man you have got to be blind or a idiot not to see this for what it was.this was a dive.plain and simple.Liston tanked this fight.that is no rip on Ali but come on.Liston took a dive.boxing has always had a crooked side and to not admit that is pure stupidity.
Exactly like the punch that Vitali Klitschko KOed Solis with. Solis coming forward/Liston coming forward, lead foot off the ground, all weight going forward into the punch, counter right hand to the temple, Solis/Liston's head snap slightly and can't get up. Result first round KO.
liston was paid by the mob to lose this one. that punch would never knock sonny out, he was a beast in his heyday. do your research. the punch may have landed, but that is irrelevant - it WOULD NOT have knocked liston out had he not been ordered to go down.
Clearly that wasnt fake 1st of Liston was huge compared to Ali so there was NO WAY he was gunna land a punch that would KO Liston cold. 2nd of YOU CAN SEE LISTON'S MUSCLES WOBLE AT THE MOMENT OF THE PUNCH WAS LANDED!
the documentry is from espn and the angle is from the side of ali, it clearly shows ali missing the punch as liston rolls his head just away from the punch. the fight was fixed. liston was controlled by a mob boss named tommy luccheese who controlled alot of fighters during that time period....
the documentry is from espn and the angle is from the side of ali, it clearly shows ali missing the punch as liston rolls his head just away from the punch. the fight was fixed. liston was controlled by a mob boss named tommy luccheese who controlled alot of fighters during that time period.
I don't think it looks fake at all - the punch landed with Ali just almost fully extended so as it snapped in, it had the full force of the punch plus the weight and inertia of the entire arm. After it connects, Liston, who was still moving forward is visibly shaken - his head rocked and it shook him all the way down to his feet. That punch would have knocked almost anyone cold.
There are reports that Liston threw the fight for fear of retribution from National of Islam extremists. This was later repeated in an interview after the event in ghosts of manila. Yes, it connected but it wasn't a 20 second KO punch for a boxer of that calibre. He was able to get but...but he chose not to.
Sonny Liston-"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, I was listening for a count, that's the first thing you do, but I never heard a count because clay never whent to a neutral corner"
Ali isn't even set to punch Liston. I don't think its the punch that makes this look fake but the pantomime rolling on the canvas and "falling" to the ground by crouching and holding your arms out. When you get hit in the temple in boxing your legs go and you flop over. No one falls like that who is knocked out.
LMAO So the heavyweight champion- who's on top of the world.. took a dive for a young boxer who was a nobody- who nobody knew who had no money and ran his mouth off about liston 24/7...
Much smarter than you are. Don't mistake that for bragging, b/c a fnece post is smarter than you LISTON WAS A QUITTER!! I was alive to see it, you were not even a thought
A "dive" is intentionally throwing a fight. If you were old enough to see it, then you would know that ali just completely outclassed him, and because you know he "quit" means there was no foul play here.
It's funny how someone so old can still be so clueless. Your only decent argument is that you're older than me.. congrats- Guess what, when i'm in my sexual prime, you'll be even less than a thought- 6 feet underground.
Check yourself before you incorrectly start believing age=wisdom.
Ali was a weak puncher - just look a list of glass jawed fighters he failed to knock out. Yet he KOs iron chinned Liston with some popcorn shot he threw off balance whilst going backwards? Puh-lease.
@FlaviusConstantius I agree with you on the Muhammad Ali being a weak puncher part but I also agree with Robstailey, Liston did not see the punch coming plus Ali was not the one who actually put power behind the punch but -at least partially- Liston himself as he tries to move forward and basically just bangs into it.
"Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Ali sure does fly like a butterfly and people underestimate his "stinging" abilities lol.
@FlaviusConstantius ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED???? Don't EVER talk shit about Ali EVER again... Save yourself the embarrassment of sounding like a retarded douche
Yes lol, majority of boxing historians say these 2 had the best jab in HW history, you're opinion that Ali's was better isn't really up for discussion.
You are right on both counts. HOWEVER, the rt hook that decked Liston had diddley squat on it. Liston quit, just like he did on his stool in their first fight. I remember it well. In fact I made a nice piece of change on fight number one.
The reason Ali got hit with so many left hooks in the fight of the century was because Joe Frazier was trained by Eddie Futch to throw his left hook whenever Ali was about to throw his uppercut. So I guess I should know what I am talking about next time before I give you factual information.
When you call other people 'idiot' you are coming across as a know it all. If you ever did any serious boxing,say 5 or more years; you instinctively have a respect for others who have been there too. It's like a brotherhood. I doubt very much you have been there,even if you read Ring" Magazine (or whatever passes for it today)
24 you are stil a kid and U really don't know anything. You just have an inflated U Tube ego.
His best punch was the left jab followed by a right. Not a power hitter, but he kayoed guys cause he wore them out, and then easy target. His assets were speed and footwork.
The punch in this vid is weak. Liston looked like he was 50 y.o.
The one that knocks you out is the one you don't see, but it still has to have some mustard on it, and at my age of 60+,even I hit harder than that one so-called punch.
Apparently Liston was afraid of the NOI, and Ali whipped him bad in the first fight so he took a fall. Just look at the way he lets himself down - incredible. I've seen fights were Sonny was hit with virtual two by fours and he didn't budge and he goes down from "the anchor punch" (as Ali called it) - I don't think so,
this isn't possible you have no power going backwards, ali doesnt put any weight behind the punch. liston took shots from cleveland Williams i doubt ali could knockout sonny liston with one punch.
