check this out. Ali vs Liston 2. The great thing about it is it has full interviews with both men after the fight and a studio discussion with jack dempsey and rocky marciano and howard cosell where they discuss the fight in depth. Fascinating viewing, this was 1965 almost 50 years ago! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tACAhpEf7EY[/ame]
Its a great vid, I posted something like it a few years ago http://www.eastsideboxing.com/forum/showthread.php?t=267910
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtZVoWmskmQ[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQ69MyiNOe4[/ame] Two of my personal favourites. "I can danth, I can boxth, I can thlug"
Just the way he went over as he tries to get up doesn't look right to me. Plus he bobbed and weaved like he had a clear head when Ali was coming at him with serious shots. I'm all too aware of the damage a short shot can do when landing in the right place but I think Liston wanted out ASAP. I felt the same way as with the Dirrell Arthur incident.
It was only later that Ali started to go on about the shot. At first he didn't have a clue what shot he had gone over from. If he had thrown and landed the shot like he said he did he would have known the second he was asked what shot knocked him out!!!
Liston may have wanted out but not because it was pre-determined IMO. First shot, as you say, caught him good and I think his heart wasn't in it after that. Watch Leotis Martin spark him. That's Liston really getting the fight beaten out of him at the end of his career :good
I agree but I remain unconvinced that he needed to go down in the first place. When you cruble like that it takes a while to get your legs back. Look at his legs when he is bobbing and weaving. I'm not sure it was pre-determined as you say but I think he wanted out. In the interview after he says I wanted to get it over as quickly as possible and I can't help feeling there was more truth in that than he meant there to be.
I think it was a legitimate knockdown,but Liston could have got up and continued,he basically didnt fancy it,he couldnt lay a glove on Ali,and my way of thinking,Liston thought it was gonna go the same way as the first fight,so he got outa there.