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The Way I See It
A big tree fell in the heavyweight forest over the weekend, when John Ruiz beat by decision WBA champ Evander Holyfield. Ruiz upset recalls
Clay-ListonIt was unexpected, especially because Ruiz is a fighter who was once knocked out in 19 seconds by David Tua.
But the upset didn't carry the shock value of an event that passed its 37th anniversary only 10 days ago.
Holyfield's vulnerabilities were apparent before Ruiz took his crown.
But when Sonny Liston stepped in the ring with Cassius Clay on Feb. 25, 1964, hardly anyone thought Clay would be on his feet long.
Liston was the grim reaper of the fight game.
He'd knocked out 25 of his opponents, and it was said they started to bleed during the National Anthem.
He'd been in jail more than once for assaulting policemen.
He walked with a gangland entourage and he once slapped Clay in the head while he sat at a casino table in Las Vegas.
Why? Because he was Sonny Liston and he just thought Clay needed it because he had too much lip.
Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, was too stunned to retaliate.
"Everyone expected that Liston was going to annihilate this kid," said retired sportscaster and Kailua resident Les Keiter, who called the blow-by-blow on national radio.
"At the weigh-in, there was quite a ruckus, with Clay yelling at Liston, 'I wanna fight the ugly bum, let's do it right now,' " Keiter said. "When the doctor took the kid's blood pressure, he told the promoter it was too high."
Keiter said the doctor concluded that the 22-year-old Clay's braggadocio was a smokescreen to hide his intense fear.
But when Keiter came into the Convention Hall during the undercard that day, he saw Clay in a gleaming white suit yelling encouragement at his younger brother, Rudy Clay, who was making his pro debut.
"I thought to myself," Keiter said, "this man isn't scared. This man is the calmest man in the arena. He's completely wrapped up in watching his kid brother in his debut."
WHEN the Liston fight began, it was clear that Clay, a 10-1 underdog, was something the heavyweight division had never seen before.
"He was dancing in, dancing out, he couldn't get hit, and Liston was not in good shape," Keiter said.
The fact was that Liston, who was coming off two quick knockouts against Floyd Patterson, hadn't trained very hard for Clay.
"He was a middle-aged, overweight champion who didn't train because he thought Clay would be a walk in the park," Keiter said. "But by the second round, Liston looked befuddled."
It was then that Keiter leaned over to one of his guests at ringside, Rocky Marciano, and asked him what he thought of Clay.
"He said, 'Les, I never thought I'd live to see a heavyweight Sugar Ray Robinson. But that's what I'm looking at tonight,' " Keiter said.
In the fifth, a substance on Liston's gloves temporarily blinded Ali, but the challenger recovered, landing solid combinations throughout the sixth.
"Howard Cosell was doing the between-rounds color," Keiter said, "and he said, 'There's the bell for round seven and here's Les Keiter ... wait a minute. Liston isn't getting off his stool. It's over.' "
The rematch a year later was even stranger. Liston hit the floor on a first-round right hook that looked like it barely grazed his jaw.
Liston was one of the most menacing heavyweights of all time, but his greatness was history in two bouts.
Pat Bigold has covered sports for daily newspapers
in Hawaii and Massachusetts since 1978.
Email Pat: pbigold@starbulletin.com