@t3di2 are you serius?lol the power of ali is underrated??have you get some punches in the face to evaluate well what are you watching in the video and saying ?
The punch clearly did not land. and if it did it was not hard enough to drop liston.
and bigjimslade. you sound stupid when you talk about punches. a hook and cross are two different punches. a cross goes straight from the right hand and a hook comes at an angle. jab does not mean lead hand hook. a jab is a straight from the lead hand.
The punch CLEARLY landed ! I have seen this punch from all available angles and it impossible for the punch not to have landed ! Straight on the temple !
@truthfulmind do you have any vids/links of vids from different angles? i swear i saw a documentary that showed a different angle and the punch didnt connect.
Liston was a killa, his straights was very hard, and he got maybe the fastest pounch ever on that night. This hit is ultimate, Ali is damn fast when he throws the phantom. Most of the people, whose watched the match didn't even know what happened. Simply devastating moment!
It's simple. Those of you who think it was a dive don't know boxing. A right hook to the side of the head does it. Also, since when does a challenger, already easily beaten by a guy take a dive? That would be a first and only. It sounds so stupid. But then again, what are you guys who think it despite all the evidence?
those of you that think you know boxing huh? hey uh einstein an orthodox (left hand lead ) fighter doesnt throw a "right hook" a hook is a lead hand punch, an orthodox fighter throws the "cross" in fact the way of saying left hook right cross , straight right , left jab is redundant and counter serving...the term jab itself means the lead hand hook - lead hand straight- power hand , cross -inside power hand punch in respectto either the fighter being orthodox or southpaw
Liston threw the fight, no doubt in my mind. But I think he threw it because he didn't want to be champ. Might be hard for some to fathom, but he didn't enjoy being disliked and unappreciated. He just was disheartened and gave the people back what he figured they wanted.
Liston claimed he feared backlash from the Nation of Islam, so took a dive. But if I'd been knocked out after 90 seconds, I think I'd claim I took a dive as well....
people say its fake...but you would be surprised at how much or little strength it takes to hit a man just in the right way on the jaw for that person to lose control of their legs. I say its believable, but I dont know, and neither will most others who werent these two fighters, or had any connections with them. Sooooo...yea
Ali hit him, but with no power to knock liston down. If you watch this in its entirety, Liston continues to roll over and play like he is out. Total shame.
listen guys liston was feared in his day the tyson before their was tyson he chin was solid if you look up the fight with cleveland williams a very hard hitter he took he shots with ease and this is the cleveland that was before he was shot not the one ali fought its just mind boggling to me he just went down like that a fighter like liston doesn't really humilaited like that i do think it was a fall but i think MAFIA were involved imagine how much money there make in these 2 fights
plasuun your a fuck up this isnt the time with the poison that happened the first time in miami and ali was the one who got it in is eye sunny liston refused to come out of his corner at the start of the seventh becuase of his sholder
When I first saw this in slow motion I thought it wasn't enough to knock any1 out... but oh my when I saw it in normal speed, that was just out of this world, I barley saw his hand!
If you have ever studied martial arts you know this isn't fake. It came at an unexpected angle when Liston was fully extended and unaware that he was about to get hit. Plus, Liston was turning into the punch s it connected which created opposing force. It looks fake, but it's very real....
This is not a fake punch, it's just a bad camera angle. Ali caught Liston right on the button and you can see Liston's head twist to the right - that's what causes knockouts - that sudden twist of the head against the spinal cord.
"he just put out his hands to protect himself from the fall"
Joe Frazier does the exact same thing while he was getting hammered by George Foreman in 1973. It's pretty common when a fighter's brain gets rattled - they lose their legs but their arms still work.
I'm sure this was not a dive. What would be the point? Ali already beat Liston once and was going to easily beat him again. There was NO point.
I don't know the circumstances behind this but that punch from Ali could never have floored never alone knock out a man of Liston's standing. Very odd indeed
Terribly executed fake. Interesting that this is the only one
punch Ko of Ali's career. Punch had not the speed or leverage to knock out anybody especially Liston who had an iron jaw. Ali is reported to have told his manager in ring Liston took a dive. If he did I don't believe Ali knew about it. Liston also reportedly received death threats from Muslim groups.
that hit coz hes pec shake that means the force of the blow would of moved from his hand to his pec if u break a second down to 100 peaces thats how fast hes punch was
still, that shouldn't have knocked anyone out. Also, whenever you punch, you flex your pec as well as your serratus anterior, which brings your scapula foreward, which makes the lateral parts of you pec move.
When Sonny Liston is on the ground, in the famous picture of Muhammed Ali in what looks like a victory yell, he's actually yelling, "Get up!" Because he knows Liston is not knocked out.
When you put that much speed into a punch plus the drive of the punc then it becomes like a bullet. A bullet type punch that shot straight into Sonny Listons temple
Some people say that the phantom punch of anchor punch could not have hurt anyone. But that punch flew through the air at 60mph moving the distance of Ali's arm in 4/100 of a second. I feel that the reason that most speed punches don't have a lot of power because they do not drive the punch into the tatrget. They just tap it. While focusing on the speed they forget the drive. But if you watch punch in slow motion it drives into Sonny Listons head.
He is very obviously hit, anybody can see that in this video. he can't shake his head like that unless it was from a punch, look at his head jiggle, show me being able to fake that, he was hit. ridiculous. maybe he could've gotten up, but whatever. Ali is doing a fine acting job of acting like he wants liston to get up.
