1964 - Detail

February 25, 1964 - 1960 Olympic champion Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) wins the World Heavyweight Championship in Boxing from current champ Sonny Liston.



Article by Jason Donovan

For millennia, the sport of boxing has evolved and has become one of the most popular combat sports. Through the decades, there have been many people who have changed the sport and made history in the process. There have been moments that stand out in the sport. One such occasion was the 1964 fight between Cassius Clay, who would soon change his name to Muhammad Ali. The first Ali v Sonny Liston fight made history, proving a pivotal point in American sports history.

Muhammad Ali's path to greatness started on 17 January 1942 born Cassius Clay. At 12 years of age a meeting with Joe Martin, a police officer who also taught boxing, altered his course. The young Cassius poured his heart, soul, and time into his training at the expense of his schooling. His trainer saw his student's talent for boxing relatively quickly. Martin would help further his career.

Martin put the young man into the spotlight via "Tomorrow's Champions," his local Louisville, Kentucky, television show. Fred Stoner, an "African American trainer," raised Clay's skill level by drilling the science of boxing into the future champion. One of the main skills Stoner taught Clay was to "move with the grace and ease of a dancer." Clay would continue to hone his skills, producing great success.

While still a teenager, Clay would earn his first championship when he overcame his competition to win the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) on the national level as well as the Golden Gloves. His hard work paid off when he earned a ticket to the 1960 Olympics in Rome, Italy. He continued his advance through the ranks by conquering the light heavyweight division, thereby winning a gold medal. He returned to the United States a conqueror of the ring. The big leagues took notice.

Professional Ranks

The road to the world championship started on 29 October 1960 against Tunney Hunsaker, winning in six rounds. Two months to the day later, he won with a fourth-round knockout of Herb Siler. 1961 was a busy year with eight fights, all of which he won, including six knockouts. In 1962, the steamrolling continued when six fights ended in wall-to-wall knockouts. 1963 was a much slower year, with only three fights, two of which ended in knockouts. After defeating all before him, he had reached the top of the mountain with a heavyweight world championship shot.

A 22-year-old Clay would reach the pinnacle of the boxing world on 25 February 1964. Although the match was on that day, the match started months before in the lead-up to the fight. Clay mentally manipulated Liston with his epic trash-talking and his charisma. Everyone thought that all his yelling and screaming was because Clay was scared, but it was all part of the plan. Taking his cue from the professional wrestling of the day, his actions and words were designed to get into Liston's head. Through all his interviews, Clay did all he could to taunt Liston. His tactics included going to the gym where Liston was training and taunting him, as well as trying to start a fight. His mental assault included writing poetry, arguably his most memorable being, ...

Clay comes out to meet Liston and Liston starts to retreat,
If Liston goes back an inch farther he'll end up in a ringside seat.
Clay swings with a left, Clay swings with a right,
Just look at young Cassius carry the fight.
Liston keeps backing but there's not enough room,
It's a matter of time until Clay lowers the boom.
Then Clay lands with a right, what a beautiful swing,
And the punch raised the bear clear out of the ring.
Liston still rising and the ref wears a frown,
But he can't start counting until Sonny comes down.
Now Liston disappears from view, the crowd is getting frantic
But our radar stations have picked him up somewhere over the Atlantic.
Who on Earth thought, when they came to the fight,
That they would witness the launching of a human satellite.
Hence the crowd did not dream, when they laid down their money,
That they would see a total eclipse of Sonny.

The words were only part of the plan. The fight weigh-in was a necessary part of the act. Another aspect of the plan came at the weigh-in when Clay advised his trainers to pretend to hold him back from fighting Liston right then and there. Liston took this all in stride, thinking all these stunts of Clay's actions and words were just to hype the fight. This was true until Clay made comments to a "Negro racial group in which he criticized Sonny for training in Las Vegas in front of all those white people." Liston's trainer relayed this in an article that appeared in "The Courier-Journal" in January 1964. Liston's trainer continued saying that Liston stated he thought Clay's comments were "unnecessary and way out of line" and "this guy had gone too far". The mental onslaught had succeeded, but cost Clay $2,500 ($26,048) in fines for his actions at the weigh-in. Then came fight night at Miami's Convention Hall.

The Clay-Liston Fight 1964

Clay came into the fight undefeated, while Liston went into the battle after slamming through all before him. Liston's successful technique of brute power, along with his "bullying tactics" and devastating left hand, had made him one of the most feared men in the division. On the other hand, Clay's team had a detailed plan to take away Liston's formidable weaponry. Clay's coach, Angelo Dundee, noticed that Liston was weaker "against fluid boxers with good head and lateral movement." These weaknesses played into Clay's hands, as these were his strongest attributes.

Dundee's plan was simple: to use his fighter's talents to shut down Liston's attacks. Stating his plan was for, "Clay's complex footwork to circle his opponent on the outside catching them with whipping jabs before rushing in to throw lighting combinations" in addition "he kept his hands low to encourage head hunting always staying out of range making them overreach."

