In 1963, Cassius Clay (who would later go by the name Muhammad Ali) became the top contender for Sonny Liston’s belt as the heavyweight champion.
The match took place on February 25, 1964 in Miami Beach. Liston exuded dominance and an intimidating personality and had a history of being a felon. Compared to this man, who snatched the title from the former champ Floyd Patterson through knockouts, Clay was obviously an underdog. Though he may have clawed his way there through a series of bland bouts, Clay had the audacity to taunt the frontrunner by calling him “the big ugly bear,” saying, “Liston even smells like a bear.” He also taunted, “After I beat him, I’m going to donate him to the zoo.”
According to reports, Clay made the pre-fight seem like a circus by constantly buffooning Liston. He even stated, “Someone is going to die at the ringside tonight.” His pulse rate reached 120, when the normal is 54. People claimed the root of all his tauntings came from fear, whilst commentators even speculated he wouldn’t show up for the match.
When the day of the match arrived, Clay was declared the victor. Liston had been angered by all Clay’s taunts and was seeking a moment to knock Clay out fast and teach him a lesson. However, Clay was so fast he made Liston’s strikes fall short, making the fighter appear awkward. During the next round, Clay hit his opponent repeatedly with jabs, but the latter owned round two. Finally, Clay managed to hit him with a thundering left to his eye. This was the first time ever that Liston had acquired a cut in his fighting career.
During the fourth round, Clay was experiencing a pang in his eyes and asked Angelo Dundee, his trainer, to cut off his gloves, to which the latter refused. According to speculations, the blinding pain was because of the ointment on Liston’s cuts. It was never proven, and boxing historian Bert Sugar claims that there had been a couple of Liston’s opponents who complained about the same thing.
Thankfully, Clay survived the sting, and by the time the fifth round arrived, his tears and sweat had washed away the irritant that was hindering his vision. At the next round, he began hitting Liston repeatedly, and on the seventh, he was declared the new heavyweight champion after defeating Liston by TKO.
Following his victory, Clay rushed to the edge of the ring and shouted to the media, “Eat your words! I am the greatest! I shook up the world. I’m the prettiest thing that ever lived.”
Eventually, Clay changed his name to Cassius X, then to Muhammad Ali after he converted to Islam. He and Liston had a rematch in May of 1965, but Ali had to postpone it for an emergency hernia operation. When the fight finally commenced, Ali ended it within ten minutes after knocking Liston off his feet.