Boxing
How Time Flies! It’s 60 Years Since The Famous Mohammad Ali- Sonny Liston Fight That Shaped Boxing –
Sunday, 25 February, marked 60 years since a 22-year-old named Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) defeated the favourite Sonny Liston, whom he had humiliated and beaten for the title of heavyweight champion.
On that day, “The Greatest” became a social icon, paving the way for a career that would make him one of the greatest boxers of all time.
It was no ordinary fight. It wasn’t just a boxing match. Young Cassius Clay upset the favourite Sonny Liston on 25 February 1964.
Within hours, he changed his name to Muhammad Ali. He declared war on one of the most powerful countries in the world, as AFP recalls.
He humiliated his opponent, took the heavyweight title and changed history from that day on. Last Sunday marked 60 years since that event.
Sports Illustrated named it one of the four most influential sporting events of the 20th century.
The American boxer, always arrogant and outspoken, was no longer just an image. He became a symbol of the fight against racism, especially in a powerful country whose society had always been racist towards blacks.
His strategy was always to attract attention and be the centre of attention; he achieved this with his eccentric personality, combined with immense talent, making him one of the greatest boxers in history.
Ali rose to stardom after other black boxers had succeeded: Floyd Patterson, always respected, and Sonny Liston himself, a boxer with a fearsome appearance and controlled by the dark side. They were world champions, like Ali himself. But they were not representative of what was to come.
Today marks 60 years since Ali defeated the ‘Ugly Bear’, as he nicknamed Liston. He won thanks to unparalleled talent and an eccentric, chaotic but intelligent strategy. His victory is still hard to comprehend, because he didn’t stand a chance. Nobody bet on him.
Then came his association with the Black Muslims, his relationship with Malcolm X and his connection with Africa. What he said, gestured and did. All to prove in the ring that he was the best.
He had 61 fights. He won 56 of them, 39 by knockout, and lost only five. But his figure transcended all that. His influence extended beyond boxing.
However, the fight with Liston can be seen as the beginning of it all. The contract for the fight between Sonny Liston and Cassius Clay was signed on 5 November 1963.
The fight was to take place at the Convention Center in Miami Beach. The year before, Liston had beaten Patterson. He had become world champion.
Liston was someone who didn’t like to laugh. He didn’t make many public appearances or joke around.
On the other side was a 22-year-old arrogant young man. He danced in the ring and never stopped talking. Always joking and always saying eccentric things.
On the day of the fight, Clay was nervous about weighing in. His heart was racing and some doctors even said he was unbalanced.
The odds were a clear 7-1 in favour of Liston. Clay had converted to Islam before the fight, but didn’t announce it until afterwards.
The boxing world looked at the fight with its eyes wide open, but with a very clear point of view: Liston was the favourite.
The Convention Centre was packed. Miami Beach was the epicentre of world boxing.
From the start, it was Ali (then Clay) who danced. He kept Liston at bay with his famous fast and continuous jabs.
As the rounds went on, Ali continued to rack up points. In the third and fourth rounds everything changed.
It was Clay who was winning the rounds, and he was even giving Liston trouble.
The sixth round was decisive. Once again, the Lousville native began to dominate and began to control the fight.
At the end of the round, “The Big Bear” told his trainer that he couldn’t continue. He didn’t come out for the seventh.
A shoulder injury had stopped the champion and Clay took the belt and title.
The rematch took place a year later. This time Liston only lasted one round against Ali, who was already a legend and had his whole career ahead of him.
Ali won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. As a professional, he won the undisputed heavyweight championship in 1964 at the age of 22.
He became the only boxer to have won the linear championship three times (1964, 1974 and 1978) and the undisputed heavyweight championship (1964, 1967 and 1974).
He was also the first to win the World Boxing Association heavyweight title four times (1964, 1967, 1974 and 1978). Muhammad Ali is regarded as a social figure who transcended the world of sport.
Since the 1960s, his decision not to be drafted into his country’s armed forces for the Vietnam War has been a symbol. He declared himself a conscientious objector. He was also a member of the Nation of Islam.
That fight changed everything. Even the figure of the heavyweight champion, who until then had always been a serious person, introverted, more inclined to action in the ring than to speeches.
He was better known for what he did outside the ring. Other champions before him included Jack Dempsey, Primo Carnera, Ezzard Charles and Rocky Marciano.
They will all be remembered for their no-holds-barred fights. But Ali added to his talent an inimitable ability to be different, to be loved and hated.
For a heavyweight contender, it was this unusual and very special way of behaving that made him so popular.
His speeches on racism and black/white equality attracted the curiosity of the likes of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Elijah Muhammad, and from there his persona took off.
He retired in 1981. Although he had not yet been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, his physical decline was already evident.
–insidethegames
Briton Tyson Fury said he will throw caution to the wind when he faces heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and aim for a knockout victory in their rematch.
In their first bout in May, Fury hit his stride in the fourth round and engaged in some showmanship as he caught Usyk with vicious body shots, but the Ukrainian battled back and turned the tide in the eighth round.
Usyk’s powerful punches to the head left Fury reeling and the previously undefeated boxer struggled through the final rounds of the fight before losing by split decision and relinquishing his WBC heavyweight championship.
The rematch will take place on Dec. 21 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the WBC, WBO and WBA titles on the line.
“I’m going to go in there with destroy mode. Last time I went to box him, I was being cautious. I boxed the head right off him,” Fury told TNT Sports on Saturday.
