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Sonny Liston -- The Real Story Behind the Ali-Liston Fights
Someone finally has Sonny Liston’s back. Paul Gallender’s revealing biography, Sonny Liston – The Real Story Behind the Ali-Liston Fights, sheds new light on Liston’s tragic life and extraordinary talent.
In meticulous detail the author shows why the outcome of Sonny’s two bouts with Muhammad Ali had far more to do with what took place outside of the ring than in it. The truth about their one-round fight in Lewiston, Maine, will shock you.
When Sonny was forced to lie down against Ali in that fight, his reputation, career and legacy went down with him. He was barred from fighting anywhere in the United States. Just five-and-a-half years later, his wife, Geraldine, returned home to Las Vegas and found his body; he had been dead a week.
Most of the sporting press despised and feared Liston and was quick to demean and forget him after the Ali bouts. Because of the media’s unrelenting attacks most of what the world knows about Sonny has no basis in fact.
Sonny’s immense talent has been largely ignored but it has never been equaled. Half a century ago, he was to boxing what Babe Ruth was to baseball, what Tiger Woods became to golf, and what Usain Bolt is to track. The legendary Joe Louis called Liston the greatest heavyweight champion in history.
Gallender introduces you to a man you would have been proud to know - a man whose integrity, sense of fairness and depth of character was acknowledged for the most part only by his family, friends and children of every race. Once you start reading this book you won’t want to put it down.
In meticulous detail the author shows why the outcome of Sonny’s two bouts with Muhammad Ali had far more to do with what took place outside of the ring than in it. The truth about their one-round fight in Lewiston, Maine, will shock you.
When Sonny was forced to lie down against Ali in that fight, his reputation, career and legacy went down with him. He was barred from fighting anywhere in the United States. Just five-and-a-half years later, his wife, Geraldine, returned home to Las Vegas and found his body; he had been dead a week.
Most of the sporting press despised and feared Liston and was quick to demean and forget him after the Ali bouts. Because of the media’s unrelenting attacks most of what the world knows about Sonny has no basis in fact.
Sonny’s immense talent has been largely ignored but it has never been equaled. Half a century ago, he was to boxing what Babe Ruth was to baseball, what Tiger Woods became to golf, and what Usain Bolt is to track. The legendary Joe Louis called Liston the greatest heavyweight champion in history.
Gallender introduces you to a man you would have been proud to know - a man whose integrity, sense of fairness and depth of character was acknowledged for the most part only by his family, friends and children of every race. Once you start reading this book you won’t want to put it down.
Hardcover
First published July 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 16, 2013
Review:
Former heavyweight boxing champion Charles “Sonny” Liston was a mysterious figure, especially outside the ring. There were questions about him concerning his incarceration before his boxing career, his connections to organized crime, his ability to interact with fans and the general public. Even when he lost the second of his two bouts with Muhammad Ali, he generated questions as to why that happened. This biography of Liston by Paul Gallender is an attempt to answer some of these questions and also portray Liston in a manner that was very different than the manner the press did so during Liston’s life.
Throughout the book, Gallender will compare what Liston’s actions and thoughts were about his training, his fights, his manner of handling his celebrity status and his career to those same topics as they were covered by the press. The reader will see the difference. Gallender gathered much of his information through research and interviews of those people who were involved with Liston. The quality of his research shows as there are many new stories and details that even avid boxing fans of the era will be surprised to know.
This biography does not delve with great detail about aspects of Liston’s life that were not related to his boxing career. Of course there is good information on his childhood and excellent writing about his relationship with his wife (her loyalty to her husband was very touching) but there was a good balance of those types of passages mixed in with the boxing aspects of Liston’s life. I was hoping to read mostly about the boxing and was happy with this aspect of the book.
The author also gives fair coverage to controversial topics, such as whether Liston “threw” the second fight with Ali because of ties to organized crime or whether he was threatened if he didn’t lose the fight. The official reason for many years was that Liston was injured, and the author sticks with this reason, but gives ample coverage of the other reasons bandied about through the years.
