Muhammed Ali vs Sonny Liston
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25 May, 1965


Because of the unexpected ending of the first bout, boxing authorities ordered a 
rematch, this time with Liston as challenger. Originally scheduled for Boston, 
Massachusetts in November 1964, the fight was postponed six months when Ali needed 
emergency surgery for a strangulated hernia. However, since the promoters did not 
have a license in Massachusetts, the fight eventually was moved to a small 
auditorium in Lewiston, Maine, the state's second largest city. Due to the remote 
location (140 miles north of Boston), only 2,434 fans were present, setting the 
all-time record for the lowest attendance for a heavyweight championship fight. 
(It remains the only heavyweight title fight held in the state of Maine.)

The ending of the second fight remains one of the most controversial in boxing 
history. Midway through the first round, Liston fell to the canvas, in what many 
have argued was not a legitimate knockdown. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, a former 
world heavyweight champion himself, appeared confused after Ali refused to retreat 
to a neutral corner. Instead, Ali stood over his fallen opponent, gesturing and 
yelling at him, "Get up and fight, sucker!" The moment was captured by ringside 
photographer Neil Leifer, and has become one of the iconic images of sport. The 
photograph of the knockdown of this fight is one of the most heavily promoted 
photos in the history of the media, and was even chosen as the cover of the Sports 
Illustrated special issue, "The Century's Greatest Sports Photos".

Ali then posed over him, with his fists in the air celebrating the knockdown.

While Walcott tried to sort out the situation, 20 seconds passed, and by then 
Liston had gotten to his feet and resumed boxing. Nat Fleischer, publisher of 
The Ring, finally alerted Walcott that Liston had spent more than the requisite 
10 seconds on the canvas, and Walcott stopped the fight — awarding Ali a 
first-round knockout (see Muhammad Ali).

The blow that ended the match became known as "the phantom punch," so named because 
most people at ringside did not see it. Slow motion replays show Ali connecting with 
a quick, chopping right to Liston's head (known as the "Anchor Punch" according to 
Ali) as Liston was moving toward him, and show that Liston was unsteady when he 
finally got to his feet. (Ali appeared to connect with four additional unanswered 
punches before Walcott belatedly declared the knockout, ending the contest.) 
However, whether the blow was a genuine knockout punch remains inconclusive.

There were claims that Liston had bet against himself and "took a dive" because he 
owed money to the Mafia. Others believe that he feared for his safety from Nation 
of Islam extremists who supported Ali. The latter theory was supported by Mark 
Kram's book Ghosts of Manila, which included an interview with Liston conducted 
years after the fight. Liston claimed to have intentionally lost because of his 
fear of retaliation from the Black Muslims. No independent substantiation of this 
claim has come to light.

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Photograph by Neil Leifer, used as the cover of Sports Illustrated in its special 
issue "The Century's Greatest Sports Photos"; the Muhammad Ali / Sonny Liston 2nd 
fight.