Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston and the 'Phantom Punch' Title Bout, 1965 SHARE Photos from the legendary fight when Muhammad Ali floored Sonny Liston with a punch so amazingly quick that, years later, many who were there swear that they never saw it thrown at all. When Muhammad Ali floored Sonny Liston in their title-bout rematch in Lewiston, Maine, on May 25, 1965, a legend was born. Or, perhaps more accurately, a legendary boxing controversy was born. Ali (the former Cassius Clay, who had taken his now-famous Muslim name after defeating Liston in their first title bout in 1964) knocked Liston out with a first-round right hand to the head that, all these years later, is still known as the “phantom punch.” After all, an awful lot of people who were at the fight that night never saw, or later claimed that they never saw, the punch that floored Liston. Others, including Sports Illustrated‘s Tex Maule, were adamant that the punch was hardly a phantom, but instead was a perfectly timed blow that legitimately rocked the former champ.

In the years after the fight, various theories have been floated in order to explain what some fight fans simply can’t or don’t want to accept — namely, that Ali beat Liston, period. But Liston was in debt to the Mafia and threw the fight to pay it off, some say. Or: Liston was frightened that Black Muslim extremists, gunning for Ali (who had had a falling out with Malcolm X before the latter’s assassination in February 1965) might kill him by mistake. All very fascinating and even, in a sordid way, kind of romantic. But sportswriters like Maule, Lou Eisen and others are just as sure that the one punch in question was more than enough to rattle the older, out-of-shape and, frankly, undisciplined Liston. In his cover story in the June 7, 1965, issue of SI, for example, Maule wrote that “the knockout punch itself was thrown with the amazing speed that differentiates Clay [as he was still called then by most in the media] from any other heavyweight.

He leaned away from one of Liston’s ponderous, pawing left jabs, planted his left foot solidly and whipped his right hand over Liston’s left arm and into the side of Liston’s jaw. The blow had so much force it lifted Liston’s left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas.” “He knocked out big Sonny Liston,” the magazine asserted elsewhere in the same issue, “with a punch so marvelously fast that almost no one believed in it — but it was hard and true.” Maule also noted that “about 30 seconds before the end, [Ali] hit Liston with another strong right that may have started Sonny’s downfall.” A picture of that earlier punch (the fourth slide in this gallery) was the cover photo for the June 7 issue of Sports Illustrated. George Silk took that photo; the rest of the pictures in this gallery — none of which ever ran in LIFE — are by Silk’s colleague, John Dominis. In fact, in Silk’s picture, Dominis (wearing a dark blue shirt) can be seen resting his own camera on the canvas, just to the right of the ring post.

Phantom Punch (2008) - IMDb IMDb There was an error trying to load your rating for this title. Some parts of this page won't work property. Please reload or try later. X Beta I'm Watching This! Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. Error The fascinating life story of Sonny Liston, the controversial heavyweight boxing champion of the world. Director: From $1.99 (SD) on Amazon Video ON DISC a list of 50 titles created 02 Feb 2012 a list of 1554 titles created 06 May 2012 a list of 1365 titles created 31 Jan 2013 a list of 39 titles created 01 Mar 2015 a list of 42 titles created 6 months ago Search for " Phantom Punch " on Amazon.com Connect with IMDb Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? Use the HTML below. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. While filming an advertisement, some extreme sports enthusiasts unwittingly stop a group of terrorists. Director: Christian Duguay A high school basketball coach tries to turn his team around.

Directors: Robert Townsend, Elijah Nathaniel Wells Stars: Salli Richardson-Whitfield, Jenifer Lewis, Esai Morales In order to inherit his fed up father's hotel empire, an immature and lazy man must repeat grades 1-12 all over again. Director: Tamra Davis Edit Storyline The story of World heavyweight champion boxer Charles L. "Sonny" Liston, who was knocked down 2 minutes into a championship fight by a seemingly harmless right hook from Muhammad Ali. It would forever be known as the "Phantom Punch". Liston later died under mysterious circumstances. Written by Anonymous "Before Tyson, there was Liston". Genres: Motion Picture Rating ( MPAA ) Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content and some violence involving a sexual assault | See all certifications » Parents Guide: September 2008 (USA) See more » Also Known As: El gancho fantasma See more » Filming Locations: Did You Know? Trivia The film was first titled 'Finding Sonny' and full production of the entire movie was to take place in Canton, Ohio.