All the talk you hear is crap. Truth is, there is a nerve right at the goatee line between your mouth and chin. Its a one in a hundred shot, but you can hit the nerve and push the jaw back into another cluster and give someone a concussion.
(While Liston publicly denied taking a dive, Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram said that years later 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.")
quoted from the article-"the devil and Sonny Liston"
wtf, i saw liston aiming for ali's collerbone lmao. i mean im an ali fan but liston did not try with that last punch he threw. Ali's punch definately knocked him out because i saw his head wobble
I used to think Liston took a dive, but now I think he got knocked out for long enough that he failed to beat the count. (1) He tries to get up and falls back down (see a longer version of this fight) -- that looked authentic; (2) everybody thought he MADE the count, and Walcott lets the fight continue. Was that part of the scheme?
I wish it happened in current times and I had a ringside video tape! I'd sell it for millions and make it "Will we ever know" tape. I'm pro-Ali, but I must admit, after the fact. Given the background, I think he took a dive and "Da Man" paid Ali off....Johnson, FBI, etc...they knew it was good to squash things with Black America at the time by giving a physical "victory".
its clearly a dive, u can see sonny waiting for the ref to count him out, if u watch the whole lot of this fight ,can u blame sonny if u were told by the mafia to take a dive what would u do.arhcie moore took a dive against marciano to ,that fix insured he stayed unbeaten,same hoods involved.
Liston was known for his "great" chin. That punch had not the speed nor the leverage to inflict damage much less knock a fighter of Liston's quality down. Intetesting that Ali "never" knocked out any other fighter with a single punch again. The only fighter to knock out Liston again was Leotis Martin in his final fight which was a "huge" right hand. Obvious dive. Liston was gangster controlled throughout his career.
im a realli big ali fan, all i can say is the 'phantom punch' was infact a clean right hand to the head, but i do think liston deliberately stayed down, if u watch the way he went down it looks like it was on purpose
the punch could have been real and even if u dont belive in this punch ali was better than liston and he must be great he beat tons of better fighters forman, frazier, ken norton, chuck wepner and most of the fighters after his mid 20's.
liston was is one of the great heavyweights,look at some of his fights on youtube ,u must know nothing about boxing about if u think chuck wepner was better than liston.even chuck will tell u it was the most brutal fight he was ever in .everytime he hit u he broke something , chucks words not mind.p.s. don't want to get into a silly utube slagging match with u .ali is a legend , but liston was up there with the best of them .
Im an Ali fan but the fact is there was monkey business on both Ali fights. All of the insiders who knew it are gone now. Sonny, John Vitale, Peppy and the rest. I think Ali could have outpointed Sonny on Ali's best day but sorry to say, the fights were all wacky.
when I saw this video I thought the same thing, but if you see it in regular speed it does look surprising, like you dont see a KO type of punch coming.
Sonny`s date if birth was unclear btw. He might have been in his late 40 s already. According to Chuck wepner and other pugilist legends Sonny had the most ferocious punch power ever.Facts: Sonny was controlled by the mob and therew ere big bets on the fight and the bets highly in favor of Sonny. Go figure if you got a n y touch with reality. Sonny could have given him hell but the next day he would have gotten shot.
Don Dunphy, who called hundreds of fights, thought the knockout was bogus. Jimmy Cannon, the great sportswriter, said, "I saw the punch; it wouldn't have crushed a grape." Pitiful refereeing by Jersey Joe Walcott. He should have restarted the count when Ali refused to go to a neutral corner.
If you look closely, he got hit in the part of the head you dont want to get hit at... the soft part on the side of the head. You dont have to get hit hard to get knocked out if you get hit on the temple. Ali snuck a punch at the temple to knock liston out. Great precision on Ali.. simply amazing.
There is no evidence the first fight was thrown. However, for me this fight clearly was (although i think the win may have resulted anyway). Ali was great (physically) because of his speed, footwork and timing. He was never a massive puncher, or KO specialist; especially with a punch like that against a man like Liston.
All I need to see is how Floyd Mayweather Jr. Wont fight Manny Pacquiao! Thats all I need to see. UFC wont allow that...
lakedog19352 1 month ago
And boxing is so much better today right? News Flash, it sucks
lakedog19352 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
This was nearly 50 years ago dickhead
kieranmatiz 1 month ago
So what's your point Assface?
lakedog19352 1 month ago
man you have got to be blind or a idiot not to see this for what it was.this was a dive.plain and simple.Liston tanked this fight.that is no rip on Ali but come on.Liston took a dive.boxing has always had a crooked side and to not admit that is pure stupidity.
MrAnarchyrules 2 months ago
You see his head snap back! of course it landed ffs.
kieranmatiz 2 months ago
This is why boxing sucks and the UFC is taking over...Dana White would have fired Liston on the spot
lakedog19352 3 months ago
@lakedog19352 Look up Anderson Silva vs. Forrest Griffin.
Commax 3 months ago
@lakedog19352 This was nearly 50 years ago dickhead
kieranmatiz 2 months ago
hahah his slow mo punch is faster than my real punch. unstoppable!
BearMan258 4 months ago
That was one heck of a love tap. No wonder no one saw it. That was almost as fast as a regular punch even in slow motion.
echoingwalls 5 months ago
Exactly like the punch that Vitali Klitschko KOed Solis with. Solis coming forward/Liston coming forward, lead foot off the ground, all weight going forward into the punch, counter right hand to the temple, Solis/Liston's head snap slightly and can't get up. Result first round KO.
huraha96704 5 months ago
there is no such thing as a phantom punch. there are just some punches to great to be seen with the human eye
brooklyn560 7 months ago
liston was paid by the mob to lose this one. that punch would never knock sonny out, he was a beast in his heyday. do your research. the punch may have landed, but that is irrelevant - it WOULD NOT have knocked liston out had he not been ordered to go down.
pk550 7 months ago
idk if it was fixed it probably fooled all that was their?
