The one-sided nature of the bout was a major surprise. Patterson was expected to try to employ his speed and agility to counter Liston's size and power, but apart from an excellent jab in the opening seconds Patterson showed a complete lack of aggression or guile. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin characterized the match as "bathetic", claiming Patterson did not punch enough, and had inexplicably sought to clinch with his far heavier opponent while making the basic error of failing to tie up both Liston's arms. Liston bulled Patterson around while using his free hand to batter him with body blows, before shortening up and connecting with two double hooks high on the head. The fight only lasted 2:05 before Patterson was knocked out. It was the third-fastest knockout in a world heavyweight title fight and the first time the champion had been knocked out in round one. Rogin discounted speculation that Patterson had thrown the fight, suggesting that "mental problems" had been responsible for his poor performance.
Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. He particularly resented a 1961 arrest by a black patrolman for loitering, claiming to have merely been signing autographs and chatting with fans outside a drug store. One month later, Liston was accused of impersonating a police officer by using a flashlight to wave down a female motorist in Fairmount Park, although all charges were later dropped. Subsequently, Liston spent some months in Denver where a Catholic priest who acted as his spiritual adviser attempted to help bring his drinking under control. After he won the title, Liston relocated to Denver permanently, saying, "I'd rather be a lamppost in Denver than the mayor of Philadelphia."
Less than two minutes into the fight, while he was pulling away from Liston, Ali hit Liston with a punch that did not seem to have much weight behind it; Liston went down, rolling onto his back, but Ali did not go to a neutral corner as mandated by the rules, and accordingly referee Jersey Joe Walcott never counted over Liston. Ali yelled hysterically at Liston, running around the ring, arms aloft. During this time Liston made a half-hearted attempt to get back to his feet, before again rolling onto his back. After Liston got up the fight resumed, but was quickly interrupted by Nat Fleischer climbing into the ring opining that Liston had been KOed. Walcott accepted this view and awarded the fight to Ali. However, Fleischer was quite wrong in his interpretation of how the rules applied: since Clay had deliberately not gone to a neutral corner, Walcott had been correct in not counting Liston out; the actual time Liston had been down was beside the point. A photograph showing Ali standing over Liston is one of the most heavily promoted photos in the history of sports, and was chosen as the cover of the Sports Illustrated special issue, "The Century's Greatest Sports Photos."
While Liston publicly denied taking a dive, Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram 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.” Former champions Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Gene Tunney, as well as Ali opponents George Chuvalo and Floyd Patterson, all stated that they considered the fight to be a fake. Ali biographer Wilfrid Sheed opines in his book Muhammad Ali that Liston planned to throw the fight by using an actual knockdown as the opportunity to do so. However, Sheed says that the punch that knocked Liston down "may have been genuine, but when referee Joe Walcott blew the count and gave him all evening to get up, Liston's rendition of a coma wouldn't have fooled a possum.” The extent to which Liston's heavy drinking and possible drug use may have contributed to his surprisingly poor performances against Ali is not known.
America's first look at Liston since the Ali rematch was in a nationally broadcast fight with No. 5–ranked Henry Clark, whom he overpowered in seven rounds. A 10-round decision over Billy Joiner in St. Louis continued his run of victories and Liston at 38 years old (but having the appearance of a man of 50 seemed on the verge of making a comeback to the big time. He talked of a fight with Joe Frazier, claiming "it'd be like shooting fish in a barrel". But in December, Liston was knocked out cold in the ninth round by Leotis Martin after dominating most of the fight and decking Martin with a left hook in the fourth. However, Martin's career ended after that fight because of a detached retina he suffered during the bout.
Liston won his final fight, a tough match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970.The referee stopped the bout in the 10th round; Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose.
BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY - Personal life
Liston married Geraldine Clark in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 3, 1957. He had a stepdaughter and the Listons subsequently adopted a boy from Sweden. Geraldine remembered her husband as, "Great with me, great with the kids. He was a gentle man."Some, however, believe that the police investigation was a coverup, and the cause of Liston's death remains unresolved. After winning the title, Liston at first refused to go on an exhibition tour of Europe when he was told he would have to get shots before he could travel overseas. Liston's wife also reported that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. This, coupled with the fact that Liston was never known to be a substance abuser (besides heavy drinking), prompted rumors that he could have been murdered by some of his underworld contacts. Sonny's wife had a vivid dream the night of December 28, in which Sonny was in a shower shouting "Help me, Geraldine, help me, Geraldine."[37]
Additionally, authorities could not locate any other drug paraphernalia that Liston presumably would have needed to inject the fatal dose, such as a spoon to cook the heroin or an appendage to wrap around his arm. This only added to the mystery surrounding his death. A friend of his told Unsolved Mysteries
that Liston had been in a car accident a few weeks prior to his death, was hospitalized with minor injuries, and received intravenous medicine. This is believed to be the source of the puncture wound that authorities found upon discovering his body.
Sonny Liston is interred in Paradise Memorial Gardens in Las Vegas, NV. His headstone bears the simple epitaph: "A Man."
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