See more » Soundtracks (United States) – See all my reviews Robert Townsend said in reports that he wanted to show the true Sonny Liston and he said, "History hasn't been kind to Sonny Liston." He goes and he makes Liston's death look like a suicide instead of a murder? He shows Liston just plain quitting on the stool in his first fight with Ali? He shows Liston trying to blind Ali in the first fight? He shows Liston throwing the Ali rematch for no apparent reason? Townsend is an idiot. This movie is so bad it makes Meteor Man look like a masterpiece. I was unfortunate enough to see this movie and now I know why it was never released. It is a piece of garbage. This is one of the worst movies I've ever scene. Not only is it a terrible boxing movie, but it's an awful biopic. I was really shocked at how bad this movie was. I couldn't wait for a movie about Sonny Liston and this is what I got? This movie hasn't been released to theaters and it never will be. If Townsend is lucky, maybe the movie will get released straight to DVD or maybe they will put it on TV.

But I don't see this doing well wherever it goes. Meteor Man failed to mention in his movie that Liston was the favorite in his fights with Ali. In the first fight, Liston was a 7-1 favorite. It would make all the sense in the world for him to take a dive for the mob. I read accounts that Liston said he was "only following orders" when he quit on the stool. Another stupid part of the scene that had me shaking my head was the part when Townsend shows them putting a foreign substance on his glove to blind Ali. First of all, Liston did not need to cheat. Liston was a great fighter. He was one of the toughest fighters in history and he wasn't afraid of anyone. This is a man that knocked out the great Floyd Patterson in 2 minutes. Then it only took him 5 seconds more in the rematch. He slugged it out in 2 wars with Cleveland Williams. He fought a whole fight with a broken jaw and only lost a split decision to Marty Marshall. Second of all, why would Liston try to cheat in a fight that he was going to throw?

There's no doubt something got in Ali's eyes during the fight, but to say Liston put it there is ridiculous and there is no proof. In the end of the fight Townsend tries to make you believe Liston just quit like a spineless bum. I know some people would love to believe Ali was this mighty man that overcame Sonny Liston, but let's get real. That's not the way it was. The movie gets to the big moment, the infamous "phantom punch." The scene is so uneventfully done in the movie it's pathetic. Townsend never even tells you why Liston took a dive in the rematch. He just goes down for no apparent reason. Townsend had the nerve to keep the mob out of that fight too. That fight was fixed. It looked like even more of a sham than the first fight. This movie failed to show Sonny Liston's hard upbringing. It also failed to show that he really wasn't a bad guy and that he loved children and even tried to help people that were less fortunate. One of the biggest slaps in the face to Liston is how they handle his death in the movie. Instead of showing Liston getting murdered they make it look like a suicide.

I was completely outraged. I didn't think Townsend could be that dumb. In the movie they make it look like Liston was depressed over his girlfriend on the side leaving him, so he does heroine one night. The guy was deathly afraid of needles. He never did drugs in his life. Sonny Liston was M-U-R-D-E-R-E-D. You want the real scoop on Liston, get the book The Devil and Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. Nick Tosches did what Townsend lied about saying he was going to do. Townsend made Liston look like a no good bum, but that wasn't the real Liston. Townsend should be ashamed of himself. Check out the Tosches book. Avoid this horribly written and directed movie at all costs. I do not recommend buying it or renting it. It's not even worth watching on TV. I don't think Townsend was taking his job seriously when he made this movie. By the looks of it, it's like he was just fooling around. If you were wondering why this movie was never released, you have your answer. The mystery has been solved. 32 of 45 people found this review helpful. Was this review helpful to you?

Yes On This Day: The tale of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and the phantom punch - Boxing News Boxing News May 25, 2016 Matt Christie On This Day: The tale of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and the phantom punch Matt Christie tells the story of Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, a historic boxing rematch that was an utter shambles from beginning to end On This Day: The tale of Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and the phantom punch Matt Christie tells the story of Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston, a historic boxing rematch that was an utter shambles from beginning to end Read more articles by Don’t miss any action. Sign up for the free BN newsletter(s) here DESPITE hammering Sonny Liston so emphatically the public were not convinced by Cassius Clay. Particularly after the young braggart then changed his name to Muhammad Ali to conform with his evolving religious beliefs. The rematch with Liston was originally set for November 1964 but Ali had to undergo emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia, forcing a postponement three days before the opening bell was due to sound. This sequel was never destined to run smoothly.

The bout was re-scheduled for Boston, but less than three weeks before fight night, the city’s district attorney told the fighters to look elsewhere because the promoters were not licensed in Massachusetts. A youth centre in the creaking industrial city of Lewiston, Maine, somehow got the gig. Extra police were called to oversee the May 25 1965 bout when rumours persisted that extreme supporters of Malcolm X, who had been assassinated three months previously, intended to kill Ali while he was in the ring. As a consequence of the escalating chaos, just 2,434 attended (of which 1,510 were complimentary tickets) making it the smallest ever audience for a heavyweight title fight. Some were amused, others disgusted, when Canadian singer Robert Goulet forgot the words to the national anthem. The challenger, hoping to become only the second man in history to regain the crown, pointed towards Ali beforehand and said, “This time I am going to knock you out.” Oddsmakers again sided with the slugger, declaring him a 6-to-5 favourite to restore his pride. Novice in charge Former world heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott , a former heavyweight champion of great standing, was handed the job as referee.

