Sonny Liston: the most feared heavyweight of his time | Ultimate Boxing Reunion

Why fans still care

SONNY LISTON was the heavyweight other heavyweights feared. He won the world title in barely two minutes, defended it just as quickly, and led with a jab that opponents and trainers still talk about. Mike Tyson, Who’s Who number 34 has called him the scariest fighter that ever lived.

He is also the man on the other side of two of the most famous nights in boxing, the fights in which a young Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali, Who’s Who number 33, the champion.

Early life

He was born Charles Liston in Arkansas, the 24th of 25 children of Tobey Liston, a tenant farmer. He gave his birth date as 8 May 1932, though The Fight City and others believe he was older. “Maybe they think I’m so old because I never was really young,” he once said. He could not read or write. As a teenager he followed his mother to St Louis.

Into boxing

In St Louis he was convicted of robbery and sent to the Missouri State Penitentiary. There the prison’s athletic director, Father Alois Stevens, put him in the boxing programme. He was paroled in 1952, and on 2 September 1953 he made his professional debut in St Louis, knocking out Don Smith in round 1. His first trainer was Johnny Tocco.

Career chapters

1. 1953Turns professional in St Louis
2. 1954Loses to Marty Marshall, his first defeat
3. 1959 and 1960Beats Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdes, Roy Harris, Zora Folley and Eddie Machen
4. 1962Knocks out Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight title
5. 1963Knocks out Patterson again; moves to Denver
6. 1964Loses the title to Cassius Clay
7. 1965Loses the rematch to Muhammad Ali
8. 1968Wins all seven of his fights
9. 1969Stopped by Leotis Martin
10. 1970Last fight, against Chuck Wepner

The contender 1953 to 1962

His only early loss came in 1954, to Marty Marshall. Trouble with the police in St Louis took him to Philadelphia, and in 1960 Senate testimony showed that Frankie Carbo and Blinky Palermo held a majority interest in him. In the ring he worked through the division: Cleveland Williams fell in three rounds, Nino Valdes in three, Roy Harris in one and Zora Folley in three, and he outpointed Eddie Machen over 12 rounds.

Floyd Patterson 1962 and 1963

On 25 September 1962 at Comiskey Park in Chicago he challenged Floyd Patterson for the world heavyweight title and knocked him out with left hooks at 2:06 of round 1. In 1963 he moved to Denver. “I’d rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia,” he said. On 22 July 1963 in Las Vegas he met Patterson again and again won in the first round.

That December Esquire put him on its cover in a Santa Claus hat, and Joe Louis, Who’s Who number 21 helped bring him back to the shoot.

Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali 1964 and 1965

On 25 February 1964 at Convention Hall in Miami Beach he defended against the young Cassius Clay. Clay’s speed frustrated him, and after six rounds he stayed on his stool with an injured shoulder. Clay was champion.

The rematch, on 25 May 1965 in Lewiston, Maine, lasted one round. A right hand from Muhammad Ali, Who’s Who number 33 put him down, the count was confused, and the fight became known for the “phantom punch”. “I could have got up, but I didn’t hear the count,” Liston said.

The comeback 1966 to 1970

After two years of fights in Europe he came back in the United States in 1968 and knocked out all seven opponents that year. He won three more in 1969 before an old sparring partner, Leotis Martin, stopped him in round 9 on 6 December. On 29 June 1970 in Jersey City he beat Chuck Wepner, with Johnny Tocco back in his corner. It was his last fight.

He was found dead at his Las Vegas home on 5 January 1971. The death certificate gives natural causes, and notes that the exact cause was not determined by autopsy.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fought

Sports Illustrated summed up his craft in three words: step, jab, hook. The jab was the weapon people remember. “I saw him knock guys out with a straight jab,” Johnny Tocco said, and The Fight City calls it brutally effective. He won the title, and kept it, with left hooks in the two Patterson fights.

He brought size and reach to the division, at 6 ft 1½ in with an 84 in reach.

The corner

Father Alois Stevens taught him in prison, and Johnny Tocco trained him in St Louis from 1953 and again for his last fight. Joe Pollino worked his corner as an assistant in the Clay era.

Stories people still tell

1. Sparring with Foreman.

   George Foreman, Who’s Who number 35 sparred with him as a young man and said Liston taught him the importance of the jab.

2. The Santa cover.

   Esquire’s December 1963 cover put the champion in a Santa hat.

3. The lamppost line.

   He left Philadelphia for Denver and said he would rather be a lamppost there than mayor of Philadelphia.

Legacy

He held the world heavyweight title for 17 months and won 50 of his 54 professional fights, 39 by knockout. He went into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. He is remembered for the fear he carried into the ring, and for the two fights that launched Ali.