Back in time! This is what a young Muhammad Ali said after beating Sonny Liston
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Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston
Muhammed Ali is regarded by many as the greatest Boxing Heavyweight champion of all time. Ali picked up boxing at the age of 12 and went on to win his first Olympic gold by the age of 18. After winning the gold medal he turned his focus toward professional boxing. Ali accumulated a 19-bout unbeaten run to earn a shot at Sonny Liston’s heavyweight championship.
Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston were set to face on February 25, 1964. Sonny Liston had defeated Floyd Patterson in 1962 to win the heavyweight championship and was the favorite to win the bout. Ali was coming into the fight as an underdog even though he had more than 100 victories to his name.
Ali had a knack of trash talking before his fight and a crowd of 8,300 people gathered at Miami Beach’s Convention Hall arena to see if Muhammad Ali, named the “Louisville Lip,” could live up to his words. To everyone’s surprise Muhammad Ali the underdog overthrew the champion to become a Heavyweight champion at the age of 22. In the aftermath of the fight, Muhammad Ali delivered the fieriest speech in the history of the sport.
Muhammad was surrounded by journalists and fans who had doubted him in the build-up to the match Ali said, “I am the greatest of all time… I upset Sonny Liston.. I’m the king of the world! I’m a bad man! I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived! I shook up the world!”.
Muhammad Ali was never the same after this match he had managed to write his name into the history books. This moment was the turning point of his career, the moment that started it all. Muhammed Ali went on to be the “Sportsman of the century” and completely changed the landscape of the boxing industry.
Read More: Why did Muhammad Ali refuse the Vietnam War Draft?
Defeating Sonny Liston was the start of Muhammad Ali’s illustrious boxing career
Muhammad Ali’s victory over Liston benefited Ali becoming The Greatest. Ali’s victory over Liston made him a star. Ali then went on to become a three-time heavyweight boxing champion. His record of beating 21 boxers for the world heavyweight championship remained unbeaten for 35 years. He then was inducted into the boxing hall of fame in the year 1990.
In the year 1990, he was also named one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century by “People’s magazine”. Later in 2005, he was awarded the Presidential Medal of freedom.
He was all over the place, from cameos in his biography movie to releasing his hip-hop album. Ali also appeared as the special guest at the first-ever WrestleMania in 1985.
Muhammed Ali has become a pop culture icon and his legacy is splashed all over with his references in movies, albums, video games, tv series, books, and others. However, his legendary tale would always start from the biggest ever upset in the boxing history aaginst Sonny Liston.
Also Read: “I put on a bum of the month tour” – When Muhammad Ali and Joe Louis shared a wholesome moment
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Soumya Ranjan
(2167 Articles Published)