The Mysterious Life of Boxer Sonny Liston

Despite being given the opportunity to become a professional boxer, Charles "Sonny" Liston never could escape the controversial circumstances of his life.

Liston said that his birth year was 1932, but many believe that it was 1927. However, no one by the name of Charles appears in the 1930 family consensus.

Liston, who became world heavyweight boxing champion by beating Floyd Patterson in 1962, was imprisoned for helping to rob a gas station as a teenager. While behind bars, Liston's talent as a boxer was noticed by a Roman Catholic priest. He was later paroled in 1952 and began his boxing career by winning several amateur tournaments.

He debuted professionally in 1952 by knocking out Don Smith in the first round. Liston would go on to win the first seven fights before losing to Matt Marshall in 1954. He then got a rematch against Marshall and won that time around. The rubber match between the two saw Liston win by a ten round decision in 1956.

Then in May of that year, trouble emerged for Liston again. Liston served six months of a nine month sentence for reportedly assaulting a police officer.

Liston would return to the ring in 1958 as he won all eight scheduled fights that year.

In 1959, Liston began to dominate the heavyweight division. He won all four fights by knockout which included beating the number one ranked challenger, Cleveland Williams, in three rounds. Liston won four of five fights by knockout the following year as well.

Even though Liston was dominating opponents in the ring, his life outside it made it difficult to get shot at Patterson for the heavyweight title. Patterson believed that Liston's life-long connections with the mob didn't warrant him a shot for the title. Plus, Liston at the time had just served a suspension by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission for his arrest in 1961 which didn't help his cause.

In 1962, Liston finally did get his title shot against Patterson despite the fact he was not given a license to box in New York where the fight was scheduled. The fight was moved to Comiskey Park in Chicago, and Liston became champion by knocking out Patterson in the first round. They had a rematch the following year, and the result was the same as Liston once again knocked out Patterson in the first round.

After he went on a exhibition tour in Europe, Liston defended his title against Cassius Clay on February 25, 1964 in Miami. The overconfident Liston lost the title to Clay when he quit the fight with a hurt shoulder before the start of the seventh round. Some historians believed that Liston faked the shoulder injury and that the fight was fixed. However, the rematch would have much more controversy behind it.

There was a delay and change of scenery for the rematch in 1965. Clay, at this point known as Muhammad Ali, was hospitalized before their scheduled rematch in Boston. The location for the fight then changed to Lewiston, Maine.

The rematch lasted all of two minutes as Ali knocked out Liston with a "phantom punch". Many observers of the fight thought it was fixed. The photographed finish of the fight is one of the most famous photos in the history of sports. Some believe that Liston bet against himself in the rematch while others think he was told to throw the fight. Nonetheless, Liston's career and life would not be the same after this fight.

Liston's career was over by 1970 when he beat Chuck Wepner by knockout. Six months after beating Wepner, Liston's life got much more controversial.

Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas home by his wife on January 5, 1971. The time of death is not entirely known, but most accept it as December 30, 1970.

The cause of death was listed as natural causes. However, the Sheriff's office had found a quarter once of heroin in a balloon, and that is what has caused many to speculate that there is more to the story. While some say that he accidentally overdosed, Liston was known to be very afraid of needles. Others say that he was forced into a heroin overdose at gunpoint, or otherwise known as "hot shotting".

Even over 36 years later after his death, there are still more questions than answers about Liston's death. From the day he was born, Liston was surrounded by mystery and controversy just like day he left this world. His boxing power and talent is easily overshadowed by the lack of questions that may never be answered about his life.

Source: www.aussiebox.com