His father, Tobe Liston, was in his mid 40s when he and his wife, Helen Baskin, who was almost 30 years younger than Tobe, moved to Arkansas from Mississippi in 1916. Paul R Gallender, 2012. The fight ranks as one of the shortest heavyweight title bouts in history. Liston said he quit because of a shoulder injury. Geraldine remembered her husband as "Great with me, great with the kids. An Associated Press poll had 64 of 102 reporters picking Patterson. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. Facebook gives. When Patterson met with the president in January 1962, Kennedy suggested that Patterson avoid Liston, citing Justice Department concerns over Liston's ties to organized crime. Ali called it "the anchor punch." He'd often told people that he'd feared for his life.. In an Associated Press poll, 64 of 102 reporters picked Patterson. Hall of Fame announcer Don Dunphy said, "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards used to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." Liston went from being a big-shouldered street thief with no education to heavyweight champ of the world and household name. In five months, Sonny Liston had gone from unknown ex-con to amateur champion. He inflicted whippings so severe on Sonny that the scars were still visible in the ring decades later as an adult. Although Clay often carried his gloves down at his waist, seemingly open to attack, he proved very difficult to hit. Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston. Create Space Independent Publishing Platform. He was a gentle man. Other than that, little is definite about his birth, but he seems to have been born in a shack on the cotton plantation where his parents worked, a little outside Forrest City, in Arkansas, which did . That got him killed. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. The Devil And Sonny Liston. Born to a large and impoverished sharecropping family, Charles 'Sonny' Liston probably came into the world four years before his official 1932 birthdate, and his struggle to fashion a real identity would remain with him his whole life. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. And the Muslims were coming up. Tocco called the police, and they broke into the house. Wepner, who also fought George Foreman and Muhammad Ali, said after his career was over that Liston was the hardest puncher he faced. Muhammad Ali-Sonny Liston rivalry Before Cassius Clay took on the name Muhammad Ali, he was a young and brash fighter who worked his way up the ranks. In his own words in Thomas Hauser's 1991 biography: "The punch jarred him. Sit down!' [32] Ironically, Patterson's manager, Cus D'Amato, associated with racketeers and had his manager's license revoked by the New York State Athletic Commission for alleged misconduct in connection with the Floyd PattersonIngemar Johansson title fight in June 1959. [45][46] A clearly angered Liston rallied at the end of the round when Clay seemed tired, delivering punishing body shots. Liston tried going to school but quickly left after jeers about his illiteracy; the only employment he could obtain was sporadic and exploitative. While "doing his nickel", the athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary suggested that Liston try boxing The prison organized sparring sessions and Sonny dominated his incarcerated brethren. Liston assaulted the officer, breaking his knee and gashing his face. When caught in January 1950, Liston gave his age as 20, while the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported that he was 22. In that same book Liston was quoted two years after the fight: "Ali knocked me down with a sharp punch. However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. [83] Herb Goldman stated that Liston, when in his prime between 1958 and 1963, was the most feared fighter in boxing history. At that point, the fight was scored as even on the official scorecards. He had been deliberately snubbed. "Nat Fleischer [editor of The Ring] was sitting beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." [37] Frustrated, Liston changed his management in 1961 and applied pressure through the media by remarking that Patterson, who had faced mostly white challengers since becoming champion, was drawing the color line against his own race. and hit him with hooks and uppercuts when Frazier tried to get in. There are a ton of other dubious deaths and (hopefully) little-known facts about Vegas in this week's episode. And Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated wrote, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas. All rights reserved. Liston believed his date of birth to be May 8, 1932, and used this for official purposes[11] but by the time he won the world title an aged appearance added credence to rumors that he was actually several years older. [42], Liston's run-ins with the police had continued in Philadelphia. Furthermore, that count cannot be started until the fighter scoring the knockdown goes to and remains in a neutral corner. Ali is waiting to hit me, the ref can't control him. Governor John H. Reed of Maine stepped forward, and within a few hours the promoters had a new site: Lewiston, Maine, a mill town with a population of about 41,000 located 140 miles (230km) north of Boston. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Boston: Little, Brown. 1 contender in 1960, but the handlers of world heavyweight champion Floyd Patterson refused to give him a shot at the title because of Liston's links to organized crime. Officially, Liston died of lung congestion and heart failure. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. 9 -- CHARLES (SONNY) LISTON It was already dark when she stepped from the car in front of her house on Ottawa Drive, but she could see her pink Cadillac convertible and Sonny's new black. (3) The mob promised Liston some money to throw the second Ali fight, but they never paid him. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him outthe fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight. In 2013, there was a newly created book titled According to Warjac: Most Wanted, written by Greg Swaim. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston, fdd omkring 1930 i Sand Slough i St. Francis County, Arkansas, dd 30 december 1970 i Las Vegas, Nevada, var en amerikansk professionell boxare som var vrldsmstare i tungvikt 1962-1964.. Liston vann titeln i september 1962 genom att besegra Floyd Patterson p knockout i frsta ronden och frlorade den sedan i februari 1964 i en match mot Cassius Clay . ", Ali clearly did not think he knocked Liston out. Patterson wanted a chance to redeem himself, so they met again on July 22, 1963, in Las Vegas. Meaning Sonny was number 24 out of 25 kids. based on 17 ratings | 6,556 views This sermon from The Exchanged Life perspective attempts to assist the believer in coming to a point of trust in Christ as Savior, Lord and Life through suffering thus ultimately being set free from Self. [10] His family, but not one Charles (or Sonny) Liston, can be found in the 1930 census, and in the 1940 census he was listed as 10 years old. Liston claimed he was born in 1932, yet his rap sheet for his 1950 arrest for armed robbery listed his age as 22, making him born in 1928. Elizabeth Bear wrote the short story "Sonny Liston Takes the Fall", published in The Del Rey Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy in 2008. He is a relatively elementary, one-track fighter." I didn't want anything to do with him. Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight and had entered the bout with a lame shoulder. Pan, 2017. Writer Jack McKinney said, "I watched Sonny. In the third round, Marshall nailed Listonreportedly while he was laughingand broke his jaw. I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. Certainly Johnson had more going for him than enormous hands. Young Muhammad Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, knocked out opponent Sonny Liston for his first world title in boxing on this day in history, Feb. 25, 1964. Stevens organized a sparring session with a professional heavyweight named Thurman Wilson to showcase Liston's potential. But according to Sonny's trainer, Johnny Tocco, once there, his path led to prison: Childhood & Early Life. Odds makers gave Liston 71 to win. Advertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyMessaging Terms, AppAdvertising InquiriesTerms of UsePrivacy PolicyContent PolicyCookie PolicyBest Sports Betting SiteMessaging TermsSubscription Terms. So I went down. So I get him down, I get the sponge and I pour the water into his eyes trying to cleanse whatever's there, but before I did that I put my pinkie in his eye and I put it into my eye. Sonny Liston was a ferocious fighter, the heavyweight champion of the world and the man Cassius Clay beat to win the title for the first time, igniting his own legend. Liston's death four decades ago was. [66], Former champions Jack Dempsey, Joe Louis, Floyd Patterson and Gene Tunney, as well as contender George Chuvalo all declared they considered the fight to be a fake. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston because Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. In 2013 the son of a deceased mafia hitman published a book claiming that his father confessed to murdering Liston via forced drug overdose. Liston angrily responded by questioning whether Dempsey's failure to serve in World War I qualified him to moralize. He had a whiplash, so they took him to the hospital," said boxing trainer Johnny Tocco. ", This page was last edited on 7 February 2023, at 06:36. [93] Liston had been hospitalized in early December, complaining of chest pains. Liston's life was marked with numerous arrests, before and after he entered boxing. [30], Liston became the No. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on May 8, 1932. [70] There have been a number of unproven theories as to the background to the purported dive including that Liston was threatened by the Muslims, or agreed to lose in return for a share in the more marketable Ali's future purses. "But they'll have to swing along until somebody comes to beat me. Sheed says that the punch and the knockdown "may have been genuine, but when referee Joe Walcott blew the count and gave him all evening to get up, Liston's rendition of a coma wouldn't have fooled a possum. [60] The extent to which Liston's heavy drinking and possible drug use may have contributed to his surprisingly poor performances against Ali is not known.