Liston and his handlers made intimidation as a form of performance and psychological theatre, concocting ways to make him look even more threatening to opponents.
Remembering “The Big Bear” who captured the heavyweight boxing title 60 years ago
By Brandon Yip, Senior Columnist
Sonny Liston had the demeanour of a man that you did not want to mess with. His intimidating stare caused recipients to think twice about staring back. Hence, it was wise to avert one’s eyes. His shoulders, large as bridge beams, added to his menacing appearance. This year marks 60 years since Liston, known as “The Big Bear” captured the heavyweight boxing title, defeating Floyd Patterson in the first round by knockout at Comiskey Park in Chicago on September 25, 1962.
According to a biography about Liston on britannica.com, he was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, in May 1932. He was the son of a tenant farmer and the 24th of 25 children. Liston discussed his difficult upbringing. “I had nothing when I was a kid but a lot of brothers and sisters, a helpless mother and a father who didn’t care about any of us,” he said as reported in an ESPN article about Liston. “We grew up with few clothes, no shoes, little to eat. My father worked me hard and whupped me hard.”
Liston served two long terms in prison in St. Louis, Missouri. He later stated that was where he learned how to box. Liston developed a reputation for being a fierce fighter known for his punching power and durability. His first recorded fight was in 1953 and his career ran through 1970 Liston stood six-feet-one inches and weighed 215 pounds. He fought 54 times during his boxing career, winning 39 times by knockout with only four defeats. As heavyweight champion, Liston defended his title once—defeating Floyd Patterson again in another first-round knockout on July 22, 1963. The fight was held at the Convention Center in Las Vegas.
Notably, Liston and his handlers made intimidation as a form of performance and psychological theatre, concocting ways to make him look even more threatening to opponents. In the 2012 book, Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times, author Thomas Hauser wrote, “Sonny made a science of intimidation. He used to put towels under his robe to make his shoulders look bigger. And when the ref gave instructions, he’d stare you down like you were a dead man.”
Liston was the heavyweight champion before he lost his title to Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach. Ali won by TKO after Liston did not come out for the start of the seventh round. Si.com, in a June 2016 article, wrote about the shocking victory when Liston was heavily favoured to defeat the young and overconfident Ali: “A champion beaten. An era over. Cut, battered and humiliated, Liston stayed on his stool when the bell rang to start the seventh round. He would later claim that his left shoulder was injured and that he couldn’t continue because of that, but the truth was clear on his face.”
On May 25, 1965, in Lewiston, Maine, Liston fought Ali again in a rematch. But the fight was anti-climactic with Ali knocking out Liston in the opening round with many fans and sportswriters describing it as a “phantom punch” by Ali. This led to increased speculation and controversy whether the fight was fixed and Liston took a deliberate fall to the canvas.
In the 2009 book, Sting Like a Bee: The Muhammad Ali Story, written by the late José Torres with Burt Sugar, Liston, in both losses to Ali—appeared to have also been “psyched out” as an excerpt states, “But Sonny Liston had lost both of his fights with Ali for the same reason: he was psyched out in both fights. Liston, in my estimation, quit in both fights. In the first, because initially he was completely frustrated, and then became discouraged; in the second, it was his subconscious mind.”
The late Lem Banker, a sports bettor in Las Vegas, was one of Liston’s closest friends. In an interview with famousinterview.ca, Banker said Liston was not the “intimidating” brute and bully that the media had portrayed him to be. “That stare me down was just a hype. He wasn’t mean. He was a nice guy. He had a good sense of [humour] and he wasn’t stupid. He was shooting craps at the old Thunderbird Hotel and one of the dealers short-changed him. He tried to correct him and get his money. Everybody thought he was illiterate but, sure enough, the box man was overseeing the game and Sonny was right. The guy short-changed him. Not intentionally. Just a mistake. As far as reading and writing, he could sign his name. He wasn’t literate as far as doing a lot of reading.”
Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. His death certificate recorded he had died on December 30, 1970. According to an ESPN article, the official cause of Liston’s death was heart failure and lung congestion “but needle marks found in his arm suggest he may have died of a heroin overdose.” Some have speculated that Liston, who had ties to organized crime, was murdered by mobsters and one acquaintance “suggested Liston was involved in a loan-sharking ring and was demanding a bigger stake.” It seems appropriate that the mystery surrounding Liston’s death also paralleled his entrance into the world; as the same ESPN article states: “Liston believed his birth date was May 8, 1932, but he was never sure and that led to speculation he was actually a few years older.”
Rob Steen, who wrote a biography about Liston, told BBC.com in July 2019, that Liston’s demise hurt the sport of boxing. “His death did a great deal to damage the image of boxing,” he said. “In a sense, he is a symbol of the way the world once was. His death is a signpost as to how [terrible things] were and how fortunate the sport was that Muhammad Ali came after him. You don’t find other boxing champions dying in that way. But, then again, boxers usually didn’t have the depth of involvement with the mob that Liston had.”
Lastly, Sonny Liston seems to have been forgotten and underappreciated over the years. The worldwide popularity and legacy of Muhammad Ali have overshadowed the brief legacy Liston had created for himself. Liston, from the late 1950s until losing the heavyweight boxing title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali, was one of the fiercest and most intimidating heavyweight champions of all time. His life and eventual death were shrouded in mystery. And it is a fitting epitaph; that Sonny Liston was just as enigmatic in death as he was in life.