TheSonnycofax 8 months ago
NOT a knockout punch, read Nick Tosches THE DEVIL & SONNY LISTON
filmerado 9 months ago
It made contact, true.
Knocks out Sonny Liston in the first round, FALSE.
smokingzaggin 9 months ago
yeah, he made hard contact.
pattyk77 9 months ago
its an anchor punch, right to the jaw. The motion before the punch provides centrifical force
Cepical 11 months ago
I will say the betting odds of Ali knocking out Liston in round No. 1 were astronomical!
CoolCatJohn 1 year ago
Clearly that wasnt fake 1st of Liston was huge compared to Ali so there was NO WAY he was gunna land a punch that would KO Liston cold. 2nd of YOU CAN SEE LISTON'S MUSCLES WOBLE AT THE MOMENT OF THE PUNCH WAS LANDED!
AliTheGOAT 1 year ago
it clearly landed and wasn't a fake punch........
morrisctds 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
the documentry is from espn and the angle is from the side of ali, it clearly shows ali missing the punch as liston rolls his head just away from the punch. the fight was fixed. liston was controlled by a mob boss named tommy luccheese who controlled alot of fighters during that time period....
whiteboyward 1 year ago
the documentry is from espn and the angle is from the side of ali, it clearly shows ali missing the punch as liston rolls his head just away from the punch. the fight was fixed. liston was controlled by a mob boss named tommy luccheese who controlled alot of fighters during that time period.
whiteboyward 1 year ago
the punch did land, but hard enough to KO Liston? No. I think Liston took a dive
jzw1953 1 year ago
I don't think it looks fake at all - the punch landed with Ali just almost fully extended so as it snapped in, it had the full force of the punch plus the weight and inertia of the entire arm. After it connects, Liston, who was still moving forward is visibly shaken - his head rocked and it shook him all the way down to his feet. That punch would have knocked almost anyone cold.
trickg1 1 year ago 2
man, that's kinda hard to tell
virgil592 1 year ago
RIP Sonny, murdered by the mob
sweetypie000 1 year ago
crAZY KO
bbrown6305 1 year ago
There are reports that Liston threw the fight for fear of retribution from National of Islam extremists. This was later repeated in an interview after the event in ghosts of manila. Yes, it connected but it wasn't a 20 second KO punch for a boxer of that calibre. He was able to get but...but he chose not to.
Packetping 1 year ago
Sonny Liston-"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, I was listening for a count, that's the first thing you do, but I never heard a count because clay never whent to a neutral corner"
Fair enough for me :P
mando267 1 year ago
Ali isn't even set to punch Liston. I don't think its the punch that makes this look fake but the pantomime rolling on the canvas and "falling" to the ground by crouching and holding your arms out. When you get hit in the temple in boxing your legs go and you flop over. No one falls like that who is knocked out.
capablemachine 1 year ago
Just a good Q. This was 46 years ago.
Why do we care?
sparwood8 1 year ago
Because any other fighter and people wouldn't disagree.
capablemachine 1 year ago
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btw to everyone thinking this was a knockout punch, it wasn't- it was just a knockdown.
But ali did finish him off after he got up.
Flash knockdowns aren't uncommon..and Ali also had much greater hand speed than most casual fans realize.
mrbgnwo 1 year ago
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mrbgnwo 1 year ago
that punch was lightning fast
mrbgnwo 1 year ago
The punch did hit him. It wasn't a strong punch but he moved right into it and didn't expect it.
Anyone that doubts that such punches can knock people down or daze them, look at Seth vs. Kimbo. Kimbo lost that one.
shevegen 2 years ago
@shevegen
Liston had a good chin. He took a dive. that punch had diddly squat
sparwood8 2 years ago
LMAO So the heavyweight champion- who's on top of the world.. took a dive for a young boxer who was a nobody- who nobody knew who had no money and ran his mouth off about liston 24/7...
FUCK you're smart.
mrbgnwo 1 year ago
@mrbgnwo
Much smarter than you are. Don't mistake that for bragging, b/c a fnece post is smarter than you LISTON WAS A QUITTER!! I was alive to see it, you were not even a thought
sparwood8 1 year ago
A "dive" is intentionally throwing a fight. If you were old enough to see it, then you would know that ali just completely outclassed him, and because you know he "quit" means there was no foul play here.
It's funny how someone so old can still be so clueless. Your only decent argument is that you're older than me.. congrats- Guess what, when i'm in my sexual prime, you'll be even less than a thought- 6 feet underground.
Check yourself before you incorrectly start believing age=wisdom.
mrbgnwo 1 year ago
@mrbgnwo
OK, ok.. *fence post*
sparwood8 1 year ago
Ali was a weak puncher - just look a list of glass jawed fighters he failed to knock out. Yet he KOs iron chinned Liston with some popcorn shot he threw off balance whilst going backwards? Puh-lease.
Liston's 'acting' on the canvas clinches it.
FlaviusConstantius 2 years ago
@FlaviusConstantius I agree with you on the Muhammad Ali being a weak puncher part but I also agree with Robstailey, Liston did not see the punch coming plus Ali was not the one who actually put power behind the punch but -at least partially- Liston himself as he tries to move forward and basically just bangs into it.
