Summary:
Sonny Liston was born as a child of a sharecropper in Arkansas. Sonny was only one of seventeen children. When Sonny went to school, he endured frequent beatings as a child. Sonny Liston Started to work early as his fathers opinion, " if he can sit at a table, he can work." When Sonny became a teenager at the age of 13 he escaped from his father in St. Louis to reunite with his mother.
Charles Liston, also known as Sonny Liston, was born in Arkansas on May 8, 1932 Many people believe that Sonny was born in 1927.
Sonny Liston was born as a child of a sharecropper in Arkansas. Sonny was only one of seventeen children. When Sonny went to school, he endured frequent beatings as a child. Sonny Liston Started to work early as his fathers opinion, " if he can sit at a table, he can work." When Sonny became a teenager at the age of 13 he escaped from his father in St. Louis to reunite with his mother.
Sonny Liston's fierce childhood sent him on a violent path that led to prison. This created a bad reputation, but at home, he was still very benevolent and loving.
Sonny liston appeared in many interviews and his appearance made him look mean, simply a result of bashfulness. Sonny Liston got arrested for armed robbery of a gas station. In prison, this is where a catholic priest discovered his talent. Sonny's boxing talent was a ticket to get out of jail early. On Halloween night, 1952, Sonny was paroled, and during a brief amateur career that spanned for less than a year. Sonny had a strong jab and a killer right hand knockout punch. Since he had so much talent and so many fights he won many awards, including the Golden Gloves.
Sonny Liston was so good in the Amateur level, the boxing commission moved him to the big leagues. On September 2, 1953 is when Sonny Liston made his debut, knocking out Don Smith in the first round, in St. Louis, where he campaigned for the first five fights of his career. Sonny Liston received his first lost in the hands of Marty Marshall in an eight round fight. After this loss, Sonny Liston learned from his mistakes and this gave him more strength for revenge by defeating Marty Marshall in a brutal 10 round fight.
Once again Sonny got in trouble with the law. In May, Sonny Liston beat up s cop in an incident that was unclear. Many rumors and allegations said that it was coming into the public light. Sonny was forced to stay away from boxing during 1957 while serving a nine-month sentence. Sonny was then paroled after six-months in jail.
Sonny Liston was truly making a tough and hard to beat reputation in the boxing world. Sonny posted top wins over contenders such as Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdes, Zora Folley and Eddie Machen to position himself for a title fight. Sonny Liston then received the nickname " Big Bear." Sonny Liston became World Heavyweight Champion on September 25, 1962 when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in only one round.
Sonny Liston's boxing reputation was shattered when he quit on his stool between the seventh and eighth rounds against Cassius Clay, also known as Muhammad Ali. A rematch was granted to Sonny Liston and then he lost again by a " Phantom Punch," and left Sonny Liston's career tarnished.
In Sonny Listons last fight as a world ranked boxer, he stopped a young heavyweight named Chuck Wepner in 1970. Unfortunately, when Sonny retired from the ring his life remained shrouded in controversy. On December 30, 1970, Sonny Liston was found dead in his Las Vegas apartment. The apparent cause of his death was an overdose of drugs.
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