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Charles Sonny Liston — Part 3

28 pages · May 09, 2026 · Document date: Feb 25, 1964 · Broad topic: General · Topic: Charles Sonny Liston · 25 pages OCR'd
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wonatsd wListanteft St. Francis Hospital early today with his injured wing in a sling and was in seclusion later at 6351 Pine Tree Dr., Miami Beach, where handlers said he was sleeping. Doctors said his injury was not of a permanent nature. Clay ruled as the new champion in an ’ incredible upset because of one punch — and be didn’t even throw it. Sonny Liston, the supposedly unconquerable “killer,” threw the punch and when it missed the follow-through, twisted a tendon in his massive left shoulder, = / That was the diagnosis of eight doctors who went over the 7-1 favorite with X-rays and other devices for more than three hours last night and early today ai Si. Francis Hospital. The sudden ending when Liston failed to answer the seventh, round bell — catapulting Clay into the title — left the crowd of, arm was killing me.” f 6,297 stunned. Clay, 22, may have his laurels on ice for a long’ | time because the contract had no return clause and the gabbing - champ may go into the Army soon for as Jong as two years. A group who paid $50,000 for the right to promote Clefy's ext fight said, however, Liston is ‘‘obviously the No. 1 cljal- ‘Jenger” and Clay said that Sonny “can have a return fght he wants it.” . The crowd barely half-filled the 16,000-capacity of Miami Beach Convention Hall and cost Promoter Bill MacDonald a cool $400,- 000. The “live gate’’ was $402,000 of which Liston took $367,000 when his purse was released after the doctor’s report. Mac- Donald had said it would take twice that to get him even. The fight was expected to gross close to $4 million, hew- ever, in TV and other income to top all previous records. When Liston didn’t get up for the seventh round, Clay began ‘a dance in his corner and the crowd thought he had finally flip- - ped. But when Referee Barney Felix held Clay’s hands high it began to dawn on the audience and muttering — but no cheers or wild screams — swept the hall. | The announcement five minutes later that Liston Had “thrown his shoulder out’ still fell on unbelieving ears. At’ St. Francis Hospital, a tense crowd of fight officials and close followers of the fighters awaited Liston’s arrival and examination. The Miami Berth Boning Commission ordered bis withheld until the repprt wal ‘al made. After hours of waiting, Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physi- cian for the commission, Treport- ed that the injury to Liston's shoulder “would be sufficient to incapacitate him and prevent him from defending himself." Tha 30-year-old fallen cham- pion “suffered the injury to the ltng head of the biceps tefdon oll the left shoulder with the! re- st there is separation and jear muscle fibers with sime rae reese of the muscle bel- e statement said. Liston, also wearing two pieces of tape under his left eye where Clay opened a cut in the second round, said he injured himself late in the first round. ~ “'T tried to throw a left hook,” he said in a voice almost in- audible. “It missed, I felt some- thing snap. “I just couldn't throw a punch » . not the jab anyway. My if ‘| u He did not appear in too wmuch discomfort with his arm ‘down when he arrived at the hospital or when he left with it in a sling. A cast was not necessary. Both camps loudly disclaimed any suggestion of a rigged match. “Put a Bible before me and Tl swear it was on the level,” said Jack Nilon, Liston’s man- ager. “This is no fix,’ screamed Clay. “I am the greatest, He didn’t touch me. I closed both his eyes.” Former heavyweight champi- on Joe Louis commented iter the fourth round that Clay| “is surprising the whole world
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