"Fly like a butterfly, sting like a bee." Ali sure does fly like a butterfly and people underestimate his "stinging" abilities lol.
Rimdeker 2 years ago
There was no power in the shot. It was an arm punch thrown going backwards by a guy who wasn't known for his power anyway.
Watch Liston carefully as he gets up. He displays no characteristics of a boxer who has just been knocked out. The "fight" was a farce.
FlaviusConstantius 2 years ago
@FlaviusConstantius
Yep!!
sparwood8 1 year ago
@FlaviusConstantius ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED???? Don't EVER talk shit about Ali EVER again... Save yourself the embarrassment of sounding like a retarded douche
2ownsu 2 years ago
@2ownsu
Put your loyalty on the shelf and admith that punch had no power at all. Flav' post is a good one
sparwood8 2 years ago
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sparwood8 2 years ago
? Holmes and Liston had better jabs then Ali.
Christofides1 1 year ago
@Christofides1 No and no.
sparwood8 1 year ago
Yes lol, majority of boxing historians say these 2 had the best jab in HW history, you're opinion that Ali's was better isn't really up for discussion.
Christofides1 1 year ago
@Christofides1 Who the fk cares?
sparwood8 1 year ago
@Christofides1
Neither should it be. Louis was a seriously hard hitter. = Ten times the champion Liston ever was
sparwood8 1 year ago
@sparwood8
You are right on both counts. HOWEVER, the rt hook that decked Liston had diddley squat on it. Liston quit, just like he did on his stool in their first fight. I remember it well. In fact I made a nice piece of change on fight number one.
sparwood8 1 year ago
@FlaviusConstantius
Ali's jab super hard. Decent right hand, but hook = soft, and he never went to the body, nor did he ever throw an uppercut.
Liston chin not all glass, but not iron either.
Just to stir the pot a little, Marciano would have knocked Sonny out ... and would have caved Ali's ribs lkike pretzels.
Chew on that for a bit
sparwood8 1 year ago
Ali's signature punch was his right uppercut you idiot.
capablemachine 1 year ago
You don't know what you are talking about. I have seen him spar and train up close. B-bye, rude little troll
sparwood8 1 year ago
The reason Ali got hit with so many left hooks in the fight of the century was because Joe Frazier was trained by Eddie Futch to throw his left hook whenever Ali was about to throw his uppercut. So I guess I should know what I am talking about next time before I give you factual information.
capablemachine 1 year ago
Eddie Futch = one of the best ever trainers..
When you call other people 'idiot' you are coming across as a know it all. If you ever did any serious boxing,say 5 or more years; you instinctively have a respect for others who have been there too. It's like a brotherhood. I doubt very much you have been there,even if you read Ring" Magazine (or whatever passes for it today)
24 you are stil a kid and U really don't know anything. You just have an inflated U Tube ego.
sparwood8 1 year ago
Nothing I said wasn't true.
capablemachine 1 year ago
L Hook is a natural counter to the uppercut or right cross, or hoook downstairs. Ali never went to the body. Never
sparwood8 1 year ago
No one said he did but you think he didn't throw his signature punch.
capablemachine 1 year ago
His best punch was the left jab followed by a right. Not a power hitter, but he kayoed guys cause he wore them out, and then easy target. His assets were speed and footwork.
The punch in this vid is weak. Liston looked like he was 50 y.o.
sparwood8 1 year ago
I think the reason he went down was he never saw the hit coming. Seemingly weak punches can really fuck you up if you have no idea you're being hit.
Robstailey 2 years ago
@Robstailey
The one that knocks you out is the one you don't see, but it still has to have some mustard on it, and at my age of 60+,even I hit harder than that one so-called punch.
sparwood8 2 years ago
@Robstailey Mafia was running the HW div back then
sparwood8 2 years ago
Apparently Liston was afraid of the NOI, and Ali whipped him bad in the first fight so he took a fall. Just look at the way he lets himself down - incredible. I've seen fights were Sonny was hit with virtual two by fours and he didn't budge and he goes down from "the anchor punch" (as Ali called it) - I don't think so,
BIRISHPM 2 years ago
this isn't possible you have no power going backwards, ali doesnt put any weight behind the punch. liston took shots from cleveland Williams i doubt ali could knockout sonny liston with one punch.
danceman94 2 years ago
it's a counter punch, liston leans through his punch and provides most of the power needed for ali's punch
m2smoe 2 years ago 3
I agree with you. That was a fix and Liston was a bad actor!
emoran001 2 years ago
ali is the only one who could ko foreman.
he is the only one who KOd bonevana.
why shouldnt he be able to KO liston, especially when he was in his prime?
he wasnt a KO-specialist like shavers or tyson, he was more a boxer like tunney or holmes, just better :D
but when he threw a punch on the point of the chin, then lights out.
his punching power is rly underrated.
look at listons musculatur when he is falling.
he couldnt control his body anymore, 1000%
t3di2 2 years ago
ali knocked them out with combos not one punch. rarely did ali knock someone out with one punch and if he did it wasn't in the first round
danceman94 2 years ago
@t3di2 are you serius?lol the power of ali is underrated??have you get some punches in the face to evaluate well what are you watching in the video and saying ?
rickiRude88 2 years ago
dude, the punch never touched him.
pxr58b 2 years ago
watch?v=LNdmySLkqyI&feature=channel_page
watch that one.
u can clearly hear the sound of the punch..
t3di2 2 years ago
Liston should've tried out for the olympic diving team!
