Didn't the gun have blanks? But Ali had been jacking with Liston at night at Liston's house....and Liston one time slapped Ali like a spoiled child at a casino. (Plus ol' Chris Dundee was the promoter of the Miami fight...and was heavily into the Wrestling business.).
Yeah it was blanks, liston proved that by shooting his own jacket after ali bolted out, just the way he looked around and casually shot his jacket made me feel like it was a staged event, liston is great fighter and all, but damn if he isn' a terrible actor
I think the story was a fabrication, as was much of the 1970s book/film The Greatest. Liston slapping Clay is more likely, and if I remember rightly, a few witnesses have confirmed that over the years, or at least claimed they saw it.
There is a lot of hogwash in boxing folklaw. Didn’t Tyson once claim he “roundhouse kicked” Don King? I think these romantic rumours are right up there with roundhouse kicks.
He made it look quite convincing when he took a dive against Ali in their rematch. Went down like he was shot by a sniper in the crowd.