“Let’s talk facts. Anyone can get caught, as we’ve seen in a lot of these heavyweight fights, but this time I’m not going for a points decision.”
Fury added that he is still keen on facing fellow Briton Anthony Joshua, despite the former champion’s knockout defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois in an IBF title fight last month.
Joshua and Fury had been set to face off in a proposed ‘Battle of Britain’ bout in 2022, but the fight fell through.
“At the end of the day, it would be a travesty if we didn’t fight,” Fury said.
“No matter if he loses 20 more fights. If he doesn’t win another fight and has 10 years away from the game, it doesn’t matter, we have to fight.”
-Reuters
After Saturday’s night defeat to Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua’s boxing career looked heading to an end as the former two-time world champion was knocked out in the fifth round of their heavyweight bout at Wembley Stadium.
But a determined Joshua has said that he would not quit easily. He has played down any talk of retirement following his defeat.
His defeat ended any immediate hope of becoming a three-time world champion. A British-record crowd of over 96,000 people saw Dubois retain his IBF World Heavyweight title with a victory that shocked the boxing world
The 27-year-old put in a dominant performance, flooring Anthony Joshua in the first round with a strong overhand right that he never truly recovered from.
Despite coming forward in the fifth round with a big straight right-hand, Dubois countered with devastating knockout blow.
“Always walk with your head high, we rolled the dice, for the third time, 13 world title fights, not every one has been successful, but they’ve all been fun and entertaining,” Joshua was quoted by Independent as saying.
He was talking about his future. “You’re probably asking if I still want to consider fighting? Of course I want to continue fighting.
“We took a shot at success and we came up short. What does that mean now? That we’re going to run away? We’re going to live to fight another day. And that’s what I am – I’m a warrior.
“There were a few mistakes in there but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins will cost you at the top level.
“Also before I finish, we have to give credit our opponent Daniel. When I sign up to fight opponents, I don’t really like them in my head any more. But now that it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, according to Manchester Evening News, admitted this was the first time he’d seen the former two-time world champion hurt during their 11-years working together.
“It’s probably the only time in his whole career I’ve seen him really hurt, it’s not bad, having won two world championships and 13 world title fights, to the point he couldn’t get up,” Hearn added.
“It’s the first time in his career that he’s been properly hurt, you never want to carry on too long, but AJ doesn’t have many miles on the clock. When Ben comes to me and says, ‘he doesn’t look the same fighter any more’, and AJ will make that decision.
“We’ve seen the best AJ over the last year, it’s difficult to say that’s it. These are the closing chapters of his career. We have another fight with RS, Dubois is part of that plan. So too is Tyson Fury or another heavyweight. 2025 is going to be an interesting year for Joshua, against whoever, you’ll be entertained.
“Our interests are that he leaves this sport with legacy, money and his health in tact, knocked out like that you have to look at that. That was just a shot, trading with a huge right hand, it doesn’t matter who you are, you’re getting knocked out.”
Britain’s Daniel Dubois destroyed Anthony Joshua’s dream of becoming a three times heavyweight world champion with a fifth-round knockout to retain his IBF belt at a packed Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Dubois dropped his compatriot to the canvas in the opening round with a stinging right, the referee delivering a standing eight count, and the 27-year-old proceeded to tear up the pre-fight predictions as swiftly as he ripped into his opponent.
Joshua, 34, took another hammering in round two but managed to ride out the storm before round three came crashing down around him again.
With Dubois landing more fizzing right-handers, Joshua was literally on the ropes before being saved by the bell.
He could barely stand at the end of the fourth, after going down again with two minutes remaining, and then it was all over in the fifth with the painstaking rebuilding of his career suddenly in ruins.
After landing a few promising blows, any signs of a fightback faded with a right to the chin that sent Joshua down, the former IBF, WBA and IBO champion this time unable to get back on his feet.
“I’ve only got a few words to say: Are you not entertained?,” declared Dubois after the biggest win, and first at Wembley, of a 24-fight career with two defeats.
“I’m a gladiator, I’m a warrior to the bitter end. I want to get to the top level of this game and reach my full potential.
“I’ve been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story, and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
RECORD CROWD
Organisers said a British post-World War Two record of 96,000 spectators attended the Saudi-funded fight at London’s Wembley Stadium.
Among them were Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher, singing three songs on his 52nd birthday ahead of a reunion next year, and Ukraine’s WBC, WBA and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Usyk has beaten both Joshua and Dubois already and will fight Britain’s Tyson Fury, also present, in a rematch in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua might have hoped to have a crack at the winner of that fight but instead faces an uncertain future with Dubois sending a seismic ripple through the familiar heavyweight landscape.
Dubois said he hoped for another shot at Usyk, who beat him in nine rounds in Wroclaw, Poland, last year.
Usyk previously held the IBF belt but vacated it for the Fury rematch, with Dubois the interim holder and upgraded to world champion in June.
“Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short,” said Joshua after his 13th world heavyweight title fight left him with a record of four defeats from 32 bouts.
He had first won the IBF belt in 2016 from Charles Martin at London’s O2 Arena. Joshua then lost it to Andy Ruiz in 2019 but won it back later that year. Usyk then took it from him in 2021.
“We keep rolling the dice. I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said he expected to exercise a rematch clause.
“It’s a dangerous fight because he’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can beat him,” he said.
-Reuters
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