| 25 February | ||
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1964: Cassius Clay crowned world champion
Cassius Clay, 22, has been crowned heavyweight champion of the world after beating Sonny Liston in one of the biggest upsets in boxing's history. Clay, from Kentucky, was announced the winner after the hot favourite retired at the end of the sixth round in Miami. When the bell rang for the start of the seventh round, Liston stayed on his stool in the corner of the ring - saying he did not want to continue. Florida state attorney Richard Gerstein is to launch an inquiry into the fight. Clay was earlier fined around �900 for disgraceful conduct after he ranted at his 32-year-old opponent during the weigh-in. He had chanted "I wanna rumble...I wanna rumble!" before saying "You're a tramp. I am going to eat you up. Somebody's going to die at the ringside tonight. Are you scared?"
Liston had built his reputation on two first round knock-outs of Floyd Patterson and in the boxing world he was thought to be invincible. Clay had come into the fight after suffering his greatest humiliation to date - being knocked down by Henry Cooper's left hook. Liston reigned supreme when he was challenged by former Olympic gold medallist Clay, who ring experts said was "all talk". The majority of sports journalists covering the bout thought that Clay, who was 7-1 underdog, would be no match for Liston. Only half of the seats had been sold and around 8,000 people attended the fight. The fight started at 0310 GMT at the Convention Hall in Miami Beach and Liston had been widely expected to retain his title in the third round.
Liston, known as the "dark destroyer", had managed to pin Clay to the ropes during round two but in round three the champion was forced to retreat, with his left eye pouring with blood. |
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