Was it a punch nobody saw, or was it a punch Sonny Liston never saw? It was 56 years ago today, May 25th, 1965, when Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston met in their rematch.
50 years ago today, Sonny Liston was found dead in his Vegas apartment, this by his wife Geraldine, who had been away on a trip.
Today marks 50 years since heavyweight king Charles “Sonny” Liston died. Officially aged 38, Liston died, officially, on December 30th of 1970 in his Las Vegas apartment.
Charles Sonny Liston was every kind of wrong for his fighter and Cus D’Amato knew it. Liston, a long-time heavyweight contender, was avoided by heavyweight champ Floyd Patterson for some time as a result of the shrewd and knowledgeable reticence on the part of his trainer/manager.
Former heavyweight champion Charles “Sonny” Liston was officially 38 years old. Chuck Wepner, AKA “The Bayonne Bleeder,” was 31 years of age.
It has been written many times how Sonny Liston’s life was one big mystery. Nobody knows for sure when Liston was born, and no-one knows for sure when he died – or how.
Foul Play Or Not Foul Play?
A man who has fought for years in the ring, who has risked his very life in doing so, is fully deserving of living a long and happy life after retiring from the toughest of all sports.
No-one knows for sure when heavyweight king Charles “Sonny” Liston was born, therefore we don’t know how old Liston was when he was at his absolute peak.
Has there ever been a more mysterious, fascinating, totally misunderstood and ultimately doomed heavyweight champion than Charles Sonny Liston? No. Not even close.
The life, along with the mysterious death, of heavyweight great Sonny Liston continues to fascinate as much as perplex all these years later – So much so, that a new film is being made.