Ali's Controversial "Phantom Punch" Explained - Brilliant Exchanges

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mark ant, Dec 18, 2020.

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Was Liston really knocked out by Ali?

  1. Ali landed a legit KO blow in his rematch against Liston

    11 vote(s)
    39.3%
  2. Liston took a dive in that rematch

    17 vote(s)
    60.7%
  1. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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  2. Truthmachine

    Truthmachine New Member Full Member

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    I prefer the simple answer, here: Liston got caught cold with a punch he didn’t see coming. Ali didn’t go to the neutral corner, Walcott struggled to control the situation, started counting late and declared it a KO before finishing the count at the behest of Nat Fleischer.

    The call was obviously illegitimate imo. Ali didn't land a knockout blow because there was no knockout. The fight will always be a NC in my mind.
     
  3. sweetsci

    sweetsci Well-Known Member Full Member

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    I totally agree with this. However, I do question why Liston and his people didn't raise a royal stink about it. Also, was there anyone in the boxing press AT THE TIME who raised the concerns Truthmachine raises? Obviously not Sir Nat Fleischer.
     
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  4. JackSilver

    JackSilver Boxing Addict Full Member

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    British soccer players would have been proud to have been able to dive like Liston did.
     
  5. Dempsey1238

    Dempsey1238 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I think the punch hurt Liston for the knockdown, but not for the full count of ten. Not sure what would of happen with Ali running around the ring, Walcott losing control, and Nat Fleischer calling Walcott over saying the fight is over claiming that Liston was down way past the ten count.
     
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  6. Bill1234

    Bill1234 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    The punch landed but it wasn't a "knockout blow." Liston went down but could've gotten up at any point he wanted. The whole event became a mess with Ali not wanting to go to the corner and the whole counting mishap and it led to a confusing conclusion.
     
  7. KuRuPT

    KuRuPT Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    It's only one of two things for me:

    Bad acting doing a planned dive
    bad acting doing a non planned dive, and just stayed down

    I will never believe in some Phantom Punch KO, the whole think stunk
     
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  8. Toney F*** U

    Toney F*** U Boxing junkie Full Member

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    People just don’t want to accept the fact that they’ve been fooled, there’s been way too many threads on this fight. It was a clear fix, end of story
     
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  9. Entaowed

    Entaowed Boxing Addict banned Full Member

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    This is true. Liston was also intimidated due to death threats & Ali acting crazy.
    This is one of numerous examples when the conspiracy-in this case a dixed fight-is less plausible than it being a mess where a few factors, some unpredictable like Nat Fleisher's interference & Wolcott acceding to it, made things go south.
     
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  10. Unforgiven

    Unforgiven VIP Member banned Full Member

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    He took a dive.
    It's obvious.

    Ali was pissed off and shouted at him to get up.
    Liston rolled around over-acting.
     
  11. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    lol
     
  12. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    I don't even think the KD was real like come on, look at the way Liston breaks his fall as if he's looking for a comfy spot in the ring. FBI even confirmed it was a dive.
     
    Last edited: Dec 19, 2020
  13. George forearm

    George forearm The forearm of George Full Member

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    How is there discussion about this it was a dive. Naymar had more convinceing dives than that
     
  14. mark ant

    mark ant Canelo was never athletic Full Member

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    Look at how his head moves when he`s hit, you can see the impact.
     
  15. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing

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    It definitely hit him, but the punch had no weight whatsoever on it. If you look at Liston, his arms hit the canvas to break the fall, before his actual knee touches. Does that look like a legitimate Kd?
     
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