Overall, this is an outstanding account of Liston’s career and life. This type of book for this particular boxer is difficult to find in any bookstore or library. As someone who has been intrigued with Liston’s career, I found this book to be just what I needed to read to learn more about the man.
Did I skim?
No
Did I learn something new?
Yes. Having not been old enough to understand the sport when the two fights took place, I did learn a lot of information in this book. Those fights and Liston’s story in particular have always intrigued me and I found this book to be a wealth of information for that.
Pace of the book:
Excellent. Never drags and is always moving on to the next pertinent topic.
Positives:
Everything, but what I especially liked is that most of the information on Liston’s life outside the ring was covered in a manner that still connected with his boxing or his boxing related business. There weren’t a lot of irrelevant stories or outside fluff and I found that to be very good.
This is a personal preference of mine, but something I really liked is that the author referred to Liston’s opponent in the two fights as both “Cassius Clay” and “Muhammad Ali” when appropriate – meaning that the man was named “Clay” until legally changed to “Ali.” I believe that is best for true accuracy. Most books will refer to him as “Ali” regardless of the time described in the particular passage.
Negatives:
The closest to a negative I could find is that a reader might believe that the author is very protective of Liston and may not be totally objective in his writing. I found that not to be the case, as I believed he was simply trying to portray Liston as not quite the same person that the press did at the time.
Do I recommend?
Yes. Any boxing fan or historian will enjoy this book.
Book Format Read:
EBook (Kindle)
Former heavyweight boxing champion Charles “Sonny” Liston was a mysterious figure, especially outside the ring. There were questions about him concerning his incarceration before his boxing career, his connections to organized crime, his ability to interact with fans and the general public. Even when he lost the second of his two bouts with Muhammad Ali, he generated questions as to why that happened. This biography of Liston by Paul Gallender is an attempt to answer some of these questions and also portray Liston in a manner that was very different than the manner the press did so during Liston’s life.
Throughout the book, Gallender will compare what Liston’s actions and thoughts were about his training, his fights, his manner of handling his celebrity status and his career to those same topics as they were covered by the press. The reader will see the difference. Gallender gathered much of his information through research and interviews of those people who were involved with Liston. The quality of his research shows as there are many new stories and details that even avid boxing fans of the era will be surprised to know.
This biography does not delve with great detail about aspects of Liston’s life that were not related to his boxing career. Of course there is good information on his childhood and excellent writing about his relationship with his wife (her loyalty to her husband was very touching) but there was a good balance of those types of passages mixed in with the boxing aspects of Liston’s life. I was hoping to read mostly about the boxing and was happy with this aspect of the book.
The author also gives fair coverage to controversial topics, such as whether Liston “threw” the second fight with Ali because of ties to organized crime or whether he was threatened if he didn’t lose the fight. The official reason for many years was that Liston was injured, and the author sticks with this reason, but gives ample coverage of the other reasons bandied about through the years.
Overall, this is an outstanding account of Liston’s career and life. This type of book for this particular boxer is difficult to find in any bookstore or library. As someone who has been intrigued with Liston’s career, I found this book to be just what I needed to read to learn more about the man.
Did I skim?
No
Did I learn something new?
Yes. Having not been old enough to understand the sport when the two fights took place, I did learn a lot of information in this book. Those fights and Liston’s story in particular have always intrigued me and I found this book to be a wealth of information for that.
Pace of the book:
Excellent. Never drags and is always moving on to the next pertinent topic.
Positives:
Everything, but what I especially liked is that most of the information on Liston’s life outside the ring was covered in a manner that still connected with his boxing or his boxing related business. There weren’t a lot of irrelevant stories or outside fluff and I found that to be very good.
This is a personal preference of mine, but something I really liked is that the author referred to Liston’s opponent in the two fights as both “Cassius Clay” and “Muhammad Ali” when appropriate – meaning that the man was named “Clay” until legally changed to “Ali.” I believe that is best for true accuracy. Most books will refer to him as “Ali” regardless of the time described in the particular passage.