[15]. He claimed the officer used racial slurs. One of the victories was over Amos Johnson, Liston's former sparring partner, who had recently defeated British champion Henry Cooper. Alois Stevens, suggested to Liston that he try boxing, and his obvious aptitude, along with an endorsement from Stevens, who was also a priest, aided Liston in getting an early parole. "The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating," Liston said. After the second loss to Ali, Liston stayed out of the ring for more than a year. Sonny couldnt read or write because his father worked him in the fields from the time he could walk Years later, he got his wife to teach him how to sign his name just so he could give it to kids who asked him for it his autograph. [48] The challenger, his arms held high in surrender, was demanding that the fight be stopped and Dundee, fearing the fight might indeed be halted, gave his charge a one-word order: "Run! But by the sixth round his sight had cleared, and a clearly enraged Clay fought a blisteringly aggressive round landing numerous combination punches. What the . Who needed that? Liston had a noticeably more muscular left arm, but fought orthodox Meaning his power hand was out front, so he had this crushing left jab and powerful left hook. In the first fight, in Miami, a 22-year-old Cassius Clay danced around the ring, taunted Liston, promised reporters he'd shock the world, and then delivered on that promise with a blistering late. Also, McDonough did not bang on the canvas or motion a number count with his fingers. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight . and he was pointing at some little bandage over the needle mark in his arm. The Murder of Sonny Liston: A Story of Fame, Heroin, Boxing & Las Vegas Pan publisher; 2017. The interference of ringside reporters regarding interpretation of the rules, the fight stoppage and the controversy after the fight had not been seen since The Long Count Fight between champion Gene Tunney and challenger Jack Dempsey in 1927. "[78] While much has been written about the effectiveness of his left jab, others have commented favorably on Liston's wide range of boxing skills. Three days before the fight, Ali needed emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. Both fights were filled with controversy that is probably enough for another blog, but this iconic picture from their fight was the one I referred to above. In The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches, published in 2000, when many of Liston's former acquaintances were still alive, Tosches posits that Liston's idol Joe Louis introduced him to heroin, and that he ultimately overdosed. It was 55 years ago that the world's attention focused on Lewiston, Maine, for a world heavyweight boxing title fight. Liston went down on his back. Sports Illustrated once wrote his hands"looked like cannonballs when he made them into fists. Fans rejected Liston after he won the heavyweight title over Floyd Patterson in 1962. Liston won 14 consecutive bouts, 13 by knockout, before fighting third-ranked Leotis Martin, previously beaten by Clark, in December 1969. He was also seeking to prove himself after his two embarrassing and suspicious losses to Ali. The fight quickly descended into chaos. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. Cassius Clay was just 22-years-old when he beat the world champion in a seven round TKO. He was hardly leading a life of health and fitness. The suspension was honored in all states. JustinvR Brown Belt. He was 6ft 1in (1.85m), and had an exceptionally powerful physique, with a disproportionately long reach at 84 inches (2.13m). Liston decked Martin with a left hook in the fourth round and dominated most of the fight, but Martin came back and knocked Liston out cold in the ninth round. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. Unfortunately for Martin, however, his career ended after that fight due to a detached retina he suffered during the bout. [38], Patterson finally signed to meet Liston for the world title on September 25, 1962, in Comiskey Park in Chicago. Hn voitti maailmanmestaruutensa Floyd Pattersonilta vuonna 1962 ja puolusti sit kerran uusintaottelussa. dan.liston@colorado.edu. ", Hutchison, Phillip J. [64] Strict interpretation of the knockdown/count rule states it is the referee's count and not the timekeeper's that is the official count. This was Liston's second arrest by Fairmount Park police. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band He is seen in the far left of the first row, wearing a white and gold robe. Join Facebook to connect with Daniel 'Sonny' Liston and others you may know. Liston, one of 25 children by his father, is reputed to have been born in May 1932, yet prison records show various birth dates, among them 1928. His defense was described as Liston knocked out Hermann Schreibauer of West Germany at 2:16 of the first round. Mark Knopfler's tribute to Liston, "Song for Sonny Liston", appeared on his 2004 album Shangri-La. He was not the tear-shedding type.. He particularly resented a 1961 arrest by a black patrolman for loitering, claiming to have merely been signing autographs and chatting with fans outside a drugstore. [88] On returning home from a two-week trip, Geraldine had smelled a foul odor emanating from the main bedroom and on entering saw him slumped up against the bed, a broken foot bench on the floor. Charles 'Sonny' Liston was one of the most feared and even hated men in the US His talent for boxing was discovered while he was in prison for armed robbery Once out, he turned pro but his. Rogin discounted speculation that Patterson had thrown the fight, writing: "The genesis of all this wide-eyed theorizing and downright baloney was the fact that many spectators failed to see the knockout blows. Sports Illustrated predicted a Patterson victory in 15 rounds, stating: "Sonny has neither Floyd's speed nor the versatility of his attack. Although in the second fight, Liston appears to have taken a dive Again with the mob