Fight of the Day#1: Sonny Liston vs Floyd Patterson

In the spirit of watching more fights and writing more I have decided to do a series that I hope to contribute daily to by watching a fight, posting the link, and writing about it. I watched the pair of heavyweight title fights in the early 1960’s that saw Sonny Liston win the heavyweight world championship and defend it via first round KO in both instances against Floyd Patterson. For those that are not familiar with these fighters Floyd Patterson was a Cus D’Amato fighter who at the time was the youngest man to win the heavyweight championship and the first two regain the title. Others had tried like James J Jefferies who came out of retirement and got beaten by Jack Johnson. Many will know Cus D’Amato as the man who helped create the great fighter we know today as Mike Tyson but back during the 1950′ s there was another smaller heavyweight with a peek a boo style and deadly left hook named Floyd Patterson. Some boxing historians still claim that Patterson is the youngest heavyweight champion as he was undisputed when he defeated Archie Moore to win the belt while Mike Tyson was younger than Patterson when he defeated Trevor Berbick for the WBC title. However, Iron Mike was older than Floyd when he beat Michael Spinks to fully unify the titles and reach undisputed status. Sonny Liston for most is best known for the iconic image of Muhammad Ali standing over his prone body laying on the canvas. In possibly the most controversial fight in boxing history Ali defeated Liston by first round KO in a match many feel was thrown. This fight and the great career of Ali have sort of pushed Liston out of the minds of many sports fans and boxings weakened popularity doesn’t help but Liston was a real terror in the 1950’s. Liston was chasing the fight with Patterson throughout the later part of the decade and was knocking over top challengers with brutal punching power and an intimidating presence. Due to his ties to organized crime president John Kennedy tried to discourage Patterson from facing Liston though not fighting Sonny would be a huge disservice to boxing. Though Liston had totally sullied his reputation in Lewiston, Maine in 1964 he had a strong run after the title reign that ended with a knockout loss to Leotis Martin and a mysterious death. Here are the fights: