Liston and Ali: The Ugly Bear and the Boy Who Would Be King

by Bob Mee

Sport can offer catharsis in times of crisis, but not this time. Liston was a mob fighter with a criminal past, and rumours were spreading that Clay was not just a noisy, bright-eyed boy blessed with more than his share of the craziness of youth, but a believer in a shadowy the Nation of Islam. Instead of a hero and a villain, boxing had served up two bad guys. Against this backdrop of political instability, of a country at war with itself, in a time when ordinary African American people were still being maimed and killed for the smallest acts of defiance, Liston and Clay sought out their own individual destinies. Liston and Ali follows the contrasting paths these two men took, from their backgrounds in Arkansas and Kentucky through to that sixteen-month period in 1964 and 1965 when the story of the world heavyweight championship centred on them and all they stood for. Using original source material, it explores a riveting chapter in sporting history with fresh insight and in rare detail.

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 5, 2010

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

A business-like, often impersonal comparison of the two heavyweight champs warms up after several chapters, and the back and forth profiling of Ali versus Sonny Liston grows more compelling. The diverse interpretations from other fighters ( Sugar Ray Robinson, Rocky Marciano) do as much to characterize the era of boxing from the 1950s through the 70s as they provide interesting (and oftentimes clashing) opinions about the behavior of both men-- in and outside the ring. Ali's various controversies with the US government regarding Vietnam are no less shocking than Liston's sordid ties to organized crime, or his outbursts of lawlessness. And Liston's premature death is troubling, a still unsolved mystery. The book also benefits from the insights (and profane remarks) from great journalists and trainers alike.