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Marciano
Dies -Sep. 12, 1969
Rocky Marciano, 45, the "Brockton Blockbuster," former world
heavyweight champion and one of the prize ring's all time greats; died
in the crash of a light plane; near Des Moines.
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Liston was trouble in and out of ring
By Mike Puma
-Special to ESPN.com |
"I think Sonny gave that second fight away [to Muhammad Ali]. I swear.
He said, 'No, you win and you lose.' I said, 'In the first round?' "
says Liston's widow Geraldine on ESPN Classic's Sports Century series.
Sonny Liston had 39 knockouts, including eight in the first round.
Each fight had its own set of ambiguities. The first, held in Miami
Beach, provoked cries that Liston went into the tank when he didn't come
out for the seventh round. The second, held in a small town in Maine,
was even more questionable, as Liston was knocked out in the first. Many
openly wondered whether the fights were fixed.
Full Copyrighted STory on ESPN
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Liston KO'd popular Patterson
for title
By Mike Puma -Special to ESPN.com |
Sept. 25, 1962 - With an
arrest record as long as his list of knockout victims, Sonny Liston was
fearsome both out of the ring and in. The surly challenger had boasted
that he would blast Floyd Patterson from his heavyweight throne in five
rounds. It didn't take nearly that long. With a 25-pound weight
advantage (214 to 189), Liston took control from the start, pounding
away at the champion's ribs with a two-fisted attack in their bout at
Comiskey Park in Chicago.
Full
Copyrighted Story on ESPN
SO WHO WERE THE CHAMPIONS
IN
1961?
According to the Official World Ratings by the National Boxing Association
Champions, This was the listed boxers:
Heavyweights - Floyd Patterson, New York;
Light Heavyweight - Harold Johnson, Pennsylvania;
Middleweights - Gene Fullmer, Utah;
Welterweights - Benny Paret, Cuba; Junior Welterweights - Duilio Loi, Italy;
Lightweights - Joe Brown, Louisiana;
Jr. Lightweights - Flash Elorde, Philippines;
Featherweights - Davey Moore, Ohio;
Bantamweights - Eder Jofre, Brazil; and Flyweights - Pone
Kingpetch, Thailand. (Source obtained by Boxing Illustrated - March
1961)
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