any proof or evidence that Liston really put linoleum on his gloves?

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Commentator: "His eys are bothering him....He´s blinking badly!"

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It was common in those days for corners to have liniment, which was used for sore joints, so it wouldn’t be strange for Sonny’s corner to have it considering Sonny was an aging fighter by the time of the Ali fight and he had a lot of joint pain in his shoulders.

Also, due to the title slipping away I could see Liston’s handlers getting desperate at losing their meal ticket. Unfortunately It isn’t uncommon for a corner to resort to shady things when their fighter is losing and a title or big money is on the line.

Nowadays corners have to account for everything they bring to the corner, but in the 50’s and 60’s corners could get away with a lot more. A while ago one of my Grandfather’s stablemates Tommy Noel wrote an article on his website about the things medical examiners and corners could get away with in the 50’s that would never happen in boxing today.

 

Please, just re-watch the fight.
It's very clear Ali was having some issue with his eyes
around the 5th rd.
It's very clear his tactics changed, and he began to
move much more in those rds. his eyes were affected.
It's very clear Ali was winning the fight easily, and if
Liston began to realize he was getting out-classed
he may have sought some illegal advantages.
(Not saying he did, the liquid could've easily
gotten on the gloves by mistake if he used
it for legitimate purpose like sore muscles.)
It wasn't late in the fight if it happened around
the 5th rd of a 15 rd fight.

 

Definitely something going on there with Ali's eyes. Accident or purposely used, now that's the question.

 

Watch Ali yelling in the post fight interview.

He himself was convinced Liston put Liniment in his face by his gloves.

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Linoleum is a floor covering, like vinyl or rolled tile.

I don’t think he covered his gloves in it, haha.

Liniment is a type of ointment — think Icy Hot or the likes. I think it’s very clear that Liston’s corner used it on his shoulder — maybe they also wiped some on his gloves as an illegal tactic, maybe some of it transferred by inadvertent contact or even some of it got on Ali’s gloves and he wiped his brow or it got into his eyes from a clinch or whatnot.

 

It might have been Monsell's Solution

 

Did someone notice that Alis eyes started to trouble him before round 5 even started, as soon as he sat down in his corner, starting to blink and talk to Dundee?
But it doesn´t look like he had trouble in round 4.

 

The fsct thstit happened more than once makes me seriously consider it was deliberate on Liston’s handlers part.

 

Let’s all remember that Ali wasn’t the first Liston opponent to accuse his corner of such.

 

I believe they have determined that according to an interview with Angelo Dundee over 30 years ago.

 

That was for cuts. It dried in a cut like cement. They had to cut it out of a fighter afterwards. That's why they had so much scar tissue.

 

Just for Listons defend: Could someone please explain how Ali didn´t have any trouble in round 4, but got so terrible after some corner face swipe?
Soaking Angelos sponge with liniment would be a pretty cunning, but implausible hypothesis....

 

This happens quite a lot in boxing matches.

It wasn't Liston cheating, it was either Monsel's solution in Liston's cuts or some ointment he had rubbed on his shoulder that probably got on Clay's hair or brow and poured into his eyes when Dundee squeezed a sponge on his head.