CeeJayisapussy 2 years ago
who cares what the punch is called, just watch the fuckin video, its awsome. concentrate on that not what name of move he did.
Gnarley101 2 years ago 3
People always talked about how fast a puncher Ali was...what they forgot was also how hard he could punch!
Makhecha 2 years ago 3
.. Speed makes for the harder punch, speed = weight...
Christofides1 2 years ago
he just got wayyyy off guard liston did.
aaron11892 2 years ago 2
Looks like the one Silva hit Griffi with, well thats whut there comparing it to anywayz
fallenshadow45 2 years ago
watch the ko in slow motion here-
watch?v=prxnGjKjxoo
okano186 2 years ago
The punch clearly did not land. and if it did it was not hard enough to drop liston.
and bigjimslade. you sound stupid when you talk about punches. a hook and cross are two different punches. a cross goes straight from the right hand and a hook comes at an angle. jab does not mean lead hand hook. a jab is a straight from the lead hand.
ktgballer06 2 years ago
The punch CLEARLY landed ! I have seen this punch from all available angles and it impossible for the punch not to have landed ! Straight on the temple !
truthfulmind 2 years ago 11
This was a fake.
A two year old could tell it was a phony.
marcxopoco 2 years ago
@truthfulmind do you have any vids/links of vids from different angles? i swear i saw a documentary that showed a different angle and the punch didnt connect.
cqueano 1 year ago
Liston was a killa, his straights was very hard, and he got maybe the fastest pounch ever on that night. This hit is ultimate, Ali is damn fast when he throws the phantom. Most of the people, whose watched the match didn't even know what happened. Simply devastating moment!
Lopezprieto 2 years ago
It's simple. Those of you who think it was a dive don't know boxing. A right hook to the side of the head does it. Also, since when does a challenger, already easily beaten by a guy take a dive? That would be a first and only. It sounds so stupid. But then again, what are you guys who think it despite all the evidence?
bumblebeemoi 2 years ago
those of you that think you know boxing huh? hey uh einstein an orthodox (left hand lead ) fighter doesnt throw a "right hook" a hook is a lead hand punch, an orthodox fighter throws the "cross" in fact the way of saying left hook right cross , straight right , left jab is redundant and counter serving...the term jab itself means the lead hand hook - lead hand straight- power hand , cross -inside power hand punch in respectto either the fighter being orthodox or southpaw
ItsBigJimSlade 2 years ago
Liston threw the fight, no doubt in my mind. But I think he threw it because he didn't want to be champ. Might be hard for some to fathom, but he didn't enjoy being disliked and unappreciated. He just was disheartened and gave the people back what he figured they wanted.
AFACF 2 years ago
Liston claimed he feared backlash from the Nation of Islam, so took a dive. But if I'd been knocked out after 90 seconds, I think I'd claim I took a dive as well....
Sugapughana 2 years ago
what the fucking hell was that?
Stefan2SERB 2 years ago
people say its fake...but you would be surprised at how much or little strength it takes to hit a man just in the right way on the jaw for that person to lose control of their legs. I say its believable, but I dont know, and neither will most others who werent these two fighters, or had any connections with them. Sooooo...yea
adventxero 2 years ago
Ali hit him, but with no power to knock liston down. If you watch this in its entirety, Liston continues to roll over and play like he is out. Total shame.
Ralphsmyczak 2 years ago
i don't get it.. ali clearly hits em at 0:04..
rdazzle4shazzle 2 years ago
What a sham... Liston disgraced the sport.
Pat33Ewing 2 years ago
listen guys liston was feared in his day the tyson before their was tyson he chin was solid if you look up the fight with cleveland williams a very hard hitter he took he shots with ease and this is the cleveland that was before he was shot not the one ali fought its just mind boggling to me he just went down like that a fighter like liston doesn't really humilaited like that i do think it was a fall but i think MAFIA were involved imagine how much money there make in these 2 fights
pakistani4lyfe 2 years ago
best knockout ever
Freddyhomeservice 2 years ago
I could of ate that punch
ktgballer06 2 years ago
hahah yea right, ive seen this punch from another angle and it was str8 on the temple, it wud hav put u in a coma for a year u fag
Gemmell0007 2 years ago 6
plasuun your a fuck up this isnt the time with the poison that happened the first time in miami and ali was the one who got it in is eye sunny liston refused to come out of his corner at the start of the seventh becuase of his sholder
cotaSFL 2 years ago
i feel sorry for liston
rockguitar312 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
sonny liston lost because they put a poison in his gloves so he cant see. oh yeah muhhamed alis trainer put the poison in the gloves
funniestvidsforu 2 years ago
When I first saw this in slow motion I thought it wasn't enough to knock any1 out... but oh my when I saw it in normal speed, that was just out of this world, I barley saw his hand!
Plasuun 2 years ago
If you have ever studied martial arts you know this isn't fake. It came at an unexpected angle when Liston was fully extended and unaware that he was about to get hit. Plus, Liston was turning into the punch s it connected which created opposing force. It looks fake, but it's very real....
atrocityschild 2 years ago 9
This is not a fake punch, it's just a bad camera angle. Ali caught Liston right on the button and you can see Liston's head twist to the right - that's what causes knockouts - that sudden twist of the head against the spinal cord.
Neil6000 2 years ago
the reason they alled it fake was the way liston fell
89bar 2 years ago
89bar:
What's wrong with the way he fell? It looks to me like he got his bell rung and just fell.