stuff. For confetti we can use torn-up arrest warrants." And in 1961 . And yet, outside of boxing, L ", Chuck Wepner on Liston's intimidating appearance. But the year of Sonny's birth, like the circumstances of his death, remain a mystery. In the 2015 British crime film Legend, Liston is played by Mark Theodore in a scene where gangster Reggie Kray poses for a picture with the boxer. Sonny Liston stands over Albert Westphal in first round of bout in Philadelphia, Dec. 4, 1961. [8] Convicted and sentenced to five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary, Liston started his prison time on June 1, 1950. Birth 1935 - County Limerick, Ireland. "[54] Hall of Fame matchmaker Teddy Brenner also disputed the shoulder injury, claiming he saw Liston use the same arm to throw a chair in his dressing room after the match. "He was afraid of needles," echoed Father Edward Murphy. Now you know who he is Heres how he died. Police determined he died from a. "[98], Some claim Liston was murdered. Because of the shirt he wore during robberies, the St. Louis police called Liston the "Yellow Shirt Bandit." He served brief prison terms and on one occasion was introduced to boxing by a prison chaplain. Curriculum Vitae. "[59], Liston is ranked second in the ESPN.com list of "The Hardest Hitters in Heavyweight History. [19], On June 23, 1953, a team consisting of ten recent St. Louis Golden Gloves champions of all weight classes, with Liston on top as the heavyweight, was gathered to represent the United States in an International Golden Gloves (USA vs. West Europe) competition at Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Wepner needed 72 stitches and suffered a broken cheekbone and nose And the ref needed a new shirt. In 1950, Sonny Liston was arrested six times for muggings, one . I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' [29] Machen's taunting and his spoiling tactics of dodging and grapplingat one point almost heaving Liston over the ropesso alienated the audience that Liston received unaccustomed support from the crowd. Sonny Liston existed, and, Ali bouts or no Ali bouts, he was one of the greatest fighters to ever lace on a glove. The former heavyweight champion is perhaps best known for being laid out on the canvas by Muhammad Ali in one of the sports most iconic bouts. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c. 1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St. Francis County, Arkansas. McDonough, however, claimed Walcott was looking at the crowd and never at him. Tobe and Helen had 12 children together; Sonny was the second youngest child. Painting by Damien Burton. (4) Liston was supposed to take a dive when he fought Chuck Wepner six months earlier, and killing him was payback for his failure to do so. I forgot about the rules." In the sixth round, he carried it at belt level so that it was of no help in warding off the right crosses with which Clay probed at the cut under his left eye." Sonny Liston fought for only $10,000 during his career. ", Still, some found it hard to believe that the punch could have floored a man like Liston. Listons body was discovered by his wife who was returning home from a two-week trip. Several reports say Liston had fresh needle marks on his arms when he died. "That really broke Sonny's heart," said Simon George, who wrote and directed Showtime's "Pariah: The Lives and Deaths of Sonny Liston." Muhammad Ali Signed 16x20 Sonny Liston Photo Framed MINT Autograph Steiner COA. Rogin called Liston's physique "awesomearms like fence posts, thighs like silos." Banker said, "Sheriff [Ralph] Lamb told me, 'Tell your pal Sonny to stay away from the West Side because we're going to bust the drug dealers.'" Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." Gary Beckwith said, "It wasn't uncommon for family members in these cases to go through and tidy up to save family embarrassment. The rematch between . "He told me in the strictest confidence, but it was like he wanted to get it off his chest." 780 46K views 8 years ago Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston's son visits his gravesite. For those too young to remember, Sonny The Big Bear Liston was a legendary heavyweight boxer. It burned like hell. A stoic Liston finished the fight, but lost in an eight-round split decision. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard that he couldn't have gotten up. [87], Liston was found dead by his wife, Geraldine, in their Las Vegas home on January 5, 1971. A grateful Liston found there was no need to give chase. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. (, Shaun Assael. The Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. Charles "Sonny" Liston was born c.1930 into a sharecropping family that farmed the poor land of Morledge Plantation near Johnson Township, St.Francis County, Arkansas. Twenty-two-year-old Clay achieved. Convention Center, Winchester, Nevada, U.S. Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Municipal Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Midwest Gymnasium, Chicago, Illinois, U.S. Pittsburgh Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. New Masonic Temple, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. Motor City Arena, Detroit, Michigan, U.S. Sources vary on his reach, with some listing it as 80in, Reputations: Sonny Liston: The Champion Nobody Wanted (2001), 50 min, BBC Documentary, Mailer: A Biography By Mary V. Dearborn, page 186. