Charles "Sonny" Liston
(the "Black Bear")
BORN May 8 1932; St. Francis County, Arkansas (Some sources report Sand Slough, Arkansas) DIED December 30 1970; Las Vegas, Nevada HEIGHT 6-0 1/2 WEIGHT 198-226 lbs MANAGERS Jack Nilon, Joe "Pep" Barone, Eddie Polino, George Katz, Frank Mitchell, Dick Sadler TRAINERS Willie Reddish, Dick Sadler, Johnny Tocco
The Photo article by Lou E isen
Liston was an unbelievably strong man who could take very powerful blows without blinking; His reach was long and his jab was strong; His left hook was awesome; It was a mistake to meet him head-on and trade punches with him early in a fight; The best chance against Liston was to stay away, box him and wait until the later rounds to confront him, when he was tired and somewhat ponderous
Herb Goldman ranked Liston as the #2 All-Time Heavyweight; Sonny was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991
Liston-Williams 1959 Fight Video Clip Liston-Williams 1960 Fight Video Clip Liston-Westphal 1961 Fight Video Clip Liston-Patterson 1962 Fight Video Clip Liston-Patterson 1963 Fight Video Clip Liston Tribute Video Clip (Press thebutton at the top of the screen to return here)
1953 Sep 2 Don Smith St. Louis, Mo TK 1 Sep 17 Ponce DeLeon St. Louis, Mo W 4 Nov 21 Ben Thomas St. Louis, Mo W 6 1954 Jan 25 Martin Lee St. Louis, Mo TK 6 Mar 31 Stan Howlett St. Louis, Mo W 6 Jun 29 John Summerlin Detroit, Mi W 8 Aug 10 John Summerlin Detroit, Mi W 8 Sep 7 Marty Marshall Detroit, Mi L 8 1955 Mar 1 Neil Welch St. Louis, Mo W 8 Apr 21 Marty Marshall St. Louis, Mo TK 6 May 5 Emil Brtko Pittsburgh, Pa TK 5 May 25 Calvin Butler St. Louis, Mo TK 2 Sep 13 Johnny Gray Indianapolis, In TK 6 Dec 13 Larry Watson East St. Louis, Mo TK 4 1956 Mar 6 Marty Marshall Pittsburgh, Pa W 10 1957 Jan -Liston began a 9-month sentence for beating up a police officer in May 1956 Aug 24 -Liston was paroled from jail 1958 Jan 29 Billy Hunter Chicago, Il TK 2 Mar 11 Ben Wise Chicago, Il TK 4 Apr 3 Bert Whitehurst St. Louis, Mo W 10 May 14 Julio Mederos Chicago, Il TK 3 Aug 6 Wayne Bethea Chicago, Il TK 1 Oct 7 Frankie Daniels Miami Beach, Fl KO 1 Oct 24 Bert Whitehurst St. Louis, Mo W 10 Nov 18 Ernie Cab Miami Beach, Fl TK 8 1959 Feb 18 Mike DeJohn Miami Beach, Fl TK 6 Apr 15 Cleveland Williams Miami Beach, Fl TK 3 Aug 5 Nino Valdes Chicago, Il KO 3 Dec 9 Willi Besmanoff Cleveland, Oh TK 7 1960 Feb 23 Howard King Miami Beach, Fl TK 8 Mar 21 Cleveland Williams Houston, Tx TK 2 Apr 25 Roy Harris Houston, Tx TK 1 Jul 18 Zora Folley Denver, Co KO 3 Sep 7 Eddie Machen Seattle, Wa W 12 1961 Mar 8 Howard King Miami Beach, Fl TK 3 Jul 14 -Liston was suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission after being arrested Nov 6 Ernie Terrell Chicago, Il EX 4 Dec 4 Albert Westphal Philadelphia, Pa KO 1 1962 Sep 25 Floyd Patterson Chicago, Il KO 1 -Heavyweight Championship of the World 1963 Jul 22 Floyd Patterson Las Vegas, Nv KO 1 -Heavyweight Championship of the World Aug -Liston went on an exhibition tour in Europe Sep 10 an unnamed opponent Wembley, Eng SCH Sep 12 an unnamed opponent Paisley, Scotland SCH Sep 14 an unnamed opponent Belfast, Ireland SCH -The previous 3 bouts were scheduled; The outcomes are not known 1964 Feb 25 Muhammad Ali Miami Beach, Fl LT 7 -Heavyweight Championship of the World 1965 May 25 Muhammad Ali Lewiston, Me LK 1 -Heavyweight Championship of the World 1966 Apr 2 Brady Jackson Anchorage, Ak EX 2 Apr 2 George Gaston Anchorage, Ak EX 2 -Gaston substituted for "Herb Johnnie" Apr 2 Fred Waldron Anchorage, Ak EX 2 -The previous 3 bouts were held the same date Jun 29 Gerhard Zech Stockholm, Sweden KO 7 Aug 19 Amos Johnson Goteborg, Sweden KO 3 1967 Mar 30 Dave Bailey Goteborg, Sweden KO 1 Apr 28 Elmer Rush Stockholm, Sweden TK 6 1968 Mar 16 Bill McMurray Reno, Nv KO 4 May 23 Billy Joiner Los Angeles, Ca TK 7 Jul 6 Henry Clark San Francisco, Ca TK 7 Jul George Foreman Oakland, Ca EX 5 Jul George Foreman Oakland, Ca EX 5 Oct 14 Sonny Moore Phoenix, Az TK 3 Nov 3 Willis Earls Juarez, Mex KO 2 Nov 12 Roger Rischer Pittsburgh, Pa KO 3 Dec 10 Amos Lincoln Baltimore, Md KO 2 1969 Mar 28 Billy Joiner St. Louis, Mo W 10 May 19 George "Scrap Iron" Johnson Las Vegas, Nv TK 7 May George Foreman San Francisco, Ca EX May George Foreman Las Vegas, Nv EX Sep 23 Sonny Moore Houston, Tx KO 3 Dec 6 Leotis Martin Las Vegas, Nv LK 9 -NABF Heavyweight Championship 1970 Jun 29 Chuck Wepner Jersey City, NJ TK 10
Record courtesy of Tracy Callis, Historian, International Boxing Research Organization
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