What would the mob stand to gain by having Sonny Liston whacked?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Raheem, Feb 2, 2023.



  1. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist Full Member

    21,336
    12,016
    Apr 3, 2012
    He would've been beaten unconscious and shot on the spot.
     
    ThatOne likes this.
  2. Melankomas

    Melankomas Prime Jeffries would demolish a grizzly in 2 Full Member

    3,061
    3,356
    Dec 18, 2022
    I don't shine shoes no more!
     
    Richmondpete likes this.
  3. NoNeck

    NoNeck Pugilist Specialist Full Member

    21,336
    12,016
    Apr 3, 2012
    I read that he had a nonlethal amount of morphine in his system and died secondary to cardiovascular disease.
     
    Pugguy likes this.
  4. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    15,661
    14,690
    Jul 30, 2014
    Completely untrue. Emergency services are dispatched immediately when notified of a dead body, regardless of state of rigor.

    They're certainly not going to say (especially when they can't confirm it themselves) "well he's already dead and he ain't coming back, so I'll just take a nap, run some errands, and get there when I can."
     
    Pugguy likes this.
  5. ThatOne

    ThatOne Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,032
    5,957
    Jan 13, 2022
    I believe the poster is suggesting Mrs. Liston was dilatory not the EMTS.
     
  6. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

    48,002
    18,105
    Jan 3, 2007
    I suspect his death was an accidental overdose. Nothing to prove my theory but it makes more sense to me. When the mob wanted to whack a guy they just did it. Bullet to the back of the head and body buried in a field. Doubt they’d FORCE drugs into a guy and then stood around waiting to confirm he was dead. Then leaving the body to be found. The idea that a former heavyweight champion was “ murdered “ in mysterious fashion made for good book material but in all probability that’s not likely how it happened
     
  7. Melankomas

    Melankomas Prime Jeffries would demolish a grizzly in 2 Full Member

    3,061
    3,356
    Dec 18, 2022
    Yeah, that's more of a CIA thing. Either that or a 'suicide' with two gunshots to the head.
     
    mirexxa and mr. magoo like this.
  8. Glass City Cobra

    Glass City Cobra H2H Burger King Full Member

    9,163
    15,096
    Jan 6, 2017
    When you put it that way, it does seem very odd that an organized criminal group would do such a long winded thing that could potentially lead back to them (DNA, discarded tools, etc). If the mob was really angry at Liston, making him overdose doesn't seem like a very practical method to get rid of him.
     
    Raheem likes this.
  9. swagdelfadeel

    swagdelfadeel Obsessed with Boxing Full Member

    15,661
    14,690
    Jul 30, 2014
    Surprised so many people in this thread have never heard of a hot shot, a common tactic used by the MOB. I'm not necessarily saying Liston was murdered, but the arguments in this thread are very unconvincing.
     
    Pugguy likes this.
  10. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

    48,002
    18,105
    Jan 3, 2007
    In those days they didn’t have the forensic capabilities to analyze DNA but it still doesn’t make sense
     
    Entaowed, Raheem and Pugguy like this.
  11. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

    48,002
    18,105
    Jan 3, 2007
    Hot shot was typically done by the user to get a big high fast and a lot times people killed themselves in doing it. I believe that it’s something the mob could have used but I just doubt it. I can’t imagine three guys going into Liston’s home, holding him down ( fun task I’m sure) Forcing a needle into him. Waiting for the drugs to kick in. Maybe checking his pulse. Finding his heart still beating so maybe hitting him up again. And finally after he’s dead just leaving his body there for the police to find. Easier to put a cap in him, throw him in a trunk and bury him someplace 50-60 miles away.
     
    mirexxa, swagdelfadeel and Raheem like this.
  12. Pugguy

    Pugguy Boxing Junkie Full Member

    10,527
    17,139
    Aug 22, 2021
    There’s lots of isolated pieces thrown up, which is fine, but when you try to piece them together, they don’t fit.

    I would think the delay in contacting any official services is a somewhat unusual.

    Unusual too that Liston’s wife was away from Sonny over Xmas.

    “Unusual” doesn’t necessarily equate to foul play, but still, these are questions you’d expect investigators to have asked….

    A fight vs Chuvalo was also in the works, apparently already signed.

    If Liston did already have a substantial heroin habit - how far back did it go and what fights can we deduce that might’ve seen a somewhat impaired Liston due to drug usage…even if Sonny still looked quite impressive in some of those fights….
     
    swagdelfadeel and Raheem like this.
  13. Pugguy

    Pugguy Boxing Junkie Full Member

    10,527
    17,139
    Aug 22, 2021
    Btw, did we establish a motive or motives? It seems we might’ve drifted from that significant feature to a crime….

    Could a motive have simply been Liston knowing too much and eventually becoming worth less than the risk of his having that knowledge?
     
    swagdelfadeel and Raheem like this.
  14. mr. magoo

    mr. magoo VIP Member Full Member

    48,002
    18,105
    Jan 3, 2007
    Who knows? The man’s life was shrouded in shadiness going back to young adolescence. I suppose anything could have been the case. And I’m not completely ruling out murder as a possibility. But on the surface, an overdose or suicide sounds more likely to me. Especially considering that literally tons of celebrities had succumbed to the same fate in that era
     
    swagdelfadeel, Raheem and Pugguy like this.
  15. ThatOne

    ThatOne Boxing Addict Full Member

    4,032
    5,957
    Jan 13, 2022
    No DNA back then.