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston ( 8. toukokuuta 1932 Arkansas (syntymaika ja tarkka paikka kiistanalaisia) - 30. joulukuuta 1970 Las Vegas, Nevada) oli yhdysvaltalainen raskaansarjan nyrkkeilij ja painoluokkansa maailmanmestari. [108] The book suggests that Sonny Liston may have been murdered and a possibility that the crime was never investigated. On September 7, 1954, Liston suffered defeat for the first time in his eighth professional fight, losing to Marty Marshall, a journeyman with an awkward style. "He said, 'Cut the gloves off. [31] While Liston began working into shape with hopes for a heavyweight title shot, he also continued his criminal behavior. "I didn't know what the heck was going on", Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. Liston won his final fight, a tough but one-sided match against future world title challenger Chuck Wepner in June 1970. He was paroled after serving six months of a nine-month sentence, and was not prohibited from boxing during 1957. Two more arrestsfor disorderly conduct and resisting arrest and another for impersonating a copled to Liston being suspended by the Pennsylvania Athletic Commission on July 14, 1961. Stuttgarter Amtsblatt No. Liston also appears in the sequel, Blood's a Rover. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. [59], Liston trained hard for the rematch, which was scheduled to take place November 13, 1964, in Boston. This was his first visit. He also had a reputation for bullying people such as porters and waitresses. (12) 7.3 1 h 29 min 2019 18+. In his next fight, he had a rematch with Summerlin and again won an eight-round decision. He found a quarter-ounce of heroin in a balloon in the kitchen, and a half-ounce of marijuana in Liston's pants pocket, but no syringes or needles. That was in Liston's eight fight, in Detroit, and Marshall went on to capture the 10-round decision. From the opening bell Liston attempted to close with Clay, looking to land a hard punch to the head to end the fight quickly and decisively. 249 UCB. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. Liston's wife also recalled that her husband would refuse basic medical care for common colds because of his dislike of needles. I wasn't hit. The heavyweight champion's mysterious death is covered in tonight's all-new episode of. [55], There is ample evidence that Liston did carry an injury to his left shoulder into the fight. Heavyweight champion Charles "Sonny" Liston, winner of 35 of his 36 professional bouts and one of the most intimidating athletes in any sport, was facing a lightly regarded 22-year-old from. [7] Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. As Liston pursued his target Clay retreated, using his foot speed to slip away into open space in the ring, largely circling to the left and away from the threat of a Liston left hook. In the novel, Liston not only drinks but also pops pills and works as a sometime enforcer for a heroin ring in Las Vegas. [47] Sitting on his stool between rounds, however, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. He also took his gun. Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, 1965 Source: AFP. (2) Liston was murdered by drug dealers with whom he'd become involved. Larry Merchant, then a writer with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote: "A celebration for Philadelphia's first heavyweight champ is now in order. [11][12][10][13][14] One writer concluded that Liston's most plausible date of birth was July 22, 1930, citing census records and statements from his mother during her lifetime. Last thing I will say about a heavyweight champ who was an ex-con and a leg-breaker for the mob He was deathly afraid of needles. Asked by a young white reporter why he was not fighting for freedom in the South, Liston deadpanned, "I ain't got no dog-proof ass. And I said, 'Whoa, whoa, back up, baby. The grave's marker-plate bears the dedication: "A Man. [17] The athletic director at Missouri State Penitentiary, Rev. He said they found Liston lying on his bed with a needle sticking out of his arm. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former world heavyweight champion, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Eddie's brother, Joe, is Sonny's cut man and his trainers, Willie Reddish and Johnny Tocco, round out his entourage. CU Experts. In The Greatest, the 1977 film about the life of boxer Muhammad Ali in which Ali played himself, Liston was portrayed by Roger E. Mosley. Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was born in St. Francis County, Arkansas, to Tobe Liston and Helen Baskin. Former champions Jim Braddock (Cinderella Man), Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano, and Ingemar Johansson all picked Patterson to win. Tocco said that the living room furniture was in disarray, but the house did not yet smell of death. 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Back up, baby proved very difficult to hit 1:00 into the fight, in Las Pan..., remain a mystery and hit him with hooks and uppercuts when Frazier tried to get.. Porters and waitresses, Arkansas, U.S. on may 8, 1932 to his left into... Tribute to Liston, 1965 Source: AFP ranked second in the third round, Clay began take! An adult of Fame in 1991 a broken cheekbone and nose and the ca... A strangulated hernia Frazier tried to get it off his chest. International boxing Hall of Fame,,! Caught in January 1950, Sonny Liston fought for only $ 10,000 during his career ended after that due. Age as 20, while the St. Louis police called Liston the `` Yellow Bandit...