What is the likelihood that there was a fix in either of the Ali-Liston fights?

Question

What is the likelihood that there was a fix in either of the Ali-Liston fights?

Answer 1

Ali vs Lison II

If you go to youtube and type in phantom punch, you can see the punch that KO'd Liston in slow motion. I'd call it the anchor punch, because when the punch landed the hackles on the back of Liston's neck almost jumped into the 3rd row

That punch was for real.

Clay Liston I

Clay beat Liston up til he just quit.

Answer 2

Since Liston was a huge betting favorite in both fights, quit on his stool in the first and fell down and did not get up  before the count in the second, people are always going to cry "fix". The people that know are all dead so this is a dead end question.

Answer 3

Where are you guys getting your information?? Because obviously you did not see the first fight.

Liston gave everything he had in the first few rounds and came up short every time eating jabs and hooks from the fleet footed Ali.

Liston wanted so bad to win he had his corner put something on his glove and he rubbed it in Ali's eyes. This was never proven but if you watch the fight you notice all of a sudden after a clinch Ali is rubbing his eyes and starts getting hit by Liston. He goes back to his corner and you can hear him complaining about something in his eyes and asking Dundee to stop the fight.

Ali manned up went out and fought the next round half blind, once his vision came back he pounded the **** out of Liston until Liston refused to come out of his corner in then 7th round, because Ali predicted an 8th round knockout Liston wanted to at least rob him of that so he quit on his stool.

As for the second fight, well its hard to say. Liston was a mafia owned fighter, but the knockdown punch did land and it landed cleanly with some power behind it, certainly enough to knock Liston down who was leaning forward at the time Ali landed the punch.

To me it did not look like a hard enough shot to knock Liston out but I didn't get hit by it so I cant say for sure.  Maybe Liston said to himself "why get embarrassed again? Ill just stay down and take my payday"

Or the mafia told him to take a dive in the first round so they could make some money off betting the first round which nobody would have thought possible.

Either way it don't really matter, Ali dominated him in the first blind and even survived being blinded and made Liston quit on his stool after only 7 rounds. So the second fight is irrelevant anyways

Schlup: You would call it the anchor punch would ya?? Funny thats what Ali called it too. lol

Answer 4

my uncle tells me all the tim about the fight. he heard that liston was "asked" to throw the fight or else, so he had someone put money on him so he could have a good pay day, but that is the rumor that my uncle said was going around in the 60's

Answer 5

Muhammad Ali will win.

Answer 6

Yeah. Ali fixed him well, with his fists and eloquence.

Answer 7

Heard that Liston's daughter was ill and to get money to help her Liston threw the second fight.  The first fight Liston hurt his shoulder and quit on his stool.  Liston landed some good shots on Ali in the fourth round so at least Ali felt his power.  If Liston was sound and the fight lasted longer I think he would have hurt Ali toward the end but still would have lost the first fight.