Quote Originally Posted by Cressa121 View Post
Interesting stuff. On the "Phantom punch" fight, I've always wondered how it would have played out had it happened when it was originally scheduled. Iirc they were meant to fight in November '64 but Ali fell ill a week or 2 before the fight and it was postponed. Liston had reportedly trained like a demon for it because of the embarrassment he felt after losing the first fight. By the time it was rescheduled for May '65 he couldn't bring himself to go through that kind of camp again and had become more indifferent towards it. Chances are he'd have lost handily again, but it'd have been more interesting for sure.
I’ve re-watched the footage more then I care to remember and for the life of me I cannot see the punch being that crippling. You cant see Alis feet in the first clip but he seems to be going backwards and on his toes. The second clip seems to confirm this. Although Sonny’s wife and family deny it, after pouring over the available evidence over the years, there is very little doubt in my mind that heroin could have been a factor during his preparation and mentally the night of the fight. He was hanging out with Louis at the time and was probably getting Joe’s heroin for him and at the time of his death years later the coroner reported tracks on his arm and not just one poke from a hot shot. Sonny Liston lived two lives.