Athletes - Sonny Liston

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	Athletes - Sonny Liston

Charles "Sonny" Liston (May 8, 1932? – December 30, 1970), was a boxer who became world Heavyweight champion, and whose life and personality were always obscure. Sonny is thought of by many to be the most feared and one of the most powerful heavyweights of all time. He was considered to be the Mike Tyson of his era.

Ring Magazine named him #15 all time among boxing's best punchers in 2003.

Early life

There is considerable uncertainty about when Liston was actually born. Liston gave his year of birth as 1932, However, many believe that he was born in 1927, though there is no son named Charles listed with the family in the 1930 census.

Liston was born the son of a sharecropper in Arkansas. He was one of seventeen children born to Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin. Liston endured frequent beatings as a child. He started to work early as his father's opinion was: "if he can sit at the table, he can work".

At the age of 13 he escaped from his father to St. Louis to reunite with his mother. His childhood experience sent him on a violent path that led to prison. He had a bad reputation, but at home he was gentle and loving. His mean appearance in interviews was simply a result of bashfulness.

When he was sentenced for the armed robbery of a gas station, his boxing talent was discovered by a Roman Catholic priest. Boxing helped him leave jail early.

On Hallowe'en night, 1952, he was paroled, and during a brief amateur career that spanned less than a year, he won several awards, including Golden Gloves.

Professional boxing career

Liston made his professional debut on September 2, 1953, knocking out Don Smith in the first round in St. Louis, where he campaigned for the first five fights of his career. In his sixth bout, in Detroit, Michigan, he faced John Summerlin, who was 22-1, on national television. Liston won a narrow eight round decision.

In his next bout he beat Summerlin in a rematch, and then, he suffered his first defeat, at the hands of Marty Marshall on another eight round decision, also in Detroit. During the fight Liston suffered a broken jaw

In 1955, he won six fights, five by knockout. Among the fights won, there was a rematch with Marshall, whom he beat in six rounds.

A rubber match with Marshall in 1956 saw him the winner by a ten round decision, but in May of that year, he ran afoul of the law once again, when he beat up a police officer in an incident that was unclear, many rumors and allegations of how it happened coming into the public light. He was forced to stay away from boxing during 1957 while serving a nine month sentence. He was paroled after six months in jail.

In 1958, he returned to boxing and began slowly but steadily raising the quality of his opponents. He won eight fights that year, including one over Ernie Cab, and accused the top heavyweights of the era of dodging him.

1959 was a good year for Liston. He knocked out Mike DeJohn in six, number one rated challenger Cleveland Williams (who would later challenge for the world title) in three and Nino Valdez in three. In total, he fought four times, winning all of them by knockout.

In 1960, Liston won five more fights, including a rematch with Williams, who only lasted two this time, wins over Roy Harris, Zora Folley and Eddie Machen.

In 1961, he had trouble with the law again, and his license to box was suspended by United States boxing commission for one fiscal year. He had difficulty getting a deserved shot at Floyd Patterson whose handlers tried to use Liston's links with the mafia (Carbo and Palermo) as an excuse against the fight.

In 1962, Liston was finally signed to meet world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson for the title. The fight was going to be held in New York, but New York's commission denied him a license because his suspension was still in force.

As a result the fight moved to Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois, where it was agreed that the fight would be held as soon as the suspension was lifted. Liston and Patterson met on September 25 of that year, and Liston became world champion by knocking out Patterson in the first round.

Liston was very disappointed though that on his comeback to hometown Philadelphia, the fans did not come to cheer him. He wasn't a popular champion.

During his time as a world champion, rumors of Liston's connections with members of the underworld and gamblers were common. These rumors would be strengthened later on in his life.

Nevertheless, Liston enjoyed the kind of fame he could never dreamt of: He was a household name, appeared on the cover of Ring Magazine and even made a television commercial for Trans World Airlines.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Sonny Liston ]

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Athletes - Sonny Liston

Early life

Professional boxing career

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