The Fight That Shook Up the World! Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay, Jr.
Newspaper Clipping, c. January 1964
Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay, Jr.) pretends to lunge for Sonny Liston at a press conference. The caption reads: "Clay 'Attack' Amuses Liston No Longer"
Donated by Phillip Favershamn in 2015.
The Buildup, Pt. 3
Despite getting his wish to vie for the title of Heavyweight Champion, Muhammad Ali's antics and self-promotion would not subside. In fact, some may argue that he kicked it up a notch or two.
On January 26, 1964, Sonny Liston arrived in Miami, Florida, by airplane. To his surprise, Ali was waiting for him at the airport with a cane in his hand. He waved the cane in the air and ran around Liston yelling, "Come here, bear!"He did this repeatedly, until the police escorted him out of the airport.
While it was known as Ali's home gym, Liston also trained at the Fifth Street Gym after his arrival in Miami. This, naturally, led to a few more instances of taunting from the challenger. According to Ali's trainer and manager, Angelo Dundee, Ali would yell across the gym to his opponent, "Hey, Sonny, how ya doin', baby?!" Then, when Liston would get angry enough to approach the younger boxer, Ali would instruct his trainer to hold him back and would pretend he was ready to attack.
On February 14, there was a press conference held with both fighters. Ali reiterated his prediction of knocking Liston out in eight rounds and once again pretended to come to blows with the elder boxer.
Out of all of Muhammad Ali's antics that occurred prior to this fight, the most memorable of them all may be this poem:
Clay comes out to meet Liston and Liston starts to retreat,
If Liston goes back an inch farther he'll end up in a ringside seat.
Clay swings with a left,
Clay swings with a right,
Just look at young Cassius carry the fight.
Liston keeps backing but there's not enough room,
It's a matter of time until Clay lowers the boom.
Then Clay lands with a right, what a beautiful swing,
And the punch raised the bear clear out of the ring.
Liston still rising and the ref wears a frown,
But he can't start counting until Sonny comes down.
Now Liston disappears from view, the crowd is getting frantic
But our radar stations have picked him up somewhere over the Atlantic.
Who on Earth thought, when they came to the fight,
That they would witness the launching of a human satellite.
Hence the crowd did not dream, when they laid down their money,
That they would see a total eclipse of Sonny.