The decision to appoint such an inexperienced official was destined for infamy. But for the first 90 seconds, as everything ran smoothly, Walcott had nothing to do. And then Liston made a play. He stepped in with a delicate jab. Ali responded with a short chopping right that briefly nestled, rather innocuously, on Liston’s head. The challenger fell to the floor, initially on all fours, before rolling on his back. He made no attempt to rise, despite Ali standing over him and screaming at him to do so. Walcott tried to get the irate champion to a neutral corner, and as a result, failed to pick up timekeeper Francis McDonough’s count. By the time he was alerted to the fact that Liston had been on the canvas for more than 10 seconds, the heavyweights were behind him, exchanging blows. Walcott ran back, separated the fighters, and raised Ali’s hand. Even the announcement of the result was bodged. Although the crowd were told the official time was one-minute, it actually lasted two minutes and 12 seconds. The paltry crowd booed. Bewilderment ruled. The fix is in Cries of ‘fix’ could be heard throughout the arena.

Without doubt, it was a suspicious finish. Timekeeper McDonough, blamed Ali for the confusion. “If that bum Clay had gone to neutral corner instead of running around like a maniac all the trouble would have been avoided,” he said after claiming that Walcott did not look at him once when Liston was on the floor. But McDonough made little effort to make his count heard, failing to bang the canvas or motion a count with his fingers. Walcott, who was clearly ill-equipped for the job, pledged his innocence. “I did my job,” Jersey Joe said. “He [Ali] looked like a man in a different world. I didn’t know what he might do. I thought he might stomp him or pick him up and belt him again.” The loser was also happy to deflect any responsibility for the farcical encounter. “It wasn’t that hard a punch, but it partially caught me off-balance and when I got knocked down, I got mixed up because the referee never gave me a count,” Liston explained to The New York Times. “I was listening for a count.

That’s the first thing you do, but I never heard a count because Clay never went to a neutral corner.” The phantom punch Debate raged about the punch that ended matters. Canadian heavyweight George Chuvalo, an absurdly durable contender whose chin could withstand a speeding train, was ringside and claimed Liston threw the fight. “His eyes were darting from side-to-side,” he said. “When a fighter is hurt his eyes roll up.” However, Dr. Carroll L. Witten, former Kentucky State Boxing Commissioner, responded: “Chuvalo is wrong. The side-to-side movement of eyes is commonly associated with temporary unconsciousness and is one of the first things you look for. It is called nystagmus.” World light-heavyweight champion Jose Torres also validated the finishing blow, calling it a “perfect punch” and Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated wrote, “The blow had so much force it lifted Liston’s left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas.” But only a few were convinced. Commentator Don Dunphy said: “If that was a punch, I’ll eat it,” he said.

“Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards use to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn’t knock him down.” In 1967, three years before his equally mysterious death, Liston allegedly told Sports Illustrated journalist Mark Kram that he took a dive over fears he might get shot by a bullet aimed for Ali. The only thing that’s certain, all these years later, is that the conundrum of the phantom punch will never be solved. Muhammad Ali’s phantom punch has us scratching our heads 50 years on | Richard Williams | Sport | The Guardian Muhammad Ali’s phantom punch has us scratching our heads 50 years on Richard Williams Few people, even those at ringside, saw the fighter’s legendary punch that knocked out Sonny Liston on May 25, 1965, but it changed boxing history in what was a momentous year of horrors mingled with wonders Sonny Liston is out for the count after being knocked out after 104 seconds by Muhammad Ali in Lewiston, Maine on May 25, 1965.

Photograph: Agence France Presse/Getty Images Friday 22 May 2015 17.00 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 20 September 2016 10.44 EDT Share on Messenger Close If you happened to be a young person in 1965 it was hard to know where to look next as the frivolity of sport and song jostled with events profound enough to reshape the world. The year had barely begun when Malcolm X was assassinated while preparing to address a meeting in New York. The Beatles picked up their MBEs and played Shea Stadium. Lyndon Johnson sent the first ground troops to Vietnam. PJ Proby’s velvet trousers split on stage in Croydon. The Kray brothers were remanded and the Moors murderers charged. Liverpool won the FA Cup for the first time and Stanley Matthews played his last match, aged 50. More? Three Rolling Stones were fined a fiver each for urinating in a petrol station forecourt in Essex on the way home from a show. India and Pakistan went to war over Kashmir while mods and rockers fought on the beach in Brighton. Jim Clark became the first non-American driver to win the Indy 500.

