Sonny Liston

Sonny Liston
Liston in 1968
Born
Charles L. Liston

c. 1930
Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S.
Died (aged c. 40)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Other namesThe Big Bear
Statistics
Weight(s)Heavyweight
Height6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Reach84 in (213 cm)[1][2][nb 1]
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights54
Wins50
Wins by KO39
Losses4
Medal record
Men's amateur boxing
Chicago Golden Gloves
Gold medal – first place Chicago 1953 Heavyweight
Intercity Golden Gloves
Gold medal – first place Chicago 1953 Light-heavyweight

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston (c. 1930 – December 30, 1970), nicknamed "the Big Bear",[4] was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the undisputed world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. Often regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time,[5] Liston is known for his immense strength, formidable jab, long reach, toughness, and is widely regarded as the most intimidating man in the history of combat sports.[6][7]

Although Liston was widely regarded as unbeatable, he lost the title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay), who entered as an 8:1 underdog. Liston retired in his corner due to an inflamed shoulder. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix. He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died in mysterious circumstances in 1970.

The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time,[8] while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third.[9][10] Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster also ranked him the third greatest heavyweight and the sixth greatest boxer at any weight.[11] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.

  1. ^ "Photographic image of 'Tale of the Tape'" (JPG). Cdnph.upi.com. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  2. ^ "Sonny Liston vs. Floyd Patterson (Tale of the tape)" (JPG). boxrec.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
  3. ^ "Sonny Liston vs Leotis Martin". YouTube. February 13, 2012. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Spratt, Kieran (January 4, 2022). "Last Round, Folks: When Boxing's Invisible Champion Was Blitzed By The Big Bear". The Sportsman. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
  5. ^ "Top 30 Best Boxers of All Time (Updated 2023)". May 7, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
  6. ^ Sonny Liston, The Champion That Nobody Wanted. A&E Biography. July 25, 2001. Event occurs at 12:38. Retrieved November 1, 2023 – via Boxing Royalty (YouTube). (former boxer Chuck Wepner speaking) Nobody ever hit me like that guy. Every time he hit you, he broke something. I went through ten rounds with him, and broke my nose, my left cheekbone, and gave me 72 stitches. I was an intimidator until I fought Sonny Liston.
  7. ^ "The Top 12 All-Time Most Intimidating Fighters In Boxing History". The Fight City. March 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 18, 2023. Retrieved July 18, 2023.
  8. ^ "From THE RING: The greatest heavyweight of all time". The Ring. April 19, 2017. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  9. ^ Смородинов, Ruslan Smorodinov, Руслан. "25 Greatest Fighters of All Time (Heavyweight)". M-baer.narod.ru. Retrieved August 27, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "All-Time Greatest Heavyweights". SI.com. November 18, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2019.
  11. ^ "Top 25 Greatest Boxers of All Time". TheSportster. August 18, 2015.


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