The birth date of Charles Liston is not confirmed; his mother claims that he was born in January of 1928, while he claims that he was born on May 8, 1932. Sonny Liston, as he is more commonly known, was a negro as well. Born into a family of thirteen, he escaped his dad’s control, hitchhiking to St. Louis and reuniting with his mother. Liston, like Patterson, became involved in criminal activity, and he was arrested and jailed as a teenager for robbing a gas station. A Catholic priest discovered Liston’s boxing talents, and helped him leave jail early and start a professional career. In 1953, Liston made his debut against Don Smith, knocking out his opponent. From 1953-1961 Liston continued to fight and win. In 1955 Liston won six fights but was temporarily banned from boxing in 1957 for assaulting a police officer. Liston returned to boxing in 1958 where he won eight more fights. If anyone was going to pose a threat to Floyd Patterson, the reigning heavyweight champion, it was Charles L. Liston.
On September 23, 1962 Sonny Liston and the defending champion Floyd Patterson met in Comiskey Park, Chicago, Illinois. The battle for America’s heavyweight crown between the two black superstars came to an end as Liston knocked out Patterson in the first round.
Sources:
"Sonny Liston." Find A Grave. 2009. 1 June 2009
<http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=632>.
"Patterson an all-time great outside the ropes." ESPN. 2009. 1 June 2009 <http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=2441796>.
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