Sonny Liston Defends Title Against Floyd Patterson

On July 22, 1963, boxer Sonny Liston defended his World Heavyweight title against Floyd Patterson in a rematch from the previous year.  The fight took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

 Sonny Liston entered the first fight against Patterson as a heavy betting line favorite.  However, Sports Illustrated along with former heavyweight champions James Braddock, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and “Jersey” Joe Walcott all predicted that Floyd Patterson would come out victorious. However, Muhammad Ali predicted Liston would get a knockout in the first five rounds.

Ali was right on target as Liston used his power to dominate Patterson, knocking him out just 2:06 into the first round.

The one-sided nature of the bout was a major surprise. Patterson was expected to try to employ his speed and agility to counter Liston's size and power but in the event Patterson's tactics showed a complete lack of guile. Sports Illustrated writer Gilbert Rogin characterized the fight as "bathetic," claiming Patterson didn't punch enough, had inexplicably sought to clinch with his far heavier opponent and repeatedly made the basic error of failing to tie up both his opponent's arms in a clinch. Liston bulled Patterson around while using his free hand to batter him with body blows before shortening up and connecting with two double hooks high on the head.

It was the third-fastest knockout in a world heavyweight title fight and the first time the champion had been knocked out in round one. Rogin discounted speculation that Patterson had thrown the fight and suggested that "mental problems" had been responsible for his poor performance.

The rematch was a carbon copy of the first fight as Sonny Liston used his huge weight and reach advantage to once again knockout Patterson in the first round.  The fight lasted just four seconds longer that the first one as Patterson was counted out at 2:10 of the first round. After the victory the champion, Liston, was loudly booed.

After his victories against Patterson, Liston would go on to fight against Muhammad Ali, two times, and lost both. Fans and judges speculated that Liston took a dive during both fights, though Liston denies the claims.

Liston finished his career with a record of 50-4, with the only boxer he lost to more than once being Muhammad Ali, both times being for the World Heavyweight title.

Check out the video below of Liston and Patterson's bout:

Lennox Lewis And Evander Holyfield Draw

On March 13, 1999, a heavyweight championship match between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York.

Evander Holyfield (left) and Lennox Lewis (right) pose for a promotional photo prior to their fight at Madison Square Garden.

The match seemed to be in favor of the taller Lewis as he dominated Holyfield all around the ring for 12 rounds.

However, the match went to the cards and ended up being determined by the judges.

One judge gave the match to Lewis 116-113, one saw it as a draw, and Eugenia Williams, saw it as Holyfield being the winner. Because all three cards differed and one was a draw, the outcome was a draw.

Lennox Lewis (left) and Evander Holyfield (right) went toe-to-toe in a 12 round fight at Madison Square Garden in 1999.

There was an incredible amount of outrage from the decision, with many questioning if the fight had been fixed. Williams, the long judge to have Holyfield as the winner, received an enormous amount of criticism.

Williams mentioned that the photographers were blocking her view and that she couldn’t see the fight properly.

Williams testified in court and admitted she had made a mistake, saying, “I couldn’t judge what I couldn’t see. I couldn’t go to the other side, and I even hit my head on a camera when I tired to get closer.”

Eight months later Lewis and Holyfield planned a rematch to face one another, one where Lewis prevailed as the undisputed winner of this match.

Ali Steps In Ring For Last Time

On Dec. 11, 1981, Muhammad Ali's fights in his 61^st career fight, losing to Trevor Berbick. It would be his last fight in his professional career.

At the ripe age of 18 Cassius Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, earned a Gold for the United States in the 1960 Rome Olympics in the Light Heavyweight class.

At the age of 22, Ali won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston.

Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975.

In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War.

Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.

Nicknamed "The Greatest," Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.

Notable among these were three with rival Joe Frazier, which are considered among the greatest in boxing history, and one with George Foreman, where he finally regained his stripped titles seven years later. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", and employing techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope.

Ali brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports and through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he became the most famous athlete in the world.

He was also known for his pre-match hype, where he would "trash talk" opponents, often with rhymes.

In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.

Ali finished his career with 61 fights, winning 56 times, 37 by knock out, with only five losses. His fastest win came via knockout when he was just 19 years old. On Feb. 7, 1961, then Clay beat Jim Robinson in the first round just 1:34 into the fight.

Ali Wins First Fight

On Oct. 29, 1960, Muhammad Ali also known as Cassius Clay makes his first professional fight. In that fight Ali would beat Tunney Hunsaker in six rounds.

At the ripe age of 18 Cassius Clay, now known as Muhammad Ali, earned a Gold for the United States in the 1960 Rome Olympics in the Light Heavyweight class.

At the age of 22, Ali won the world heavyweight championship from Sonny Liston. 

Ali changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali after joining the Nation of Islam in 1964, subsequently converting to Sunni Islam in 1975.

In 1967, three years after Ali had won the heavyweight championship, he was publicly vilified for his refusal to be conscripted into the U.S. military, based on his religious beliefs and opposition to the Vietnam War. 

Ali would go on to become the first and only three-time lineal World Heavyweight Champion.

Nicknamed "The Greatest," Ali was involved in several historic boxing matches.

Notable among these were three with rival Joe Frazier, which are considered among the greatest in boxing history, and one with George Foreman, where he finally regained his stripped titles seven years later. Ali was well known for his unorthodox fighting style, epitomized by his catchphrase "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee", and employing techniques such as the Ali Shuffle and the rope-a-dope.

Ali brought beauty and grace to the most uncompromising of sports and through the wonderful excesses of skill and character, he became the most famous athlete in the world.

He was also known for his pre-match hype, where he would "trash talk" opponents, often with rhymes.

In 1999, Ali was crowned "Sportsman of the Century" by Sports Illustrated and "Sports Personality of the Century" by the BBC.

Ali finished his career with 61 fights, winning 56 times, 37 by knock out, with only five losses. His fastest win came via knockout when he was just 19 years old. On Feb. 7, 1961, then Clay beat Jim Robinson in the first round just 1:34 into the fight.

Muhammad Ali lighted the one hundredth anniversary Olympic torch in a very emotional moment in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia. Ali was also given a replacement gold medal for his boxing victory at the 1960 Summer Olympics. Ali had supposedly thrown his previous gold medal into the Ohio River after being refused entry into a restaurant.