what did sonny liston die of

Geraldine led the couple's seven-year-old son, Daniel, downstairs and told him to wait there.She did not ring the police for several hours. That made the powers that be decide that they didn't need him around anymore.

'I am willing to entertain the idea that it was an overdose, but not an accidental one,' Assael said. And although Liston wasn't enormous, standing just 6-feet tall, he was still able to land that punishing jab against anyone, thanks to his 84-inch reach. He was embarrassed on boxing's biggest stage amid fierce accusations that he was little more than a mafia stooge.In the years following the Ali loss, Liston moved to Las Vegas and reverted to form.

679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. That scene, of Ali imploring Liston to get up, would produce one of the most iconic photographs in sports history.The phantom punch has been analysed and debated down to its finest details. 'The second fight took place in Maine the following year, and famously ended on Ali's 'phantom punch,' a quick right hook that appeared to topple Liston, although some like Assael do not believe it connected.Liston allegedly once bragged about making an agreement with Ali to fix the second fight, with the former getting a percentage of the latter's future earnings'The second fight, I'm sure, was a fix, although I don't think it started out that way,' Assael said.

Others believe it may have been caused by cardiac arrest or a stroke.Whatever the theory, Liston's mysterious death marked the end of a life pockmarked with shadowy figures and secretive criminal activity.

Sonny was 38 years old at the time of death. Perhaps it was a premonition. Before long, Liston would be dead and the shadow of the mob would loom large over his corpse. 'Sonny Liston was the first intimidating fighter, with the mean scowl and the mean grin,' said Tyson. Even Geraldine had her suspicions: "I think Sonny gave that second fight away," she told a TV journalist 35 years later. 'His jab is described as 'a nose-cracking, teeth-busting, jaw-dropping experience' by another of the film's contributors, Purdue University professor and author Randy Roberts. 'Assael's own 2016 book offered one of the more compelling explanations, stemming from an unsolicited, anonymous tip that Liston had been killed by a policeman working as a hired killer.

It was a verdict that - in the eyes of many boxing fans - only raised more questions.

'I think it's utter nonsense to say that first fight was fixed,' said Roberts.

Search "Lena Chapin" on Twitter for the latest and submit a tip if you know anything about her disappearance.How every Unsolved Mysteries viewer crafts their theories...Small towns talk and so do our viewers. According to a Las Vegas police report, she first called her lawyer and then tried desperately to reach a doctor. The final words on Liston should go to George, a man who knew and fought him Liston was over the hill when he fought Ali, an Ali in his prime and probably at this point in his career, the greatest boxer that ever was.

For that matter, many African-Americans viewed him the same way, and others were turned off by his resistance to the civil rights movement. I'd like unbiased and informative articles about football.Great read. "Hits on mobsters were generally in connection with the fear they were going to talk," he explains. In his kitchen, in plain view, investigators found three small bags of heroin. Whatever the truth, the public jumped at the opportunity to label Liston corrupt.

Holly Willoughby quits showbiz agency she shared with Phillip Schofield Britain braced for severe thunderstorms as 'danger to life' warnings issued Gran recoils from ‘ugly baby pic’ before hearing she's ‘FaceTiming the parents’ Gogglebox's Julie Malone is unrecognisable after huge weight-loss in lockdown Cleaning fans rave about Aldi’s new budget Fabulosa range - but some are confused©News Group Newspapers Limited in England No.