February 1964. Miami Beach is humid, thick with the scent of cigars and the frantic energy of a world about to tip on its axis. Sonny Liston, a man whose fists were described as "cannons" and whose stare could supposedly wilt a cactus, was the Heavyweight Champion. He wasn't just a boxer; he was a walking nightmare. Opponents didn't just lose to Sonny; they broke.
Then there was Cassius Clay.
He was 22. Brash. Beautiful. Fast. Most experts figured he was more "loudmouth" than "lethal." The odds were 7-1 against him. People genuinely thought he might get killed in that ring.
The Night the World Shook Up
Honestly, the first Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston fight is a masterclass in psychological warfare. Clay spent the weeks leading up to the bout calling Liston a "big ugly bear" and a "chump." He even drove a bus to Liston’s training camp to taunt him. It looked like madness. In reality, it was a calculated attempt to make the champ angry—and an angry fighter makes mistakes.
When the bell rang, everything changed. Clay wasn't just fast; he was a ghost. Liston threw those legendary jabs, and Clay just... wasn't there. By the third round, Liston’s face was puffing up. By the fourth, something weird happened. Clay’s eyes started burning. He couldn't see.
"Cut 'em off!" Clay screamed to his trainer, Angelo Dundee, between rounds. He wanted to quit because he was blind. Dundee, a legend in his own right, basically told him to get back out there and run until his eyes cleared. There’s still a lot of talk about whether Liston’s corner put something on his gloves—liniment or "juice"—to blind the challenger.
Clay survived. His vision returned. He started peppering Liston with combinations that the big man couldn't answer. When the bell for the seventh round rang, Sonny Liston stayed on his stool.
He quit.
A heavyweight champion hadn't quit on his stool since 1919. The world was stunned. Cassius Clay, soon to be Muhammad Ali, was the king of the world.
The Mystery of the "Phantom Punch"
If the first fight was an upset, the rematch in 1965 was a conspiracy theorist's dream. It moved from Boston to a tiny hockey rink in Lewiston, Maine. Why Maine? Because the promoters were having licensing issues, and everyone was terrified of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X had just been assassinated. Security was everywhere.
The fight lasted less than two minutes.
Ali threw a short, chopping right hand. Liston went down. He rolled over, looked like he was trying to get up, then flopped back down. It looked... fake.
"Get up and fight, sucker!" Ali screamed, standing over him in what became the most iconic sports photograph of all time.
The referee, Jersey Joe Walcott, lost control. He didn't start a proper count because Ali wouldn't go to a neutral corner. He was too busy yelling. Eventually, Walcott consulted a ringside official, realized the time was up, and stopped the fight.
People called it the "phantom punch." They said Liston took a dive. Even today, if you watch the film, the punch looks fast, but does it look like a knockout? Probably not.
What the Experts Actually Think
History is messy. There are three main theories about why the second Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston fight ended that way:
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- The Dive: Liston had deep ties to the mob. Some believe he was told to go down so the "underworld" could cash in on Ali's win. Liston later told people he was afraid of being shot by the Black Muslims if he won.
- The Perfect Counter: Some ringside photographers, like the famous Neil Leifer, insist the punch was real. It was a "perfect" counter—Ali’s speed meeting Liston’s forward momentum. In boxing, the punch you don't see is the one that puts you out.
- The Confusion: Liston might have been genuinely hurt, but when he saw the chaos and Ali standing over him, he might have decided it wasn't worth getting back up.
The truth probably sits somewhere in the middle. Sonny was an old-school fighter who had been in and out of prison; he knew when the winds were shifting. Ali was the future. Sonny was the past.
Why This Matters for You
You don't have to be a boxing fan to appreciate the Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston saga. It’s a story about perception vs. reality.
- Preparation is half the battle. Ali won the first fight in the gym and in the press conferences before he ever stepped into the ring.
- Reputation is a double-edged sword. Liston’s "invincibility" made his defeat feel more like a collapse than a loss.
- Watch the tape yourself. Don't just take a commentator's word for it. High-resolution versions of the 1964 and 1965 fights are on YouTube. Watch the footwork. Look at Ali’s head movement.
The best way to understand the technical brilliance of Ali is to watch him dismantle the "unbeatable" bear. Go find the footage of the fifth round in Miami. Watch how he fights blind. That’s where the legend was actually born—not in the trash talk, but in the grit it took to stay in the ring when he couldn't see his opponent's hands.
Next steps? Check out the documentary What's My Name: Muhammad Ali for some of the best-restored footage of these specific bouts. It gives a much clearer look at that "phantom" right hand than the grainy clips you usually see on social media.