Neil6000 2 years ago
he just put out his hands to protect himself from the fall...not usually seen like
89bar 2 years ago
89bar:
"he just put out his hands to protect himself from the fall"
Joe Frazier does the exact same thing while he was getting hammered by George Foreman in 1973. It's pretty common when a fighter's brain gets rattled - they lose their legs but their arms still work.
I'm sure this was not a dive. What would be the point? Ali already beat Liston once and was going to easily beat him again. There was NO point.
Neil6000 2 years ago
I don't know the circumstances behind this but that punch from Ali could never have floored never alone knock out a man of Liston's standing. Very odd indeed
martynhanson 2 years ago
If Liston took a dive beacause of Muslims than hes a bitch
PhillyBoy264 2 years ago
i dont believe it was a fake.
if liston wanted to make a dive, he would wait till a real punch comes, and not a punch like that.
i think its true
pope2pac 2 years ago 2
it look so fake that it cant be fix. believe fix matches would look a lot better than this
CDogg7787 2 years ago
if it was a fix muslims aint have nothing to do it
mcnastypuddin 2 years ago
If you actually know what kind of circumstances Liston was in, it's understandable that it was a fix.(Not sure about first though)
Kawaneshine1989 3 years ago
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHAMP! Ali=G.O.A.T.
theonlysaltspring 3 years ago 2
Fake! everyone knows of Listons Mafia connections, a majour betting fraud, what were the odds of an Ali KO in round 1?
boselecta1 3 years ago
the first fight ali had with liston was legit, this fight was plain rigged.
gofsbulldogs 3 years ago
fake
mitchmonstervideos 3 years ago
Terribly executed fake. Interesting that this is the only one
punch Ko of Ali's career. Punch had not the speed or leverage to knock out anybody especially Liston who had an iron jaw. Ali is reported to have told his manager in ring Liston took a dive. If he did I don't believe Ali knew about it. Liston also reportedly received death threats from Muslim groups.
We'll never really know.
andrewr62 3 years ago
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Nettantoo 3 years ago
that hit coz hes pec shake that means the force of the blow would of moved from his hand to his pec if u break a second down to 100 peaces thats how fast hes punch was
Franga4life 3 years ago
still, that shouldn't have knocked anyone out. Also, whenever you punch, you flex your pec as well as your serratus anterior, which brings your scapula foreward, which makes the lateral parts of you pec move.
Anglefan12 3 years ago
When Sonny Liston is on the ground, in the famous picture of Muhammed Ali in what looks like a victory yell, he's actually yelling, "Get up!" Because he knows Liston is not knocked out.
Drumkid927 3 years ago 2
Liston is lucky that 2nd punch missed.
daWatchiir 3 years ago 3
continuation of text below)
When you put that much speed into a punch plus the drive of the punc then it becomes like a bullet. A bullet type punch that shot straight into Sonny Listons temple
JcLeopard 3 years ago
Some people say that the phantom punch of anchor punch could not have hurt anyone. But that punch flew through the air at 60mph moving the distance of Ali's arm in 4/100 of a second. I feel that the reason that most speed punches don't have a lot of power because they do not drive the punch into the tatrget. They just tap it. While focusing on the speed they forget the drive. But if you watch punch in slow motion it drives into Sonny Listons head.
JcLeopard 3 years ago
look at the guys in the suits on the front row, they have no emotions when Liston hit the campus
YETIMANE 3 years ago
Liston admits his dive in his biography, he says he had threats from the nation of islam.
brettwrb 3 years ago
he didn`t want to admit that he got aid more money from the mob for losing than if he actually won.
ajdog15 3 years ago
sonny liston had a solid chin,,light hitting cassius clay didnt have that kind of punch to keep liston down,,it stunk
nastylefthook1 3 years ago
looks like he was hit, but no way hard enuf to stay down, he difintely took a dive
beardo0069 3 years ago
He is very obviously hit, anybody can see that in this video. he can't shake his head like that unless it was from a punch, look at his head jiggle, show me being able to fake that, he was hit. ridiculous. maybe he could've gotten up, but whatever. Ali is doing a fine acting job of acting like he wants liston to get up.
luckyyoungturk 3 years ago 2
he took a dive i dont care what you all say i can see it clearly
Dalyus 3 years ago
CASSIUS CLAY KNOCKED OUT SONNY LISTON,,not muhammed ali,,,,,,
nastylefthook1 3 years ago
It's impossible for Cassius Clay to have knocked out Muhammed Ali because they are the same person.
rhinoshark 3 years ago 2
All the talk you hear is crap. Truth is, there is a nerve right at the goatee line between your mouth and chin. Its a one in a hundred shot, but you can hit the nerve and push the jaw back into another cluster and give someone a concussion.
rhshoss07 3 years ago
(While Liston publicly denied taking a dive, Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kram said that years later 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.")
quoted from the article-"the devil and Sonny Liston"
sunzyu1 3 years ago 3
Sonny didn't cut the ring off or do anything except chase Ali. A losing formula if I've ever seen one.
rondolce 3 years ago
wtf, i saw liston aiming for ali's collerbone lmao. i mean im an ali fan but liston did not try with that last punch he threw. Ali's punch definately knocked him out because i saw his head wobble
l00l20r2 3 years ago
I used to think Liston took a dive, but now I think he got knocked out for long enough that he failed to beat the count. (1) He tries to get up and falls back down (see a longer version of this fight) -- that looked authentic; (2) everybody thought he MADE the count, and Walcott lets the fight continue. Was that part of the scheme?
gregh2223 3 years ago
olddavid, he took at dive.
jedkrapht 4 years ago
fuck off
karlscouse 3 years ago
fuck off
karlscouse 3 years ago
I think that punch was called the anchor punch not phantom?
