Sonny Liston
Sonny Liston, born Charles Liston, was a prominent American boxer known for his powerful punches and controversial career. His early life was marked by hardship, growing up as the twelfth child in a large sharecropper family in Arkansas. After a troubled youth that included multiple arrests, Liston found redemption through boxing, which he began after being introduced to the sport while in prison. He quickly rose through the heavyweight ranks, capturing attention for his knockout power and formidable presence in the ring.
In 1962, Liston became heavyweight champion after defeating Floyd Patterson, a victory that resonated beyond sports, reflecting the racial dynamics of the era. However, his reign was short-lived, as he lost the title to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) in a much-debated bout marked by controversy over the nature of the knockout punch. Despite winning the majority of his subsequent fights, Liston struggled to regain his title, partly due to his past criminal affiliations and the perception of his character.
His life ended tragically in 1971, with many speculating about the circumstances of his death. Today, Liston is remembered as a complex figure in boxing history, influencing future champions and being recognized for his achievements with an induction into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
Sonny Liston
- Born: May 8, 1932, or January, 1929
- Birthplace: Sand Slough, Johnson Township, St. Francis county, Arkansas
- Died: December 30, 1970
- Place of death: Las Vegas, Nevada
Sport: Boxing
Early Life
Charles “Sonny” Liston was born in Sand Slough, Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas, to a sharecropper. He was the twelfth of either thirteen or as many as twenty-five children. The exact date of his birth is in dispute. Some say he was born May 8, 1932. However, others have reported January, 1929, as his birth date. As a young teenager, he left Arkansas and went to St. Louis, Missouri, to join relatives there. He soon got into trouble with the law: He was arrested twenty times, convicted of robbery, and sentenced to three concurrent five-year terms. In 1952, he was released after he befriended a Roman Catholic priest who introduced him to boxing and recommended him for parole.
The Road to Excellence
After prison, Sonny began a professional boxing career. He won the 1953 Chicago Golden Gloves Championships and, on September 2, 1953, in St. Louis, he had his first professional bout, a first-round knockout of Don Smith. He won all his fights until he met a boxer named Marty Marshall. In this fight, Sonny’s jaw was broken, and he lost a decision. In 1955, Marshall and Sonny had a rematch. This time, Sonny knocked out Marshall in 6 rounds. Sonny’s rise through the heavyweight ranks continued until 1956, when he assaulted a police officer and earned a six-month prison sentence. Consequently, he was banned from boxing for all of 1957.
In 1958, he won eight matches. In 1959, he defeated contenders Mike DeJohn in 6 rounds, Cleveland Williams in 3 rounds, and Nino Valdez in 3 rounds, making everyone in boxing realize he might be the next heavyweight champion. In 1960, he continued to beat up the heavyweight contenders. He defeated Williams in 2 rounds, Roy Harris in 1 round, and Zora Folley in 3 rounds. The only fighter to avoid a knockout was Eddie Machen, whom Liston beat in 12 rounds. However, Floyd Patterson, and especially his manager, Gus D’Amato, refused to give Sonny a shot at the heavyweight title. Sonny was able to get fights against top heavyweights thanks to his management, headed by gangster Blinky Palmero. Unfortunately for Sonny, the presence of that same management prevented a shot at Patterson’s title.
The Emerging Champion
Finally, in September, 1962, Sonny got his shot at the heavyweight title thanks to Patterson’s veto of his manager’s protests. The fight was supposed to be held in New York City, but denied a license, the fight was relocated to Chicago. This fight transcended the boxing ring. The first person to hear of the fight from Patterson was President John F. Kennedy. Many luminaries of the literary establishment, such as Norman Mailer and James Baldwin, attended the bout at ringside, feeling that this bout echoed the rising Civil Rights movement, a battle between the so-called “good negro” and “bad negro”; Sonny was cast as the latter. Patterson was a decent heavyweight champion, winning the title at a younger age than anyone else had and becoming the first fighter to regain that title. However, Sonny, with his power and size, was too much for the champion. Sonny knocked Patterson out in the first round, becoming the first person to win the heavyweight title at such an early stage of a fight. They had a rematch on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sonny stopped Patterson in the first round again. He seemed indestructible.
Continuing the Story
Sonny’s defeat of Patterson in Las Vegas was his only defense of the title. In February, 1964, Sonny met the young heavyweight Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali. A heavy favorite to win the bout, Sonny could not cope with Clay’s movement, jab, and speed. After 6 rounds, he resigned his championship to Clay, claiming an injured shoulder. After a delay, because Clay—now Ali—was injured, they fought again, this time in Lewiston, Maine. With Sonny’s mob connections and Ali’s recent conversion to the Nation of Islam, considered a hate group at the time, few cared for either fighter. In one of the most controversial championship bouts, Sonny was knocked out in the first round from an Ali right hand later known as “the phantom punch.” To spectators the punch did not seem to pack knockout power. Given his criminal career, his ties to the mob, and his two strange losses to Ali, Sonny, despite winning all but one of his remaining bouts, never got another shot at the heavyweight title.
After fifteen wins in a row, Sonny was knocked out by Leotis Martin. His last bout was in June, 1970, a knockout of Chuck Wepner, a fighter later to gain fame as the real-life model for the movie character Rocky Balboa. On January 5, 1971, Sonny was found dead in his Las Vegas home of an apparent heroin overdose. However, many have questioned the cause of death, arguing that he was killed by the mob.
Summary
Sonny Liston was a lightning rod of controversy, becoming heavyweight champion—a crown once worn by respected titlists Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, and Rocky Marciano—despite a criminal past and questionable acts in the ring, especially in his two losses to Ali. Nonetheless, some consider him one of the best heavyweights ever. He had a great left hook, but his left jab and right hands were just as powerful. He was technically solid. Sonny is also remembered for his influence on former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, who identified with Sonny more than with any other champion. After his death, Sonny became a cult hero, the subject of novels, songs, and biographies. In 1991, he was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York.
Bibliography
Remnick, David. King of the World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero. New York: Random House, 1998.
Sugar, Bert Randolph. Boxing’s Greatest Fighters. Guilford, Conn.: Lyons Press, 2006.
Tosches, Nick. The Devil and Sonny Liston. Boston: Little, Brown, 2000.