caption ko death_date death_place draws birth_place nationality article_title total birth_date nickname realname home image losses name wins style
liston in 1963 39 30 december 1970 las vegas , nevada 0 sand slough , arkansas , usa united states sonny liston
 54 unknown sonny charles l. liston st. louis , missouri charles sonny liston.jpg 4 sonny liston 50 orthodox
sonny liston

charles l. `` sonny '' liston -lrb- unknown -- december 30 , 1970 -rrb- was an american professional boxer known for his toughness , dangerous punching power and intimidating appearance .
after a long period as the top contender , he became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out floyd patterson in the first round , repeating the crushing victory in a defence of the title .
although widely regarded as unbeatable , liston lost the title in 1964 to 7-1 underdog muhammad ali -lrb- then fighting under his birth name of cassius clay -rrb- .
controversy followed with claims he had been drinking heavily the night before the fight .
in the rematch liston suffered a shocking first round knock-out that led to unresolved suspicions of a fix .
he was still a world-ranked boxer when he died suddenly .
underworld connections -- along with his unrecorded date of birth -- added to the enigma .
`` the ring '' magazine ranked liston as the 7th greatest heavyweight of all time .