PinBallBoi 4 years ago
I wish it happened in current times and I had a ringside video tape! I'd sell it for millions and make it "Will we ever know" tape. I'm pro-Ali, but I must admit, after the fact. Given the background, I think he took a dive and "Da Man" paid Ali off....Johnson, FBI, etc...they knew it was good to squash things with Black America at the time by giving a physical "victory".
dclements04 4 years ago
yeah the punch looks slow and weak on the 30 year old videotape but if u had been there ring would have been drained in blood.
newcover 4 years ago
that was a pretty clear Punch.
mab999 4 years ago
yea, you can see the force of the hit shake listons body...im sure I would take a pretty quick dive too if I inhaled one of those.
anapoles 4 years ago
its clearly a dive, u can see sonny waiting for the ref to count him out, if u watch the whole lot of this fight ,can u blame sonny if u were told by the mafia to take a dive what would u do.arhcie moore took a dive against marciano to ,that fix insured he stayed unbeaten,same hoods involved.
rosler33 4 years ago
Liston was known for his "great" chin. That punch had not the speed nor the leverage to inflict damage much less knock a fighter of Liston's quality down. Intetesting that Ali "never" knocked out any other fighter with a single punch again. The only fighter to knock out Liston again was Leotis Martin in his final fight which was a "huge" right hand. Obvious dive. Liston was gangster controlled throughout his career.
andrewr62 4 years ago
im a realli big ali fan, all i can say is the 'phantom punch' was infact a clean right hand to the head, but i do think liston deliberately stayed down, if u watch the way he went down it looks like it was on purpose
BritishPianoTeen 4 years ago
Great clip. Shows no phantom, but a clean headshot.
1olddavid 4 years ago
b000M!!!! headshot? :D
mikko0o 4 years ago
the punch could have been real and even if u dont belive in this punch ali was better than liston and he must be great he beat tons of better fighters forman, frazier, ken norton, chuck wepner and most of the fighters after his mid 20's.
Phoenix148 4 years ago
liston was is one of the great heavyweights,look at some of his fights on youtube ,u must know nothing about boxing about if u think chuck wepner was better than liston.even chuck will tell u it was the most brutal fight he was ever in .everytime he hit u he broke something , chucks words not mind.p.s. don't want to get into a silly utube slagging match with u .ali is a legend , but liston was up there with the best of them .
rosler33 4 years ago
Im an Ali fan but the fact is there was monkey business on both Ali fights. All of the insiders who knew it are gone now. Sonny, John Vitale, Peppy and the rest. I think Ali could have outpointed Sonny on Ali's best day but sorry to say, the fights were all wacky.
portobob 4 years ago
When your head is meeting the punch, it makes a bigger impact
Greker 4 years ago
is that punch the same as his signature punch on fight night round 3?
gdrocker93 5 years ago
That is no ghost punch, you can clearly see his head taking an impact from Ali's right hand.
TheAngryAmerican75 4 years ago
when I saw this video I thought the same thing, but if you see it in regular speed it does look surprising, like you dont see a KO type of punch coming.
VisionWorksMedia 4 years ago
at what age did ali started boxing?
heinekenboyy 5 years ago
both fights were fixed. joe frazier is the greatest not ali. ali is the real uncle tom.
laversano 5 years ago
bla bla bla!!!
naji1234 5 years ago
its my bday too:D
whitmorehighschool 5 years ago
happy birthday, ali
donhimself 5 years ago
Sonny`s date if birth was unclear btw. He might have been in his late 40 s already. According to Chuck wepner and other pugilist legends Sonny had the most ferocious punch power ever.Facts: Sonny was controlled by the mob and therew ere big bets on the fight and the bets highly in favor of Sonny. Go figure if you got a n y touch with reality. Sonny could have given him hell but the next day he would have gotten shot.
wolfgangle 5 years ago
Bets on Sonny meant a high win (for those in the know of the script) who betted vs Sonny (mob).
wolfgangle 5 years ago
bullshit
anticopyright 5 years ago
that punch was no phantom punch it was from allah ..
utlkintome 5 years ago
Don Dunphy, who called hundreds of fights, thought the knockout was bogus. Jimmy Cannon, the great sportswriter, said, "I saw the punch; it wouldn't have crushed a grape." Pitiful refereeing by Jersey Joe Walcott. He should have restarted the count when Ali refused to go to a neutral corner.
Lava1964 5 years ago
hard to tell but liston's head did snap.
lucky on the button punch (location, not power)
sunamcmnairb 5 years ago
Clay (Ali) definitely hit him with the right because you can see Liston's head get wobbled by the force of the blow.
notthelastword 5 years ago
If you look closely, he got hit in the part of the head you dont want to get hit at... the soft part on the side of the head. You dont have to get hit hard to get knocked out if you get hit on the temple. Ali snuck a punch at the temple to knock liston out. Great precision on Ali.. simply amazing.
sirgreatness 5 years ago
He hit him with the first punch then missed on the second. Liston was hit on that first punch. The anchor punch nailed Liston.
tmk824 5 years ago
There is no evidence the first fight was thrown. However, for me this fight clearly was (although i think the win may have resulted anyway). Ali was great (physically) because of his speed, footwork and timing. He was never a massive puncher, or KO specialist; especially with a punch like that against a man like Liston.
brandoH85 5 years ago
hyou know nothin about boxing
anticopyright 5 y