to be doing better as Clay kept his distance. Joe Louis, watching on TV, said, "It's looking good for Sonny Liston." But when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that something was burning his eyes and he could not see. Clay's trainer, Angelo Dundee, recalled, "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. What are you doing? Sit down!' So I get him down, I get the sponge and I pour the water into his eyes trying to cleanse whatever's there, but before I did that I put my pinkie in his eye and I put it into my eye. It burned like hell. There was something caustic in both eyes."

The referee, Barney Felix, noticed the commotion. Felix later said Clay was very close to being disqualified. Clay, with his arms raised in surrender, demanded that the fight be stopped. Dundee, fearing the fight would be stopped, told Clay, "Run!"

It was later thought that a substance used on Liston's cuts by his cut man might have caused the eye irritation.

Clay later said that in round five, he could only see a faint shadow of Liston. But by moving constantly, he managed to avoid Liston and survive. By the sixth round, his sight had cleared. A very angry Clay fought a strong round, landing many punches.

Liston did not come out for the seventh round. Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. It was the first time since 1919 that a world heavyweight champion had stopped fighting while sitting on his stool. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. A doctor diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. However, one of Liston's corner men later said that Liston could have continued. He said, "The shoulder was all BS. We had a return bout clause with Clay, but if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout? We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot."

There is evidence that Liston did have a shoulder injury before the fight. A writer from Sports Illustrated said Liston's injury was real because he could not lift his arm. Doctors also examined Liston's arm and agreed it was too damaged for him to continue. Despite Liston being injured and not training enough, Clay said in 1975 that the first fight with Liston was the toughest of his career.

Ali vs. Liston II: The "Phantom Punch"

Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was set for November 13, 1964, in Boston. Time magazine said Liston was in the best shape of his career.

Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a hernia. The fight had to be delayed by six months. The new date was May 25, 1965. But as the date got closer, there were worries that the promoters were linked to organized crime. Officials in Massachusetts started to have doubts. They tried to stop the fight in Boston. The promoters then moved the fight to Lewiston, Maine, a smaller town about 140 miles north of Boston.

The end of this fight is one of the most debated moments in boxing history. In the first round, Liston threw a left jab, and Ali quickly hit him with a fast right, knocking Liston down. Liston fell on his back, rolled over, got to one knee, and then fell back again. Many people watching did not see Ali land the punch. The fight quickly became chaotic. The referee, Jersey Joe Walcott, had trouble getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Ali stood over Liston, yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" and "Nobody will believe this!"

When Walcott returned to Liston and looked at the timekeeper, Liston had fallen back on the canvas. Walcott never started counting. He said he could not hear the timekeeper, who did not have a microphone. The timekeeper, however, said Walcott was looking at the crowd and not at him. After Liston got up, Walcott wiped his gloves. He then left the fighters to talk to the timekeeper. Walcott said the timekeeper was waving his hands and saying, "I counted him out—the fight is over." Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had started boxing again, and stopped the fight. He declared Ali the winner by first-round knockout.

This fight is one of the shortest heavyweight title fights ever. Many people had not even sat down when the fight was stopped. The official time of the stop was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12.

Many fans booed and yelled, "Fix!" Many did not see the punch land, and some who did questioned if it was strong enough to knock Liston out. People called the knockout punch "the phantom punch." Ali called it "the anchor punch." He said he learned it from a comedian who learned it from Jack Johnson.

However, some believed the fight was real. World light-heavyweight champion José Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." A writer from Sports Illustrated said, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot... well off the canvas."

Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have knocked out a strong man like Liston. A famous announcer said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards used to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." But others said Liston was not the same fighter. A writer for The New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last training session.

Former champions Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson, and Gene Tunney, as well as boxer George Chuvalo, all said they thought the fight was fake. Some felt the knockdown was real but the knockout was not. Ali himself did not think he knocked Liston out. He said, "The punch jarred him. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up."

While Liston publicly denied giving up the fight, a writer from Sports Illustrated said that years later Liston told him, "That guy [Ali] was crazy. I didn't want anything to do with him. And the Muslims were coming up. Who needed that? So I went down. I wasn't hit." The fact that Liston did not complain about the rules being broken (being declared knocked out without a count) and Ali's confusion, yelling "Nobody will believe this," made most people believe Liston had given up. There are many unproven ideas about why Liston might have done this, including that he was threatened or that he agreed to lose for a share of Ali's future earnings.

Later Fights

After his second loss to Ali, Liston did not fight for over a year. He returned with four knockout wins in Sweden between July 1966 and April 1967. One of these wins was against Amos Johnson, Liston's former training partner.

Liston returned to the United States and won seven fights, all by knockout, in 1968. This made his winning streak 11 fights. He seemed close to making a big comeback. He talked about fighting Joe Frazier, saying, "It'd be like shooting fish in a barrel." Liston won 14 fights in a row, 13 by knockout, before fighting Leotis Martin in December 1969. Liston knocked Martin down in the fourth round and was winning most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. Martin's career ended after that fight because of a serious eye injury.

