This dislike reached its peak when he destroyed Patterson - who was widely liked - in two minutes and six seconds to win the heavyweight crown in When he returned home to Philadelphia, he hoped a crowd would be there to welcome him.
It makes him shrink back into his shell. It was not just 'White America' that rejected him. The civil rights movement did too - in large part because of his ties to organised crime. He'd sold his soul to the mob in order to get proper fights. His management was the mob. There was John Vitale in St Louis, a mob boss for whom Liston worked ostensibly as a chauffeur but - more accurately - as an enforcer and leg-breaker. In the early days of his professional career, he was managed by Frank 'Blinky' Palermo, an associate of the notorious mafia hitman Frankie Carbo.
Ultimately, as David Remnick wrote in his book about Muhammad Ali's early years: "Liston was the last great champion to be delivered straight into the hands of the mob. It wasn't until Liston lost his title to Muhammad Ali - then known as Cassius Clay - in that his status as the most feared man on the planet began to wane.
But it was the pair's controversial rematch the following year that did the most damage to his reputation. Just seconds into the fight, which took place in the tiny town of Lewiston, Maine, Liston went down after an apparently innocuous punch that few people at ringside even saw. The infamous 'phantom punch' enraged Ali - who screamed at the downed Liston to get up and continue. Nobody will believe this! Sprawled flat on his back, Liston would roll and stumble and then roll again.
That scene, of Ali imploring Liston to get up, would produce one of the most iconic photographs in sports history. The phantom punch has been analysed and debated down to its finest details. While many believe it was a solid right-hand that caught Liston, many others have argued that he took a dive because the fight had been fixed by the mob.
Even Geraldine had her suspicions: "I think Sonny gave that second fight away," she told a TV journalist 35 years later. Whatever the truth, the public jumped at the opportunity to label Liston corrupt. He was embarrassed on boxing's biggest stage amid fierce accusations that he was little more than a mafia stooge. In the years following the Ali loss, Liston moved to Las Vegas and reverted to form. He was virtually broke - his earnings likely skimmed by his mob handlers - and he was forced to make money outside the ring in the only way he knew how.
Allegedly, according to those who knew him, by working for the city's loan sharks and drug dealers. Either way, the public's verdict was that Sonny was a bum. Despite his lowly public standing, Liston was hopeful he could resurrect his career. He went on an impressive run of victories after his two defeats to Ali - winning 14 fights in a row.
He even spoke of recapturing his heavyweight title. But, in - about a year before his death - he fought his old sparring partner Leotis Martin and was knocked out in brutal fashion. It extinguished any lingering title hopes and he was left penniless and adrift. On the one hand there was the family time he would spend at his home in Paradise Palms.
This would be interspersed with occasional public appearances at the city's casinos, where he would cash-in on his celebrity status by shaking hands and signing autographs. But a different side to Liston would come out at night. He would cruise over to the west side in his conspicuous pink Cadillac. His routine largely involved drinking and, as I discovered, dealing some cocaine out of a casino and also getting involved in heroin.
This double life begins to weigh on him. Liston was associating with some of the city's darkest characters. The boxer once ran into an old acquaintance, Moe Dalitz, one of the most powerful mob figures in the city. Before long, Liston would be dead and the shadow of the mob would loom large over his corpse. So could the mob - or at least drug dealers and criminals - have been involved in Liston's death?
And why would they have wanted him dead? The most common theory is that his boxing career at the top-level was over by the time he died. This meant he was no longer a profitable investment for the mob but, owing to his long career in their grasp, he simply knew too much to be left alone.
This guy was very angry that he had not been shown sufficient respect by Liston and that was the trigger. That made the powers that be decide that they didn't need him around anymore.
Michael Green, who is also a board member at the Las Vegas Mob Museum, believes the growing concern over what Liston knew may explain his death. What - for example - did Liston know about the second Ali fight and the 'phantom punch'?
Could he have been about to speak publicly about boxing's corrupt underbelly? Green continues: "The alternative was the fear that they would not do what they were supposed to do. Perhaps they wanted Liston to do something in particular and he wouldn't. That is always a possibility. A refusal of that kind would have no doubt gone down badly with any criminal handlers. There were five or six people who could have done this. The nature of Liston's death - quiet, relatively unbloody and exceptionally murky - does not fit with the typical image of a mob hit.
After all, the accepted view is that the mob would kill with the intention of sending a message and, even today, it is unclear what exactly happened to him. But Green says Liston's death does match with the mob's transition towards a new kind of subtlety. This suggests it could have been a mob hit. So what can be made of the needle marks on Liston's arm and the heroin in his house? What if the boxer simply overdosed? There has been speculation among some boxing writers and mob historians that Liston was killed by an enforced heroin overdose.
This would explain how a man supposedly terrified of needles could end up with marks on his arm and heroin in his blood. Of course, there are also theories that lack this level of intrigue and mystique.
