Today in History: Clay knocks out Liston
The dreaded Liston, who had twice demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8 to 1 favourite
On this day in 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocked the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ, Sonny Liston, in a seventh-round technical knockout.
Despite being depicted as the underdog, Clay predicted victory, boasting that he would “… float like a butterfly, sting like a bee …” and knock out Liston in the eighth round. The fleet-footed and loquacious youngster needed less time to make good on his claim – Liston, complaining of an injured shoulder, failed to answer the seventh-round bell.
A crowd of 8 300 spectators gathered in the Convention Hall arena in Miami Beach to see if Cassius Clay, who was nicknamed the “Louisville Lip,” could put his money where his mouth was. The underdog proved no bragging fraud, and he danced and backpedalled away from Liston’s powerful swings while delivering quick and punishing jabs to Liston’s head.
Liston hurt his shoulder in the first round, injuring some muscles as he swung for and missed his elusive target. By the time he decided to discontinue the bout between the sixth and seventh rounds, he and Clay were about equal in points.
A few conjectured that Liston faked the injury and threw the fight, but there was no real evidence, such as a significant change in bidding odds just before the bout, to support this claim.
To celebrate winning the world heavyweight title, Clay went to a private party at a Miami hotel that was attended by his friend Malcolm X, an outspoken leader of the African American Muslim group known as the Nation of Islam. Two days later, a markedly more restrained Clay announced he was joining the Nation of Islam and defended the organisation’s concept of racial segregation while speaking of the importance of the Muslim religion in his life.
Later that year, Clay, who was the descendant of a runaway Kentucky slave, rejected the name originally given to his family by a slave owner and took the Muslim name of Muhammad Ali.
Information courtesy of: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/clay-knocks-out-liston.
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