His quickness would also prove to be a great asset in shutting down Liston's heavy punches. As a famous referee's catch phrase said, "Let's Get It On," it was time to see who would be king of the mountain. Clay and Liston met for their fight instructions. Clay looked through his adversary with a cold stare before one last disrespectful verbal jab. Time to see if the bookies' odds of seven to one were correct and whether Clay's prediction, "a knockout in seven," was prophetic. Or was the majority opinion that Clay would fall just like the rest?

Howard Cosell conducted the preflight interviews via ABC. In these interviews, Listion thought that Clay was scared of him and used his mouth to cover his fear. He entirely underestimated his opponent, comparing Clay to a scared child in a dark room. Liston predicted that he would only need three rounds to vanquish his foe. Just like Liston, Clay thought his opponent was terrified of him, stating that,...

"Sonny Liston is in trouble, Sonny Liston is scared to death, today at the weigh-in he was so nervous he could not even get on the scales, I could see defeat in his eyes, he was wary, he's afraid that's his gimmick scaring people at the weigh-ins but I got him today…"

The war of words was over, and the fist-flying began. The masses were transfixed as the bell for round one sounded. In their analysis of the first round, the YouTube channel "The Modern Martial Artist" states, "Ali seemed to be everywhere at once, dancing and fainting with a broken rhythm… He was changing head position to draw punches, then rebounding back to change direction in the blink of an eye." Liston kept missing Clay time after time, possibly out of frustration or the built-up pre-fight anger. Liston's discipline started to crack as he switched from "plotting steps" to "quick undisciplined shuffles" then "practically running at" Clay. Liston did reach Clay with two body shots. Clay smothered Liston from hitting him any further by clinching. During the clinch, Clay did something that fellow boxer Floyd Patterson could not do during his fight with Liston: he pushed himself off the ropes, taking Liston with him into the middle of the ring. He would not get trapped on the ropes as Patterson had been. Clay stayed out of range from Liston's swings. Clay also used all of Liston's rage that had built up during the pre-fight period by getting him to headhunt by keeping his hands low. This technique may have made "him think that he could shut that mouth" that had tormented him for months. Tormenting Liston was "the plan all along."

To take away his jab, that Dundee said, was the setup punch to his devastating combinations. In order to neutralize this weapon, Clay kept moving to the left. Then came Clay's weaponry in return in the form of his whip-like jab. Contrary to Liston's jab, Clay was connecting. With this punch, he focused on diminishing Liston's vision and used it as his own setup punch. He was also able to slip his jab through Lisbon's defenses with precision. With his jab paying off, Clay came in range of Liston's punches but landed many more jabs, "dealing as much damage as possible."

A recording of the fight, which Steve Ellis and Joe Louis were commentating, states that Liston missed a lead-off punch but caught Clay with a punch to the nose. In this first round, many of Liston's punches were wild and had no chance of connecting. Clay, on the other hand, started later in the round. Still, he connected with his jab and used that punch to set up blistering combinations later in the round. The fight went on for twenty seconds after the bell.

In round two, Clay stood closer to Liston. This tactic was a dangerous decision, and as a result, Clay took more punishment than he did in the previous round. Clay went to the right in this round and, as a result, was hit by Liston's left hand. Even though the punch hit him, Clay kept coming. Clay bobbed and weaved, making it hard to hit, and Liston missed many of his punches. Liston also started to bob and weave, then the bell ended the round. In a different radio recording, the commentators state, ... "Liston has missed more punches so far than he did with Floyd Patterson." Both fighters moved around the entire ring. Liston got Clay on the ropes and hit him with multiple punches, but Clay was able to push him away. Clay was hit with more punches in this round.

Round three was, arguably, an important round. In this round, Clay threw many jabs, but the most devastating was Clay's left-right-left-left-right-left combination. This combination opened up a cut over Liston's right eye, and his left eye was beginning to swell shut. Clay appeared to have better confidence throwing multiple combinations, with the commentators saying that as a result, Liston "was hobbled" but kept going. Liston landed his punches to the body. As the round went on, more brutal punches were landing as Clay was inside. As the round went on, punches kept being traded. These punches opened up Liston's cut. Clay showed his power by pushing Liston across the ring, getting himself off the ropes. In this round, the war heated up as combinations continued to fly from both men.

In round four, both men looked to slow the pace. Clay to conserve his energy in case the fight went the full distance, and Liston because he was exhausted. There were rumors before the fight that Liston had not trained as much as he should. However, it is also possible that his pace was so fast, and he kept swinging for the fences from the start, possibly due to the rage discussed above. No matter the reason for the exhaustion, a twist of fate would come in this round in the form of a substance somehow getting into Clay's eyes, "effectively blinding him." His coach cleared his eyes as best he could, sending him out to the next round.

