60 years ago today: Charles L. "Sonny" Liston♱ vs. Cassius Marcellus "The Louisville Lip" Clay, Jr.*

Purses in 1964:

Clay $630,000
Liston $1,365,000

Adjusted for inflation, current worth in 2024:

Clay $6,267,829.35
Liston $13,580,296.94

(yes, a buck from six decades ago is equivalent to a tenner now)

 

Yep, just $10 at Walmart.

 

Maybe the first one, but the whole anchor punch nonsense would have been quelled by 4k video cameras, slow-mo replays from multiple angles zoomed in, etc.

The punch connected; it was just quick enough and unexpected enough that dupes of the day thought it couldn't be real.

As to whether Liston then found a comfy spot on the canvas to fulfill any dive obligations, and the bungling of poor Walcott - that's a whole 'nother ball of wax or two...

 

In the day - and for decades after, honestly - there was a lot of discourse focused on Ali supposedly "hitting air".

 

I'd agree. Knockdown punch, yes... but Liston wanted out IMO. (there was precedent, from 2/25/64)

 

Your take's cool by me, daddyo.

 

Point of clarification: Sonny was defending all of the following:

1. The Ring Magazine heavyweight title.
2. The recognized "Undisputed" heavyweight championship of the post-pioneer and pre-alphabet era (in this case the unified NYSAC & NBA championship), tracing its early 20th century lineage to Jack Dempsey.
3. The green belt he captured in Patterson II (launching the WBC title lineage now written up to Fury)
   ...and, not defended by Liston as he didn't have it yet but also in the ante:
4. The inaugural WBA title, which if you ignore the interim/regular/super fragmentation and only recognize the most prestigious of them, is the same title worn today by Usyk.