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91-420: Phantom Punch may refer to: The punch that ended the second fight of Muhammad Ali versus Sonny Liston Neil Lefner's iconic sports photograph of Ali taunting the stricken Liston to "get up and fight" Phantom Punch (film) , a 2008 Sonny Liston biopic starring Ving Rhames Phantom Punch (album) , the fourth album by Sondre Lerche Topics referred to by

182-426: A Secret did multiple segments about the title fight. Panelists Bill Cullen , Henry Morgan and Betsy Palmer predicted that Liston would win in the third, second, and first rounds, respectively. Host Garry Moore was even more pessimistic about Clay's chances, estimating a Liston knockout "in the very early moments of round one", adding, "if I were Cassius, I would catch a cab and leave town." Actor Hal March went

273-457: A bus and had it emblazoned with the words "Liston Must Go In Eight". On the day of the contract signing, he drove it to Liston's home in Denver, waking the champion (with the press in tow) at 3:00 a.m. shouting, "Come on out of there. I'm gonna whip you now." Liston had just moved into a white neighborhood and was furious at the attention this caused. Clay took to driving his entourage in the bus to

364-573: A female audience. In 1986, the 13-30 Corporation (renamed as the Esquire Magazine Group) launched the New York Woman magazine as something of a spin-off version of Esquire aimed at a female audience. The company split up at the end of the year, and Esquire was sold to Hearst , with New York Woman going its separate way to American Express Publishing, being published until 1992. The arrival of male-oriented lifestyle publications during

455-553: A fight, and that's all I'm going to say." As the story began to spread, promoters became increasingly uneasy. Bill MacDonald, the main promoter, threatened to cancel the fight unless Clay publicly disavowed the Nation of Islam (NOI). Clay refused. A compromise was reached when Malcolm X , at the time a companion of Clay's as well as a feared and incendiary spokesperson for the Nation of Islam (though Malcolm X had, by that time, been censured by

546-622: A first-round knockout. The infamous "phantom punch", as well as a botched count by the referee, aroused suspicions of a fix and have been subject to debate ever since. Liston was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time of the first Liston–Clay fight in Miami Beach on February 25, 1964, having demolished former champion Floyd Patterson by a first-round knockout in September 1962 . Ten months later, Liston and Patterson met again with

637-602: A fix. Esquire (magazine) Esquire is an American men's magazine . Currently published in the United States by Hearst , it also has more than 20 international editions. Founded in 1933, it flourished during the Great Depression and World War II under the guidance of founders Arnold Gingrich , David A. Smart and Henry L. Jackson while during the 1960s it pioneered the New Journalism movement. After

728-516: A limitless supply of braggadocio. However, Clay had been knocked down by journeyman Sonny Banks early in his career, and, in his previous two fights, had eked out a controversial decision against Doug Jones and—more seriously—was knocked down by a left hook at the end of round four against the cut-prone converted southpaw Henry Cooper . Clay was clearly "out on his feet" in his corner between rounds, and his trainer, Angelo Dundee , stalled for time to allow Clay to recover. Although Clay rallied to win

819-615: A more sympathetic character. In The New Republic , the editor Murray Kempton wrote, "Liston used to be a hoodlum; now he is our cop; he was the big Negro we pay to keep sassy Negroes in line." It has been widely stated that Clay's antics were a deliberate form of psychological warfare designed to unsettle Liston by stoking his anger, encouraging his overconfidence and even fueling uncertainty about Clay's sanity. As Clay himself said, "If Liston wasn't thinking nothing but killing me, he wasn't thinking fighting. You got to think to fight." Former World Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis said, "Liston

910-424: A much terser written message from Sonny Liston: Cassius, you're my million dollar baby, so please don't let anything happen to you before tomorrow night. The following week, I've Got a Secret brought on two sportswriters whose secret was that they had been the only writers to correctly predict Clay's victory. Clay began taunting and provoking Liston almost immediately after the two agreed to fight. He purchased

1001-406: A mute roar. Liston settled down somewhat in round two. At one point, he cornered Clay against the ropes and hit him with a hard left hook. Clay later confessed that he was hurt by the punch, but Liston failed to press his advantage. Two of the official scorers awarded the round to Liston and the other had it even. In the third round, Clay began to take control of the fight. At about 30 seconds into

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1092-599: A period of quick and drastic decline during the 1990s, the magazine revamped itself as a lifestyle-heavy publication under the direction of David Granger . Esquire was first issued in October 1933 as an offshoot of trade magazine Apparel Arts (which later became Gentleman's Quarterly ; Esquire and GQ would share ownership for almost 45 years). The magazine was first headquartered in Chicago and then, in New York City. It

1183-630: A political candidate or position or party, but a breakthrough idea or product or Web site." The concept of the "Daily Endorsement Blog" was said to have emerged from Esquire ' s November 2008 issue called the "Endorsement Issue", in which, after 75 years, Esquire publicly endorsed a presidential candidate for the first time. The Daily Endorsement Blog was officially discontinued in April 2011. From 1969 to 1976, Gordon Lish served as fiction editor for Esquire and became known as "Captain Fiction" because of

1274-427: A quarter of a century, depicting the refined character of the magazine and its readership, mostly in the form of figurines, although a stylized design of his face would often appear as well (replacing the figurines in the 1950s), and beginning in 1962, this graphic would be featured as the dot on the "I" of the logo until this was changed in 1978. After then, the character would be occasionally revived, most notably during