Negatives:
The closest to a negative I could find is that a reader might believe that the author is very protective of Liston and may not be totally objective in his writing. I found that not to be the case, as I believed he was simply trying to portray Liston as not quite the same person that the press did at the time.
Do I recommend?
Yes. Any boxing fan or historian will enjoy this book.
Book Format Read:
EBook (Kindle)
July 6, 2016
Heavyweight champion Sonny Liston has been overlooked and underrated for a half century, and I welcome any re-evaluations, but I'm not sure this author is the one to make the case. He presents old myths and opinion as fact, and his disparaging comments about other legendary boxers won't help his credibility or aid Liston's cause. Longtime fight fans won't find much in the way of new information here.
March 30, 2015
Well Written
Sonny Liston was a great fighter, clearly one of the three greatest punchers of all time, yet he has been given so little credit for his great skill. His story is a sad one because there is so much about the man and his career that has never been fully explained or acknowledged. As well researched as this book is, it still does not answer the two greatest mysteries of Liston's life: 1) Who or what killed him? and 2) Why did he take a fall in the second fight with Muhammad Ali?
Sonny Liston was a great fighter, clearly one of the three greatest punchers of all time, yet he has been given so little credit for his great skill. His story is a sad one because there is so much about the man and his career that has never been fully explained or acknowledged. As well researched as this book is, it still does not answer the two greatest mysteries of Liston's life: 1) Who or what killed him? and 2) Why did he take a fall in the second fight with Muhammad Ali?
Want to Read
August 4, 2012I heard Peter Boyles interviewing the author on morning radio today, and the conversation so intrigued me that I just had to find the book. Looking forward to reading it.
November 2, 2014
He had a left like " Henry's hammer " ....
September 12, 2016
A brilliantly detailed account of the life of Sonny Liston. One for boxing fans only. An excellent account of one of boxing a misunderstood and underrated superstars.
February 7, 2017
Not well written but interesting enough for someone who knows nothing about boxing.
January 19, 2020
Five stars
An interesting read about the boxing career and life of Charles Sonny Liston. It focuses a lot of attention on the two controversial fights against Muhammad Ali.
An interesting read about the boxing career and life of Charles Sonny Liston. It focuses a lot of attention on the two controversial fights against Muhammad Ali.
November 9, 2020
If you are a boxing fan - in particular the Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) era then this book will be very interesting to you. The author does well to present Liston as human, with all the complexities associated with professional sportsmen from difficult backgrounds. Liston may not be the angry bear that the press labelled him. In fact he had some good qualities which were overlooked. You can be an avid Ali fan yet still appreciate the life and contribution of Sonny Liston. My only issue is that the book is not that well written and could have benefitted from more referencing and quotes.
December 27, 2025
Sonny Liston was beaten by perhaps the greatest heavyweight who ever lived. Cassius Clay was blessed with the best combination of speed, strength, and skill we have seen to this day in the heavyweight division. Liston never faced a fighter on that level. The author has every right to be a fan of Liston's, but he only includes the information he wants you to have. Real boxing fans will finds this lacking and more of an attempt to give Liston a heightened credibility he simply never earned in the ring.
June 28, 2020
A great and tragic look at Sonny Liston
Paul Gallender has written an absolutely great historic depiction of the 50's and 60's boxing world. One of the greatest heavy weights to not be recognized.
Paul Gallender has written an absolutely great historic depiction of the 50's and 60's boxing world. One of the greatest heavy weights to not be recognized.
September 14, 2022
Hey this was great book
This was.great book don't liston was a great book thank you. Great boxers thank you for your career. Good book
This was.great book don't liston was a great book thank you. Great boxers thank you for your career. Good book
December 22, 2023
3.5*
Would have preferred more of the story surrounding the fight and the events post fight but enjoyable and well researched read.
Would have preferred more of the story surrounding the fight and the events post fight but enjoyable and well researched read.
February 8, 2018
The definitive biography
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews