The unforgettable first fight between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston is 50-years old on Tuesday and yesterday, the gloves the then Cassius Clay wore when he shook up the world sold at auction for just under $900,00. An anonymous bidder now owns this piece of fistic history and the bounty he or she paid goes to show how big and important and just plain special Ali was, is and always will be.
Back a half century ago, nobody thought the brash, somewhat annoying loudmouth would really amount to too much; certainly nobody from the fight fraternity thought Clay stood any chance against the fearsome “unbeatable” Liston. Even today, with Ali’s legend secure, there are many people who refuse to accept Clay’s 7th round retirement victory as legit. Liston took a dive they claimed then and they claim today; and as for the massive controversy the second fight and its “Phantom Punch” caused – forget it!