There are people who think that his death was the result of him medicating himself from pain from the car accident. Whatever the theory, Liston's mysterious death marked the end of a life pockmarked with shadowy figures and secretive criminal activity. It has haunted boxing ever since - serving as a morbid reminder of the characters that used to inhabit its ringside seats and smoky backrooms. His death is a signpost as to how bad things were and how fortunate the sport was that Muhammad Ali came after him.
These comments are now closed. The story of how football's most watched competition was formed, as told by its stars. Listen to nocturnal mixtapes specially curated from his music collection. Sonny Liston became world heavyweight champion in and fought Muhammad Ali twice In January , former heavyweight champion of the world Sonny Liston was found dead at his Las Vegas home. Comments Join the conversation.
To use comments you will need to have JavaScript enabled. Comment posted by cockneyal, at 16 Jul cockneyal. This is one of the better articles on the BBC website, as almost every other comment has said. Well done Gareth Evans. Lets have more intelligent, well written pieces like this please. Was a terrific and terrifying boxer and that's how he should be remembered. Can't fault Sonny for doing all the other stuff he did.
One can't fill an empty stomach with morals and high praise. Combat sports were always prone to criminal influence due to betting. Besides, can't say Boxing as a sport has improved for fans now - there are PPV, dodgy judges, organizations, promoters. Comment posted by crossword, at 16 Jul crossword. It would be great to see more interesting articles than tabloid-esque rubbish about Love Island. Normally the stuff on this website is boring and lazy, however this is fascinating and insightful. Comment posted by Sean, at 16 Jul Sean.
RIP Sonny Liston. Important part of boxings rich and interesting historical tapestry! Comment posted by bbrq, at 16 Jul bbrq A fascinating read, but his death at the hands of the mob, is at best, a conspiracy theory and it would not stand up in court.
A sad and colourful life, and still the subject of those still looking to cash in on his notoriety. Comment posted by Kev, at 16 Jul Kev. What a great article. A fascinating story. Comment posted by Navarro, at 16 Jul Navarro. Is this not what Sports Journalism should be about. A good insightful read and as have many alluded to, it looks to have been written by an adult instead of the headline grabbing garbage we usually pay our licence fee for.
Really good article. Well written BBC stuff. Gareth Evans- wow. The BBC have employed a proper writer for the sports section. A brilliant, fascinating read. Thank you. Comment posted by Nigel, at 16 Jul Nigel. A fascinating era full of interesting characters. The fear is that the criminality remains, it's just become much more sophisticated, as this article suggests.
Comment posted by Bleakmidwinter, at 16 Jul Bleakmidwinter. This is the news from the BBC at 6pm The headlines Today the BBC has been accused of producing some real journalism in it's sports section. An article about the untimely death of the boxer Sonny Liston has been lauded universally as being proper journalism the sort the corporation used to produce The BBC has apologised unreservedly.
Comment posted by w67hizno, at 16 Jul w67hizno. If you've never heard of Sonny Liston, you aren't a boxing fan. So don't waste your time commenting. Comment posted by cbundred, at 16 Jul cbundred. British boxing legend Henry Cooper talked up facing Muhammad Ali Cassius Clay as he was known , but said if Liston beat him he would not take the fight. Their rematch a year later would go down in boxing infamy.
In , they locked horns once again in the tiny town of Lewiston, Maine. After just seconds, Ali as he was known now threw an innocuous punch which many spectators on television or in the arena even saw.
Nobody will believe this! Liston hit his lowest point and returned to work for the mob as a loan shark and enforcer in Las Vegas. Despite being virtually penniless after the gangsters took their cut and with criminality effectively running his life, he tried desperately to make a comeback.
Between and , he won 14 successive fights as he sought to reclaim the world heavyweight title, but was then viciously knocked out by his former sparring partner, Leotis Martin, to extinguish any lingering hopes of hitting the big time again. His segregated lifestyle in Vegas proved what an ambiguous character he was; moving in dangerous circles in his conspicuous pink Cadillac and hanging out with reprobates and drug dealers, whilst also spending time with his family in Paradise Palms.
The former world champion ran into an old mob associate, Moe Dalitz, and jokingly made a fist to him. But the former heavyweight champion was terrified of needles. The toxicology report concluded there was some heroin and codeine in his system, but not enough to kill a man — certainly not a heavyweight champion.
There are some who speculated it was a mob hit. Liston may have been ordered to throw his last fight, in against Chuck Wepner, only to go and score an incredible knockout. Others suggested he knew too much about the criminal underbelly, with a heroin overdose forced upon him.
The official line was a heart attack had killed him, with many pointing to a car accident he had suffered weeks before as a means of getting vast quantities of pain killers legitimately into his system. Whatever happened, the world is never likely to know. Sign in. All Sport. By Joe Coleman. Getty Images - Getty. It must have been somebody who looked like me, possibly my brother. I thought I might have blacked out. Apparently, Ali talked smack to him and Liston slapped him right across the face.
Time Life Pictures.
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