Sonny Liston, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetSonny Liston
American boxer
Date of Birth: 08-May-1932
Place of Birth: St. Francis County, Arkansas, United States
Date of Death: 30-Dec-1970
Profession: bouncer, boxer
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Taurus 
About Sonny Liston
- Charles L.
- "Sonny" Liston (c.
- 1930 – c.
- December 30, 1970) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970.
- 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.
- Liston was particularly known for his toughness, formidable punching power, long reach, and intimidating appearance. Although Liston was widely regarded as unbeatable, he lost the title in 1964 to Muhammad Ali, who entered as a 7–1 underdog.
- Controversy followed with claims that Liston had been drinking heavily the night before the fight.
- In his 1965 rematch with Ali, Liston suffered an unexpected first-round knockout that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix.
- He was still a world-ranked boxer when he died under mysterious circumstances in 1970.
- Underworld connections and his unrecorded dates of birth and death added to the enigma. The Ring magazine ranks Liston as the tenth greatest heavyweight of all time, while boxing writer Herb Goldman ranked him second and Richard O'Brien, Senior Editor of Sports Illustrated, placed him third.
- Alfie Potts Harmer in The Sportster ranked him the sixth greatest ever boxer at any weight.
- In his book, The Gods of War, Springs Toledo argued that Liston, when at his peak in the late 1950s and early 1960s, could be favored to beat just about every heavyweight champion in the modern era with the possible exception of Muhammad Ali.
- This view is shared by boxing writer Frank Lotierzo who ranks Liston as one of the top 5 heavyweights of all time and possibly the best ever.
- Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
Read more at Wikipedia