Sam Castan, a journalist for Look Magazine did numerous 'man-on-the-street' interviews in Miami Beach, before the the Sonny Liston vs. Cassius Clay Championship Bout, held a the Convention Center on February 25, 1964. Suprisingly, the taped interviews never made it to print in Look Magazine. Here are some of the responses. Nick Martinez, a local Miami Beach store owner. 'I have an idea of what will happen, and I hope its exciting. We need boxing down here, as it stirs up business in our community. As for Sonny Liston, he is still a mystery to me, with all that mob-stuff, it scares me to think whether everything is on the up and up.' --------------------------------------------------------------------- John LoBianco, a local bar onwer. 'That Cassius Clay, he is nothing but a loud-mouth. Oh, he can fight a bit, but who has he beaten, some English Heavyweight and a few tomato-cans that they dragged out of the graveyard.' --------------------------------------------------------------------- Russ Thorton, a visiting tourist from Michigan. 'Sonny will crush him like a peanut in a vise. It's a man versus a boy. The kid isn't ready yet. Maybe in a year when Liston slows down and Clay gets bigger, then we will see a real fight. But not now.' 'I have free tickets, so I guess I'll go. But truthfully, I'm not interested in seeing a side-show. I have no idea why the promoters pushed this fight on the public so fast. That makes me think about it.'
David Castelli, a tourist from Mew York City. 'Sonny is really bad for the sport. He has too much evilness surrounding him. He really need's to cleanup his act. But fighting this clown Cash Clay sure isn't going to help his image.' ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Martin Brewer, an electrical contractor working the boxing event. 'I saw Sonny fight Patterson in Chicago, and he was so awesome. But anything can happen in the ring. If Cassius stays away from Sonny for a few rounds, I give him a good chance to upset him. Sonny has to carry those big arms around, and after a few rounds they will get real heavy. That's what Clay is planning, for Sonny to slow down, and then pick him apart from the outside.'
And they were among the many who were shocked by what the young Cassius Clay pulled off !! Even Liston was shocked. He commented that Clay was n't who he was supposed to be fighting,as Clay could HIT.
More interviews,,,,, Antonio Rojas, a bodega owner. 'I know that Clay, he's very fast. If he runs very fast and stays away from Liston he can win. Not by knockout, but by jabbing and moving. I will bet on him to win.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mary Donovan, a tourist from New York. 'My husband likes the Champion, because he's big. But I like Cassius, because he looks like a real fast fighter. I went to one of his work-outs, and he looked so confident, that nothing seemed to bother him. I think he'll win.'
More interviews, Dominic Casale, a construction union boss from Cleveland, Ohio. 'Sonny will break him in half. I saw Clay fight two years ago, and he couldn't pound a nail into a piece of wood with a sledge-hammer. Unless I'm missing something, this kid is out of his league.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Robert Davenport, a bus driver from Jacksonville. 'I like underdogs, always have and always will. I want Cassius to win, and to send Liston and his hoodlum buddies back to wherever they came from. They ain't good for the game of boxing.'
Tony "The Weasel" Marcello. Visitor from New York. Yeah, Liston's going down- first half of the fight. It came from Frankie Carbo.
More interviews,,,,,,,,, Mike DeJohn, boxer and former Heavyweight contender 'Clay still fights like an amateur, with his hands down and his chin up. I wish he was around when I was in my prime, as I don't think I would have had an easier fight. As for him and Liston, I'm not sure Sonny can hit him, because he is as slow as syrup in an upstate New York winter.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Pat Grant, boxing fan 'I don't like Clay. Too much mouth, too little fighting. Sonny, if he can get ahold of him, will break his face. Clay is better than Patterson, but he ain't no Marciano. It should go 5 Rounds.'
Well looks like we got an open and shut case Johnson! For consistency sake, I'll assume the mob helped Liston win half his fights. What a fraud! No one ever said that about prime Foreman. Liston's combinations were always clunky and slow to me. Foremans wings wide shots that top off around the same speed as Liston's straighter, shorter punchers.
More interviews, New York Times Sports Desk, 'We're not sending out any of our top sportswriters down there for a farce of a fight. We have better assignments for our writers. We'll send down one our junior writers, to fill us in.' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Marty Campanato, San Francisco boxing promoter, 'I hope they have an ambulance waiting outside. I don't want to see this kid get killed. I think he may have a bright future. William Faversham and his group must have a big insurance policy on Clay, otherwise it makes no sense at all to throw him the ring with Liston.' 'If he was my fighter, I would put him in with two more 'ham-and-eggers', then go after Floyd Patterson in the fall. After that, he should be ready.'
