Sixty years ago today Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston by technical knockout to become
Heavyweight Champion. I won a small bet that day, though I never became a fan of Ali like many people of that era because I hated the way he humiliated his opponents. I know it was an act, but I relished his getting beat by Joe Frazier in Madison Square Garden, which I watched in a movie theatre in South Bend along with probably 500 students from ND for 6 bucks on March 6th 1971. I never saw two heavyweights ever fight as action packed a fight for FIFTEEN ROUNDS! Boxers who watch that fight today are shocked at what those two warriors gave. Yes, better than the thrilla in Manilla.
Replies to: Sixty years ago today Cassius Clay defeated Sonny Liston by technical knockout to become
Date's a little off.
It'll be 61 years on 2/25. 5/25 will be the 60-year-anniversary of the Phantom Punch loss.
Refresh my memory. Was that the no punch TKO? Don't remember if that was #1 or #2.
Ali said racist stuff, act or no act, and got a pass. He belonged to a racist anti-American "religion" and stood by that till the end and got a pass. He became a kinder gentler old man but never renounced his racist past as far as I know.
The 'phantom punch' is a myth and ocurred during Ali-Liston II
It was a good, clean punch. The ref for that fight was former heavyweight champ Jersey Joe Walcott, and he effed up. Liston wanted to continue, but Walcott - after initially letting the fight go on - ended it after a member of the press told thim that Liston had been down for more than 10 seconds.
Yes - many people wrongly pin 100% of the "shadiness" on Liston.
Everyone now seems to believe that Liston fell down and just stayed down until Ali was awarded the win. Lost in the verbal history of that second fight is that after Liston went down, Walcott had a heck of a time getting Ali over to a neutral corner. There remains a debate about whether the timekeeper gave a heads-up to Walcott or not on the count (both dispute each other). And in that confusion, not only had Liston gotten back up and had his gloves wiped off by Walcott, the two fighters had actually RESUMED BOXING. It was the timekeepers who then yelled to Walcott that the fight was over and that Liston had been counted out.
Ernie Terrell “His mama named him Clay, ima call him Clay”. Thanks for the ass wooopn
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Thanks for the reminder, I’m on my 3rd C Clay T and will wear it today
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Remember when Henry Cooper knocked Ali almost out of the ring in round 5 of their bout. The bell
saved Ali as he wobbled to his corner out on his feet. Of course then he caught the bleeder Cooper and it was a bloodfest win for Ali. But he was lucky that time.