Reader Ad Slot
Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
Charles Sonny Liston — Part 3
Page 4
4 / 28
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
Community corrections
No user corrections yet.
Comments
No comments on this document yet.
Bottom Reader Ad Slot
Bottom Reader Ad Slot placeholder
If you would like to support SpookStack without paying out of pocket, please consider allowing advertising cookies. It helps cover hosting costs and keeps the archive free to browse. You can change this choice at any time.
Continue Exploring
Agency Collection
Explore This Archive Cluster
Broad Topic Hub
Topic Hub
letter
bureau
Related subtopics
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic
Subtopic