David Bailey married Catherine Deneuve. Incitement to racial hatred was banned in the UK. The model Jean Shrimpton scandalised Australian society by turning up for the Melbourne Cup in a dress with a hem three inches above the knee. Bob Dylan went electric and the year’s endless parade of hits included Like a Rolling Stone, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Stop! In the Name of Love, My Generation, Help, In the Midnight Hour, California Girls, I Got You Babe, Mr Tambourine Man, The Tracks of My Tears and You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feelin’. And 50 years ago this Monday, in the midst of that social, political and cultural maelstrom, the former Cassius Clay, fighting for the first time as Muhammad Ali , took one minute and 44 seconds to demolish Sonny Liston’s attempt to recapture his world heavyweight title. On the night of 25 May, 1965 in Lewiston, Maine, the history of boxing and much else besides was changed by a punch that few, even those at ringside, actually saw.

The defeat effectively finished the career of Liston, who had once seemed invulnerable, and it did as much as any other single incident to create the imperishable legend of Ali. In a battle between the Nation of Islam and the mobsters, who controlled a large part of the boxing world, both sides won. Elijah Muhammad and his disciples gained the publicity that accrued from a freshly crowned world heavyweight champion making a successful first defence of the title under his new Muslim name. The mobsters took their profit on large sums of cash staked at favourable odds when Liston was sent to the canvas by what appeared to be an innocuous right-hander. Endless replays of the minimal available footage have failed to solve the mystery of what became known as “the phantom punch”. Whatever it was, it caused Liston – who had come into the ring looking like his usual 215lb package of muscle and malign intentions – to fall on his back, roll over on to his front, try to rise, fail, then try again and briefly succeed before the confused referee, the former champion Jersey Joe Walcott, belatedly indicated, after consulting the timekeeper, that the challenger had not made the count of 10.

In Liston’s earlier years he had scared people and broken a few heads on behalf of John Vitale, a St Louis mob boss to whom he also acted as a chauffeur. During his rise towards international fame he was managed by Frank “Blinky” Palermo, a Philadelphia-based associate of the notorious Frankie Carbo, who – among other distinctions – had organised the murder of Bugsy Siegel in 1947. The pair were later convicted of conspiracy and extortion in connection with their boxing activities and Palermo served seven years of a 25-year prison sentence before dying, aged 91, in 1996. He left behind a celebrated quote: “The trouble with boxing today is that legitimate businessmen are horning in on our game.” Palermo was on the outside on 25 February, 1964, when Ali, fighting for the last time as Cassius Clay, had taken Liston’s title in a Miami ring. There were rumours about the integrity of that fight, too, particularly when so much late money went on the younger man that the odds tumbled from what had seemed a realistic 5-1 to something approaching 2-1 by the time the fighters entered the ring.

The apparently undamaged champion failed to answer the bell for the start of the seventh round, claiming that his left arm had gone numb. The author Nick Tosches, in his great biography The Devil and Sonny Liston (later retitled Night Train), leaves little doubt that both fights were fixed. Not that Ali would have necessarily been a party to the arrangement. As Tosches points out, the mob’s technique was to make the deal only with the designated loser. The winner might suspect that something had been amiss, but he would never know for sure. After experiencing trouble in finding a venue for the rematch, the promoters settled on St Dominic’s Hall in out-of-the-way Lewiston. Several hundred empty seats were left after the 2,434 ticket-holders turned up, making it a record low attendance for a heavyweight title fight in the modern era. The big money would come from closed-circuit transmission to cinemas across America. The popular crooner Robert Goulet sang The Star Spangled Banner before Ali entered the ring to the sound of booing. His youthful brashness had earned disapproval from white and black alike, but this was a reaction to his decision to embrace Islam, announced the morning after the first fight.

His opponent, by contrast, was greeted with cheers: however intimidating he may have seemed, he represented a more familiar and even comforting archetype. “Sonny Liston – very popular with the folks here in Lewiston, Maine, no kidding about that,” the US commentator said, with a note of surprise in his voice. Circling the ring in a clockwise direction as he shuffled out of Liston’s reach, Ali never looked as though he were about to unleash a thunderbolt. The nature of the decisive blow merely added to the growing mystique of a boxer who seemed to have found a whole new way to fight. He defended his title eight times in the next 21 months before his opposition to the Vietnam war led him to be stripped of his title. He would win it back, having forfeited a big stretch of his prime. But to a year of mingled horrors and wonders he had added 104 seconds of action over which heads are still scratched. Muhammad Ali vs. Sonny Liston (2nd meeting) - BoxRec Muhammad Ali vs.