Liston won his last fight against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. The fight was stopped after the ninth round because Wepner had cuts over both eyes. Wepner needed 72 stitches and had a broken cheekbone and nose. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, later said that Liston was the hardest puncher he ever faced.

Sonny Liston's Boxing Style

A writer described Liston's style after his win over Zora Folley. He said Liston was not fast with his hands or feet and relied too much on being able to take punches. But he added, "But can he hit!" Liston's body was described as "awesome—arms like fence posts, thighs like silos." His defense was described as crossing his arms like Archie Moore.

Future world heavyweight champion George Foreman, who trained with Liston, said Liston's jab was the strongest he ever faced. He also said Liston was the strongest man he met in the ring. Foreman said, "There wasn't anything missing from Sonny Liston. He had the whole package." Muhammad Ali also admired Liston's skills, saying in 1975, "Liston had a tremendous jab, could punch with either hand, was smart in the ring and as strong as any heavyweight I’ve ever seen."

Liston is ranked second on ESPN.com's list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History." Johnny Tocco, a trainer who worked with George Foreman, Mike Tyson, and Liston, said Liston hit the hardest of the three. Some believe Liston, in his best years (1958-1963), was the most feared fighter in boxing history.

Sonny Liston's Personal Life

Liston married Geraldine Chambers in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. Geraldine had a daughter from a previous marriage, and the Listons later adopted a boy from Sweden. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. He was a gentle man." Even though he could not read or write well because he did not go to school, Liston was a more complex and interesting person than many thought. 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."

Sonny Liston's Death

Sonny Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. Geraldine had been away for two weeks. When she came home, she smelled a bad odor from the main bedroom. She found him slumped against the bed. Geraldine called Liston's attorney and doctor but did not tell the police until two or three hours later.

After an investigation, Las Vegas police said there were no signs of foul play. The date of death on his death certificate is December 30, 1970. Police guessed this date by looking at the number of milk bottles and newspapers outside his front door. Officially, Liston died of lung problems and heart failure. He had been sick with a heart muscle condition and lung disease before he died. Liston had been in the hospital in early December for chest pains.

Liston was buried at Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, Nevada. His grave marker says: "A Man."

Tributes to Sonny Liston

A bronze copy of a statue of Liston was put up in 2008 in Stuttgart, Germany. A successful racehorse that won a big race in 2021 was named Sonnyboyliston.

Life Outside Boxing

Acting Roles

Liston played a fighter in the 1965 film Harlow. He had a small role in the 1968 film Head, which starred The Monkees. He also played The Farmer in the 1970 film Moonfire. In 1970, Liston appeared on an episode of the TV show Love, American Style and in a TV commercial for Braniff Airlines with Andy Warhol.

Portrayals in Film

• In The Greatest, a 1977 film about Muhammad Ali, Liston was played by Roger E. Mosley.
• Liston was the subject of a 1995 HBO documentary called Sonny Liston: The Mysterious Life and Death of a Champion.
• In the 2001 film Ali, Liston was played by former WBO Heavyweight Champion Michael Bentt.
• Liston was the main character in a 2008 movie about his life called Phantom Punch. Ving Rhames played Liston.
• In the 2015 British crime film Legend, Liston is played by Mark Theodore.
• In the 2020 film One Night in Miami..., Liston is played by Aaron D. Alexander.

Portrayals in Books

• Liston appears as a character in James Ellroy's novels The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's a Rover.
• Thom Jones titled his 2000 collection of short stories Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine.
• Sonny Liston was mentioned in the novel "Girl Fighter," which briefly covered his early life, his rise to champion, and his losses to Ali.

Music References

Liston has been mentioned in many songs by artists like Curtis Eller, Sun Kil Moon, the Animals, Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Phil Ochs, Morrissey, Freddy Blohm, Chuck E. Weiss, This Bike is a Pipe Bomb, the Roots, Wu-Tang Clan, Gone Jackals, Billy Joel, the Mountain Goats, Lil Wayne, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, and the Killers. Mark Knopfler's song "Song for Sonny Liston" was on his 2004 album Shangri-La.

A wax model of Liston is on the famous cover of the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He is on the far left, wearing a white and gold robe.

Singer/Songwriter Rod Picott wrote a song called "Sonny Liston" for his 2022 album "Paper Hearts and Broken Arrows."

Print Appearances

Liston was on the December 1963 cover of Esquire magazine. The cover showed him as "the last man on earth America wanted to see coming down its chimney."

Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall" in 2008. The story suggests that Liston lost the Ali match for the good of society.

Shaun Assael wrote "The Murder of Sonny Liston: Las Vegas, **, and Heavyweights" in 2016. The book suggests that Sonny Liston might have been murdered and that the crime was never fully investigated.

Activism

On July 28, 1963, Liston joined a group of 500 African Americans in Denver. They marched to a post office to mail letters asking the Colorado politicians to pass President Kennedy's civil rights laws.

Professional Boxing Record

Images for kids

• 

  Liston standing over Patterson in the ring.

See also

• List of heavyweight boxing champions
• List of undisputed boxing champions
• List of WBA world champions
• List of WBC world champions
• List of The Ring world champions
• Irving Resnick - Liston's manager