Did anybody ever see anything peculiar in the Liston-Clay I fight

On Tuesday morning, 2/18, a day after his one round KO of Duke Sabedong, Eddie and his manager headed to Miami Beach.
Bill MacDonald gave Eddie and his manager his word on all counts, and promised Eddie
he would do all he could to promote a Liston-Machen Title fight.
A fight in Miami Beach for 1964, and under his local promotion at the Convention Hall.
MacDonald informed the two, that they had to be in Miami Beach, to agree in
part for a future bout, after Sonny whipped Clay.

MacDonald agreed to pay Eddie and Minskoff all expenses, hospitalities for as long as they needed, if they could get to Miami Beach by Tuesday evening, which they did.
Eddie and Minskoff, agreed in principle for $10,000 to fight a soft-touch and no risk opponent.
When Misnkoff asked Bill MacDonald just who he had in mind, MacDonald said Marty Marshall.
It would be great undercard publicity.

 

Unfortunately, this wasn't going to be easy.
Bringing Marty Marshall in to Miama Beach to talk wasn't the problem, getting him
to fight would be.
Marshall, the Detroit Light Heavyweight from the mid-late 50's who broke Sonny's jaw and the only mad to defeat him was available for anything, as long as money was involved, and he could proclaim he had the trick to defeat Sonny.
Bill MacDonald thought this would help local promotions, and it did for a minor moment.

Since MacDonald would have loved to throw Marty Marshall in the ring as a warm-up fight with Eddie Machen before the Liston-Clay Title fight, it would not be.
Marty Marshall who got his expenses and hospitalities covered, was limited to only another patron to watch the fight.

Marshall, the 41-years old 'Michigan Bomber', had been out of boxing for 4 1/2 years,
and had his boxing license pulled.

Bill MacDonald trid to pull a few-strings, but to no avail. The Miami Beach Boxing Commision said no.

MacDonald tried to utilize the (2) Liston battlers as best he could, but in reality, they were not needed for anything, but their presence, and minor 'side show'.

 

Ping-Ping,

The Convention Hall, Miami Beach

Capacity 16,552

Golden Circle (seating around the ring perimeter 720-seats)
Auxillary Press (directly behind the Golden Circle 72-seats)
Reserved (1000 seats)
Lower-Level (4100 seats)
Mid-Level (4500 seats)
Upper-Level (6160 seats)

The Upper-Level seats were offered up at $20 each.
Tuesday, fight day the prices were scaled down to $10

If the fight was a sell-out, the 'live gate' would have been $1,200,000

Fight schedule line-up;
Rudy Clay vs. Chip Johnson (4 rounds)
Bob Foster vs. Dave Bailey (6 Rounds)
Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay (15 Rounds)
Otha Brown vs. Jesse Bowdry (6 Rounds)
Leotis Martin vs. Allan Harmon (6 Rounds)

 

UN,

I could imagine, that the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, in order to save face,
had to find something wrong with Sonny Liston's shoulder.

Damn, the Associated Press and the New York Times (associate sports writer) had information that Liston had not trained for several days, due to soreness in the shoulder.
But the Commission knew nothing.

But, I think that was circulated old news, and most boxing people knew Sonny always
had bursitist, an inflammation of the shoulder area for years.

 

The Inter-Continental Promotion boys would have never allowed that to happen.
Not with a $3,500,000 Guarantee in the bank from Fred Brooks, the New York businessman who was in-line to promote the Boston fight.

Even if Sonny did fight, lets say a #10 thru #20 ranked guy, and won but looked bad,
that would have killed the big $$$ for the rematch.

I know it was in June/July 1966, over 2-years later, but no one was impressed with
Liston in his lumbering win over German-southpaw Gerard Zech,,,,,'das bad'.

Maybe that inner-desire to be a 'Champion' was gone.

 

Following the fight in Miami, the Miami Beach Boxing Commission took another look at the signed contracts.

One contract was drawn up in July 1963, and another in August 1963.
On was signed by both parties in October 1963, and another was signed
in November 1963.

In each contract, there were no return match clauses written.

After finding out a secret deal had been reached by both parties for a return match, the Miami Beach Boxing Commission asked for a copy, for their review and files.

A copy of that agreement was never delivered to the Commission.
Copies of that supposed contract were never found.

The only thing that was discovered, was that Robert Nilon (Jack Nilons brother, and manager of Sonny Liston) as Executive V.P. of Iner-Continental Promotions and Garland Cherry (I-C-P's attorney) had a
closed door meeting at the Fountainbleu Hotel, with Bill Faversham
(Cassius Clay's manager), Cassius Clay and Gordon Davidson (attorney),
several days before the fight, approximately February 22nd.

An agreement was made, that Robert Nilon, on behalf of I-C-P would give
$50,000 to Cassius Clay, in return for granting I-C-P all promotional
rights to his next fight, if he won the championship.
Including, picking the date, the fighter, and location.

All parties agreed, and whether there was a contract drawn up or not,
no one has ever found it.
As for the $50,000, it was delivered in cash. Was it more money than that, it was never disclosed in the Commissions investigation.
The $50,000 payment was all that Robert Nilon would admit to.
It may have been a 'handshake', or inside agreement.

 

Yes Mister,

Cassius Clay was built like a Gazelle, fast, quick and elusive.
Sonny Liston, like a freight train, powerful, but slow and ponderous.

If the fight was in a telephone booth, Sonny would have destroyed Cassius Clay's internals.
But in the open field, like a defensive lineman trying to chase Gale Sayers.

Sonny, was just flat-out styled to pummel a stationary target, a ring boxing genious he was not.

 

Right after the Liston-Patterson II fight in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A problem developed with collecting Sonny Liston's fight purse.
A good portion was tied up in legal matters, as Championship Fights, Inc.
had monies frozen.
Championship Fights, had the promotional rights of Liston's first defense.

In April 1963, following that fight, Jack Nilon stated to Sports Illustrated that he and Sonny need to make 'big money', and fast.

There were no big money fights out there, as Cassius Clay had been considered
somehwat of a joke. The only other big possible money maker was convincing
Ingemar Johansson to take a fight, but the Swede wanted it only in Stockholm.