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" Final Resting Place of Sonny Liston"

Charles "Sonny" Liston

8th May 1932 - 30th December 1970

Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the World who was deemed unbeatable after his destruction of then Champion Floyd Patterson. A young Cassius Clay was then seen as easy meat for Liston but in one of boxings most remarkable results, Liston retired on his stool. He refused to come out and fight, the only champion ever to do so. In the return match the then Mohamed Ali (formerly Cassius Clay) knocked Liston out in the 1st round with what was described as the phantom punch, a punch that did not appear to touch Liston. To this day rumors persist that Sonny Liston was owned by the Mafia and that both fights were fixed by them.

Paradise Memorial Gardens, 6200 S. Eastern Ave, .Las Vegas.

Photos courtesy of Matt Simpson