Sonny Liston (2nd meeting) From BoxRec Jump to: navigation , search 1965-05-25 : Sonny Liston 215¼ lbs lost to Muhammad Ali 206 lbs by KO at 2:12 in round 1 of 15 Location: Central Maine Civic Center, Lewiston, Maine, USA 4 Articles The Build-Up Shortly after Muhammad Ali—then Cassius Clay—upset Sonny Liston to win the World Heavyweight Championship on February 25, 1964, it was discovered that the two boxers had a contract which gave Inter-Continental Promotions, Inc., a firm organized to promote Liston's fights, the right to promote Ali's first fight as champion—if he should beat Liston—and pick his opponent (Liston, of course). This was in a second contract, kept secret and not part of the main fight contract. It was phrased as it was because the World Boxing Association did not allow fight contracts with rematch clauses. On August 21, 1963, the WBA voted to suspend any member state approving a contract with a return bout clause.

The regulation was inspired by the contract Liston was forced to sign to get a title shot against Floyd Patterson , whom Liston would twice knockout in one round. Delegates described it as the worst ever seen in the boxing business. Patterson was not only guaranteed a rematch, but retained the right to dictate the terms. Gordon B. Davidson, an attorney for the group sponsoring Ali, said, "We felt we would be better advised not to have a guaranteed rematch clause. We felt this was more in the spirit of the WBA rules than a direct rematch, which was clearly outlawed." He agreed that it was "subterfuge." When Ali and Liston signed to fight a rematch, the WBA voted unanimously to strip Ali of the title and drop Liston from its rankings. However, the World Boxing Council , the New York State Athletic Commission and The Ring magazine continued to recognize Ali as champion. Pressed by the WBA—which included every U.S. state except California, Nevada and New York—state boxing commissions throughout the nation were reluctant to license a rematch between the two controversial fighters, and it was difficult to find a venue.

Ultimately, Massachusetts agreed to host the bout, which resulted in the suspension of the Massachusetts Boxing Commission by the WBA. The fight was set for November 16, 1964, at the Boston Garden. Liston was immediately established as a 13-5 favorite. However, three days before the fight, Ali suffered an incarcerated inguinal hernia. He was rushed to Boston City Hospital and underwent immediate surgery. "It was such a marvelously developed stomach, I hated to slice it up," said one of the attending physicians. The fight was rescheduled for May 25, 1965. But as it approached, there were fears that the promoters were tied to organized crime, and Massachusetts officials, most notably Suffolk County District Attorney Garrett Byrne, began to have second thoughts. Byrne sought an injunction blocking the fight in Boston, claiming Inter-Continental Promotions was promoting the fight without a Massachusetts license. Inter-Continental said local veteran Sam Silverman was the promoter. On May 7, backers of the rematch ended the court battle by pulling the fight out of Boston. The promoters needed a new location quickly, whatever the size, to rescue their closed circuit television commitment around the country. Governor John H.

Reed of Maine stepped forward, and within a few hours, the promoters had a new site: Lewiston, Maine, a mill town with a population of about 41,000 located 140 miles north of Boston. Inter-Continental obtained a permit and made an arrangement to work with local promoter Sam Michael. The venue selected was St. Dominic's Hall, a junior hockey rink. Lewiston was the smallest city to host a heavyweight title bout since Jack Dempsey fought Tommy Gibbons in Shelby, Montana (population 3,000) in 1923. It remains the only heavyweight title fight held in the state of Maine. The atmosphere surrounding the fight was tense and sometimes ugly, largely due to the repercussions of Ali's public embrace of Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X, who had a public and bitter falling out with Elijah Muhammad, had been assassinated several months before the fight, and the men arrested for the slaying were members of the Nation of Islam. Rumors circulated that Ali, who had publicly snubbed Malcolm after his break with Elijah Muhammad, might be killed by Malcolm's supporters in retaliation.

The FBI took the threats seriously enough to post a 12-man, 24-hour guard around Ali. Liston's camp, in turn, claimed he had received a death threat from the Nation of Islam. The Fruit of Islam—the omnipresent, bow-tied paramilitary wing of the Nation of Islam—surrounding Ali only added to the sense of foreboding and hostility. Security for the fight was, for that time, unprecedented. Due to the remote location and the fear of violence, only 2,434 fans were present in the 4,900-seat arena, setting the all-time record for the lowest attendance for a heavyweight championship fight. The Fight The ending of the second Ali-Liston fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing history. Midway through the first round, Liston threw a left jab and Ali went over it with a fast right, knocking the former champion down. Liston went down on his back. He rolled over, got to his right knee and then fell on his back again. Many in attendance did not see Ali deliver the punch. The fight quickly descended into chaos.

Referee Jersey Joe Walcott , a former World Heavyweight Champion himself, had a hard time getting Ali to go to a neutral corner. Ali initially stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" When Walcott got back to Liston and looked at the knockdown timekeeper, Francis McDonough, to pick up the count, Liston had fallen back on the canvas. Walcott never did pick up the count. He said he could not hear McDonough, who did not have a microphone. Also, McDonough did not bang on the canvas or motion a number count with his fingers. McDonough, however, claimed Walcott was looking at the crowd and never at him. After Liston arose, Walcott wiped off his gloves. He then left the fighters to go over to the McDonough. "The timekeeper was waving both hands and saying, 'I counted him out—the fight is over,'" Walcott said after the fight.

" Nat Fleischer (editor of The Ring) was seating beside McDonough and he was waving his hands, too, saying it was over." Walcott then rushed back to the fighters, who had resumed boxing, and stopped the fight—awarding Ali a first-round knockout victory. The official time of the stoppage was announced as 1:00 into the first round, which was wrong. Liston went down at 1:44, got up at 1:56, and Walcott stopped the fight at 2:12. McDonough and Fleischer were also wrong in their interpretation of how the rules applied. Under the rules, the timekeeper is supposed to start the count at the time of a knockdown. The referee's duty is to get the boxer scoring the knockdown to a neutral corner, pick up the count from the timekeeper and continue it aloud for the knocked down boxer. Under the rules of the Maine Commission, the referee was authorized to stop his count if a boxer refused to go to the proper corner. "It might have been better if Walcott had stopped the count (by the knockdown timekeeper) until Clay went to the neutral corner and then started again," said Duncan MacDonald, a commission member.

"I did my job," Walcott said. "He (Ali) looked like a man in a different world. I didn't know what he might do. I thought he might stomp him or pick him up and belt him again." "If that bum Clay had gone to a neutral corner instead of running around like a maniac, all the trouble would have been avoided," McDonough said. He acknowledged that Walcott could have asked him to start the count again "after he got that wild man—Clay—back to a neutral corner, but he didn't, so that was that." Post-Fight Reactions When the fight ended, numerous fans booed and started yelling, "Fix!" Skeptics called the knockout blow "the phantom punch." Ali called it "the anchor punch." He said it was taught to him by comedian and film actor Stepin Fetchit, who learned it from Jack Johnson .

In the ring after the fight, Ali told closed circuit commentator Steve Ellis: "Didn't I tell the world that I had a surprise and if I told you the surprise, you would not come to the fight." However, Ali was unsure immediately after the fight as to whether or not the punch connected, as footage from the event shows Ali in the ring asking his entourage, "Did I hit him?" Ali told Nation of Islam minister Abdul Rahman that Liston "laid down" and Rahman replied, "No, you hit him." Rahman later said, "Ali hit him so fast, Ali didn't really know he hit him....and It took a long time before even he saw the punch he hit Sonny with." Years later, Ali told biographer Thomas Hauser : "The punch jarred him. It was a good punch, but I didn't think I hit him so hard he couldn't get up." "It was a good right-hand punch," Liston said after the fight. "It made me groggy.

I got to my knees but fell the second time because I was off balance....I could have got up, but I didn't hear the count." After the fight, George Chuvalo climbed through the ropes and shoved Ali, yelling, "Fix!" He was restrained, but later he said that he had seen Liston's eyes while the challenger was on the floor, and he knew that he was not in bad shape. "His eyes were darting from side to side like this," he said, darting his eyes from side to side. "When a fighter is hurt his eyes roll up." However, Dr. Carroll L. Witten, former Kentucky State Boxing Commissioner, who had studied the reactions of knocked out fighters, said, "Chuvalo is wrong. The side-to-side movement of eyes is commonly associated with temporary unconsciousness and is one of the first things you look for. It is called nystagmus." There were some at ringside who believed the fight was legitimate.

World Light Heavyweight Champion Jose Torres said, "It was a perfect punch." Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times wrote that it was "no phantom punch." And Tex Maule of Sports Illustrated wrote, "The blow had so much force it lifted Liston's left foot, upon which most of his weight was resting, well off the canvas." Hall of Fame announcer Don Dunphy was one of many who didn't believe the fight was on the level. "If that was a punch, I'll eat it," he said. "Here was a guy who was in prison and the guards use to beat him over the head with clubs and couldn't knock him down." But others contend that he wasn't the same Liston. Dave Anderson of the New York Times said Liston "looked awful" in his last workout before the fight. Liston's handlers secretly paid sparring partner Amos Lincoln an extra $100 to take it easy on him. Arthur Daley of the New York Times wrote that Liston's handlers knew he "didn't have it anymore." One ringside observer, former World Heavyweight Champion James J. Braddock , said the suspect Ali right hand merely finished up what an earlier punch had begun.

"I have a feeling that this guy (Ali) is a lot better than any of us gave him credit for," Braddock said. "It isn't the knockout punch that sticks in my mind as much as a punch he let go (earlier)....It was a right to Liston's jaw and it shook him to his shoetops. For all we know, it could have been the one that set up the knockout." Another former champion, Rocky Marciano , changed his view about the knockout punch after seeing videotape the next day. "I didn't think it was a powerful punch when I saw the fight from ringside," Marciano said. "Now (after seeing video) I think Clay, seeing the opening, snapped the punch the last six inches." Dave Anderson said he saw Liston in Las Vegas in 1967 and asked him what happened. "It wasn't that hard a punch, but it partially caught me off balance and when I got knocked down, I got mixed up because the referee never gave me a count," Liston said. "I was listening for a count.

That's the first thing you do, but I never heard a count because Clay never went to a neutral corner." Jerry Izenberg of the Newark Star-Ledger said Liston told him that he lost simply because "the timekeeper couldn't count." Mark Kram of Sports Illustrated said Liston told him: "That guy (Ali) was crazy. I didn't want anything to do with him. And the Muslims were coming up. Who needed that? So I went down. I wasn't hit." During a 1995 HBO documentary about Liston, trainer Johnny Tocco , who owned a boxing gym in Las Vegas, said he spoke with mobster John Vitale before the rematch and was told not to pay any attention to what he heard about the fight. He also told Tocco that he should be glad that he wasn't going to Lewiston. When Tocco asked why, Vitale told him that the fight was going to end in the first round. During the same documentary, former FBI agent William F. Roemer Jr.

said, "We learned that there very definitely had been a fix in that fight." He said Bernie Glickman, a boxing manager from Chicago with mob ties, claimed that while he was conversing with Liston and his wife before the fight, Liston's wife told the ex-champion that as long as he had to loss the fight, he should go down early to avoid any chance of getting hurt. In the wake of the controversial fight, there was an outcry by press and politicians for the abolition of boxing. Bills to ban the sport were planned in several state legislatures. A promoter in San Antonio apologized to his theater TV customers and, on the basis that they had been defrauded by a "shameful spectacle," donated his take to boys' clubs. The California legislature, in session, received a resolution calling for an investigation by the state attorney general to determine if its closed-circuit viewers had been fraudulently duped out of their money. For those who believe that Liston took a dive, there are a number of theories as to why, including: (1) The Mafia forced Liston to throw the fight as part of a betting coup.

(2) Liston bet against himself and took a dive because he owed money to the Mafia. (3) A couple of members of the Nation of Islam visited Liston's training camp and told Liston they would kill him if he won the rematch. (4) Author Paul Gallender claims that members of the Nation of Islam kidnapped Liston's wife, Geraldine, and his son, Bobby. Liston was told to lose the fight to Ali or he would never see his family again. (5) Liston was afraid that he would be accidentally shot by followers of Malcolm X as they tried to kill Ali in the ring. What really happened that day in Lewiston, Maine, is still debated to this day. Articles Audience Reviews for Phantom Punch ½ Sonny Liston was a guy who rarely caught a break in life, death and now in this uneven and mainly mediocre biopic. And like that life, this mediocrity is a tragedy for what it could have been, because Liston's was a more fascinating story than many of the other boxing champions about whom great movies were made.

This low quality is nothing to do with the acting especially, Ving Rhames who nails the part of Sonny, getting wellthe puzzling mix the real man had of gangster and softie. I suspect the problem lay in low budget that led to oversimplifying important passages in Liston's life. Nowhjere is this so evident as the back story of his suspicious death which is turned into mainly a simple act of jealousy. The malfeasance of the police investigation of the Bear's death is likewise compressed into a few closing minutes with flashed subtitles used instead of drama to convey what might have been going on. Likewise there is no exposition of the phantom punch" (in the rematch with Ali in 1965) which for reasons unclear the film-makers chose to use as a title. If you want a much shorter but thought-provoking experience learning about this tragic figure, have a listen to Mark Knopfler's ballad about him and save your time watching this disappointment. Norman Dale ½ A flick that never scored a big release likely due to its interesting yet overly solemn story and obscene content, Phantom Punch may please a select crowd of viewers yet lacks the appeal it was capable of.

Another biography of a somewhat forgotten celebrity from years before who should be remembered as well as anyone, the film provides a thorough look at the life of the late boxer Sonny Liston. The film arguably has a great deal to offer. Yet, by its conclusion, some may feel they have learned more information than they would have cared to, given the unsettling results. Filmed in Ontario, fans of Liston will get to know his personal life much better after an initial viewing and may even get more than they bargained for (or wished to know). Ving Rhames gives a decent performance as the legendary boxing champion and a watchable supporting cast (including Stacey Dash and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras added for good eye candy) make for an appropriate compromise for other areas in the film hard to watch (especially a rather unpleasant rape scene). Though some exciting boxing match scenes and stylish vintage atmosphere help the film in many ways, it ultimately leans to the unpleasant side of the main character a little too often and the questionable conclusion may be the dreariest part of all.

