Persons [ ] It don’t matter as long as he can count up to 10 | Sonny Liston, 1930-1970
Sonny Liston, 1962
“The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating.”
“Newspapermen ask dumb questions. They look up at the sun and ask if it is shining.”
“A boxing match is like a cowboy movie. There’s got to be good guys and there’s got to be bad guys. And that’s what people pay for – to see the bad guys get beat.”
“My punches are just as hard in Chicago as in New York.”
“How would you like to find out how good my right is?”
“Come over here and sit on my knee and finish your orange juice.”
“It don’t matter as long as he can count up to 10.”
“If they ever let me in the ring with him [Cassius Clay], I’m liable to be put away for murder.”
“Ever since I came into this worId, I’ve been fighting to stay aIive and Iive a reasonabIy normaI Iife. I’ve never been abIe to do it.”
Sonny Liston, 1930-1970
world heavyweight champion 1962 – 1964
Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson, July 22, 1963
Charles “Sonny” Liston standing as one of the most formidable punchers ever to enter the ring. Despite all the efforts of the boxing fraternity, he was finally allowed to fight for the world title nine years after turning professional. Grasping his chance with indecent haste, he deposed Floyd Patterson with a first-round knockout, then repeated the dose a year later. He was not seen as a suitable role model by the civil rights movement because of his criminal past and dubious associates, and was reluctant to participate in the pursuit of racial equality. Meanwhile, he was constantly pursued and badgered by the police, compelling him to move from state to state in search of refuge. Sonny Liston, lost his title to Cassius Clay in one of boxing’s most dramtic fights.
Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay, 1964
Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay – February 25, 1964
Sonny Liston vs Cassius Clay – May 25, 1965
After Muhammad Ali hit Sonny Liston with the so-called “phantom punch” in the first round of their second fight, he stood over his prone opponent, screaming, “Get up and fight, sucka!”
You can Run, but you can’t Hide / The boxer Joe Louis, 1914-81 | Photos by Carl Van Vechten, 1941