The fifth round was one for Liston as Clay's vision was impaired. Thinking on his feet, Clay realized that even though he could not see him, he could feel him. He accomplishes this by putting his hand on Liston's head, bobbing and weaving, and taking a large number of punches, including body shots. Clay was hit with a right to his steel chin and continued to fight on. Clay was dishing out damage of his own as Liston's eyes continued to cause him to have impaired vision throughout the round. By the end of the round, "both men appeared to be tired."

In the sixth round, Clay's vision was back. The sixth was the round when Clay unloaded with a myriad of punches, backing Liston up. By the end of the round, Liston had thrown nowhere near as many punches as Clay.

In the seventh and final round, Liston could not continue due to an injury to his shoulder. Realizing this, Clay rushed out of his corner in celebration. He had proved his predictions correct. Clay was the new champion, and the post-fight interview was legendary. Clay kept saying, "I am the greatest", "I am the king", and "I shook up the world". The ring was full of people in celebration.

After the Fight

Not only did he become the new champion, but another pivotal moment in Clay's life came the following day in his Miami hotel room when he met with Malcom X, the two had "an evening of reflection." The next day, the 26th, "Clay announced his affiliation with The Nation of Islam," taking the name Cassius X. He would eventually decide on the name the world would know him by and that would go down in history, Muhammad Ali. He would be affiliated with the nation till he turned to "orthodox Islam in the 1970s."

This battle with Liston launched Ali's long and legendary career. Ali was a phenom in the ring. Outside the ring, he worked tirelessly in fighting for civil rights. During the same period in American history, the Vietnam War was raging, and this resulted in Ali refusing to be drafted as a conscientious objector on religious grounds. He would be charged with violating the Selective Service law, found guilty, and sentenced to five years. Ali would appeal his conviction, remaining free as his case went through the appeals process. His conviction would be overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971.

As a result of his refusal to participate in Vietnam, he was suspended from boxing as well as stripped of his title in 1967. All the while, he stood firmly by his anti-war and objector stance, even though he was punished for said stance. He stated why he refused to fight, which was summed up in one of his famous quotes, ...

"No, I'm not going 10,000 miles from home to help murder and burn another poor nation simply to continue the domination of white slave masters of the darker people."

In October 1970, Ali's suspension came to an end with his next professional fight against Jerry Quarry, whom he knocked out in the third round. Ali would continue his warrior's path till 1981 when he retired after losing a fight to Trevor Berbick on 11 December of that year.

As a result of his boxing career, he would, in his later years, develop Parkinson's Disease. Some commentators believe that if Ali had retired sooner, he may not have developed the disease. However, it does not matter if their opinion was correct. Ali was a legend in his life, reaching mythical status. He would depart this mortal coil 3 June 1916.

Ali left behind not just his fighting history, but a legacy of a generous philanthropist. He supported many organizations, including the Special Olympics and Make-A-Wish Foundation. In 1996, he would become, via the United Nations, a Messenger of Peace. Ali is an example of not just an athlete, but more importantly, a great human being who shows that hard work and standing up for what one believes in is an example to be emulated.

Photo above: Cassius Clay slipping a punch from Sonny Liston, 1964, Associated Press. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Photo below: Clay in celebrations after winning the Clay vs. Liston fight in 1964, 1964, Associated Press. Courtesy Wikipedia Commons. Info source: "Yes, It Was Good and Honest." Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com; "Muhammad Ali Biography - Life, Children, Name, History, Mother, Old, Information, Born, Contract, House, Time." Notablebiographies.com, 2013; "Ali vs Liston 1 | How Ali SHOOK up the World - Breakdown." www.youtube.com, rss empresas; "Boxing - 1964 - Cassius Clay Muhammad Ali Goes Crazy at Heavywt Title Weigh in with Sonny Liston." YouTube, 2019; Banerjee, Apratim. "On This Day: Muhammad Ali Beats Sonny Liston to Become the Heavyweight Champion." KO on SI, Sports Illustrated, 2025; shammi13. "Original Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston Weigh-in 1964." YouTube, 2007; "The Buildup, Pt. 3." Muhammad Ali Digital Museum, 2015; swami 7774. "ABC Radio Broadcast of Clay/Liston Fight February 1964." YouTube, 2023; Edge. "Ali (Clay) Liston Feb. 25, 1964 Round 1 with Original Radio Broadcast." YouTube, 2010; Edge. "Ali (Clay) Liston Feb 25, 1964 Round 3 with Original Radio Broadcast," YouTube, 2011; Collins, Nigel, and Michael Poliakoff. "Boxing | History, Rules, & Notable Fighters." Encyclopædia Britannica, 2018.

History Photo Bomb

Crowds of the Civil Rights March in Washington, D.C. surround the Washington Monument. August 28, 1963. Courtesy National Archives.

San Cristobal, Cuba. Aerial photo of the Medium Range Ballistic Missile Launch Site, Number Two. Photo: Department of Defense, November 1, 1962. Courtesy National Archives.

Official Souvenirs
America's Best History

President Richard Nixon. Courtesy National Archives.

ABH Travel Tip

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