The film as a whole will likely appeal to fans of the real Sonny Liston who has also been played by Michael Bentt, Marc Coddette, Steve Harris, Michael Anthony Williams and Roger E. Mosley in other films. But to get the best coverage of his specific story, this is your best choice, folks. Apparently due to lack of popularity, the film suffered some setbacks and was not released on TV or DVD until a few years after completion. Jeffrey Leppart Surprisingly good. I was especially impressed by the performance of Ving Rhames. Its entertaining and it gives a good view of Sonny Liston's life. Bruno Lot ½ What a sordid tale of one of the most underrated and controversial heavyweight champions to ever step into the ring of boxing. Portrayed by the comedian Robert Townsend...this tale of his rise from impoverished youth to the heavyweight champion of the world was tarnished by the very connections that got him there in the first place...even to his demise there are still questions surrounding his untimely passing. See this it is full of surprises to those who can relate to what he has gone through!

Fascade Fiveoneeight Phantom Punch (DVD, 2010) | eBay Phantom Punch (DVD, 2010) Trending price is based on prices over last 90 days. Brand newLOWEST PRICE All listings for this product Any condition Compare products others also viewed THIS PRODUCT Description Description Cinematic heavyweight Ving Rhames steps into the boxing ring as controversial pugilist Sonny Liston in this sports biopic that begins as Liston realizes his talent for boxing as an inmate at a Missouri State Penitentiary, and follows his career to the moment it was effectively ended due to a devastating blow by powerful opponent Cassius Clay. Born into poverty, Liston was imprisoned as a teen for taking part in a gas station robbery, his skill for boxing uncovered by a Roman Catholic priest and helping the emerging athlete to secure an early release. Recurring bouts with racism, the mob, and the law ensured that Liston was never able to rest easy during his rise to become World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, with the notorious 'phantom punch' delivered by Clay offering a painful capper to a turbulent career. Nicholas Turturro, Bridgette Wilson-Sampras, and David Proval co-star.

Product Highlights Ali-Liston ‘phantom punch’ bout gloves likely to fetch $1M at auction | canada.com Published: January 23, 2015, 10:57 am Updated: 2 years ago A A A NEW YORK — Just months before the 50th anniversary of the heavyweight rematch between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston, boxing fans are getting a chance to own a piece of one of the most hotly debated title fights of all time. Both pairs of gloves from the May 25, 1965, bout in Lewiston, Maine — won by Ali with a first-round knockout from what some saw as a “phantom punch” — go up for auction Feb. 21 in New York. They are expected to fetch more than $1 million. Footage of the fight does not make it clear whether Ali’s quick right hand actually connected, and many fans booed. Even the most famous photos of the fight show an enraged Ali standing over Liston as he lay on the canvas, gesturing and yelling at him to get up and fight.

In this May 25, 1965 file photo, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over fallen challenger Sonny Liston, shortly after dropping Liston less than two minutes into the first round of their heavyweight title fight, in Lewiston, Maine. (AP Photo/John Rooney) Given the controversial way the bout ended, the boxers’ gloves were seized by George Russo, the boxing commissioner for Maine. The gloves remained in the Russo family until they were purchased several years ago by a California collector who is now selling them. “The fight is one of the most, if not the most, controversial happenings in sports history. It’s still not solved today,” said Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, which is handling the sale. “It’s one of those things people discuss like the 1919 Chicago Black Sox Scandal. . One of those controversial moments that is often coveted by memorabilia collectors.” There have been many theories about what exactly happened: Did Liston, an ex-con known as the Big Bear, throw the fight because he was in debt to the mob? Or did Ali actually deliver a perfectly landed punch?

The Lewiston rematch was the first bout in which Ali stepped into the ring as Muhammad Ali after converting to Islam. He was still Cassius Clay a year earlier when he won the championship from Liston in Miami. His glove from that bout sold last year at Heritage Auctions for $836,500. Chris Ivy, director of sports auctions at Heritage Auctions, holds the autographed gloves of Muhammad Ali with the gloves of Sonny Liston sitting on the table below at the auction house. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) “Ali’s social influence is unrivaled among anyone,” said Seth Ersoff, a Los Angeles producer who is selling the gloves from the Lewiston rematch. “These gloves are the turning point of it all when Cassius Clay became Muhammad Ali.” Ersoff said he had coveted owning the “phantom punch” gloves for years but could never track them down until Frank Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother, told him where he could get them and introduced him to Robert Russo, the nephew who inherited the set from his uncle. Ersoff said he never displayed them because “there’s an awesome responsibility with ownership of something like that. … I kept them well protected.

I wanted to protect the DNA inside of them.” With the upcoming golden anniversary of the bout it seemed like the right moment “to put them up and see what happens,” he said. Ideally, he would love to see a museum purchase them. Ali signed both pairs of gloves when he came to Lewiston in 1995 to celebrate the fight’s 30th anniversary. Liston died in 1970.

Question: The Phantom Punch or The Punch That Never Was cost who his title?
Answer: Sonny Liston