1365-481: A ringside seat. Clay swings with a left, Clay swings with a right, Just look at young Cassius carry the fight. Liston keeps backing but there's not enough room, It's a matter of time until Clay lowers the boom. Then Clay lands with a right, what a beautiful swing, And the punch raised the bear clear out of the ring. Liston still rising and the ref wears a frown, But he can't start counting until Sonny comes down. Now Liston disappears from view,

1456-423: A scene that has been rebroadcast countless times over the ensuing decades, Clay repeatedly yelled "I'm the greatest!" and "I shook up the world." Clay had to be persuaded to hold the traditional post-fight press conference. He called the writers "hypocrites" and said, "Look at me. Not a mark on me. I could never be an underdog. I am too great. Hail the champion!" On February   27, 1964, Clay announced that he

1547-472: A shoulder injury, and there has been speculation since about whether the injury was severe enough to actually prevent him from continuing. Immediately after the fight, Liston told broadcasters that he hurt the shoulder in the first round. Dr. Alexander Robbins, chief physician for the Miami Beach Boxing Commission, diagnosed Liston with a torn tendon in his left shoulder. For his book, King of

1638-462: A step further, albeit humorously: "I think the fight will end in the dressing room. I think [Clay] is going to faint before he comes out." The night before the first fight, on February   24, 1964, the show featured Clay and Liston's sparring partners as guests. Harvey Jones brought with him a lengthy rhyming boast from Cassius Clay: Clay comes out to meet Liston and Liston starts to retreat, If Liston goes back an inch farther he'll end up in

1729-440: A ticket to leave the country. A second examination conducted an hour later revealed Ali's blood pressure and pulse had returned to normal. It had all been an act. Ali later said, "Liston's not afraid of me, but he's afraid of a nut." Clay weighed in at 210 + 1 ⁄ 2  lb (95 kg) while Liston was several pounds over his prime fighting weight at 218 lb (99 kg). Many of those watching were surprised during

1820-620: A year until the Spring/Summer issue ran for the last time in 2018. In 2010, the June and July issues were merged as were the December and January issues in 2015, and in 2018 the magazine moved to eight issues per year. In January 2009, Esquire launched a new blog—the Daily Endorsement Blog . Each morning the editors of the magazine recommend one thing for readers' immediate enjoyment: "not

1911-532: Is an angry man, and he can't afford to be angry fighting Clay." Clay's outbursts also fed Liston's belief that Clay was terrified (something Clay's camp did little to disavow). Clay said later, "I knew that Liston, overconfident that he was, was never going to train to fight more than two rounds. He couldn't see nothing to me at all but mouth." In contrast, Clay prepared hard for the fight, studying films of Liston's prior bouts and even detecting that Liston telegraphed his punches with eye movement. Several weeks before

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2002-541: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Muhammad Ali versus Sonny Liston#The phantom The first bout was held on February   25, 1964 in Miami Beach, Florida . Clay, who was an 8:1 underdog, won in a major upset, when the champion gave up at the opening of the seventh round. Their second fight was on May   25, 1965 in Lewiston, Maine , which Ali won with

2093-516: Is reading the dictionary," adding that the face-off between the two unlikeable athletes would be "the most popular fight since Hitler and Stalin—180 million Americans rooting for a double knockout." The New York Times ' regular boxing writer Joe Nichols declined to cover the fight, assuming that it would be a mismatch. By fight time, Clay was an 8-to-1 betting underdog . Of the 46 sportswriters at ringside, 43 had picked Liston to win by knockout. Liston, however, brought weaknesses into

2184-427: The audience— stand up for applause; the group also visited Clay's training center later in the week. On March   6, 1964, Elijah Muhammad announced in a recorded statement played over the radio that Clay would be renamed Muhammad Ali. Muhammad means "worthy of all praises", and Ali means "most high". Many theorized that a substance used on Liston's cuts by Joe Pollino, his cutman , may have inadvertently caused

2275-609: The "worst president ever". A popular running gag featured in the "Dubious Achievements of 1990" edition involved especially egregious achievements headlined with "And then they went to Elaine's .", referring to a popular restaurant in New York City that closed in May 2011. Esquire did not publish "Dubious Achievement Awards" for 2001, but resumed them with the 2002 awards, published in the February 2003 issue. "Dubious Achievement Awards" were discontinued in 2008, according to an editor's note in

2366-422: The 1980s and 1990s, a short-lived "Esky" award given to popular rock bands during the 2000s and during Jay Fielden's tenure in the 2010s. Under Harold Hayes , who ran it from 1961 to 1973, Esquire became as distinctive as its oversized pages, helping pioneer the trend of New Journalism by publishing such writers as Norman Mailer , Tim O'Brien , John Sack , Gay Talese , Tom Wolfe , and Terry Southern . In

2457-454: The Clay fight that were not fully apparent at the time. He claimed to be 32 years old at the time of the bout, but many believed that his true age was closer to 34, perhaps even older. Liston had been suffering from bursitis in his shoulders for close to a year and had been receiving cortisone shots. In training for the Clay fight, he re-injured his left shoulder and was supposedly in pain striking

2548-784: The Democratic United States Postmaster General Frank Comerford Walker brought charges against the magazine on behalf of the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt , which alleged that Esquire had used the US Postal Service to promote "lewd images". Republicans opposed the lawsuit and in 1946 the United States Supreme Court found in Hannegan v. Esquire, Inc. , 327 U.S. 146 (1946) , that Esquire 's right to use

2639-471: The January 2008 issue, considering that the overabundance of imitators had made the feature superfluous. However, after a nine-year hiatus, the feature was revived in the January 2017 issue with a skewering of 2016 events. The annual Sexiest Woman Alive feature ran between 2003 and 2015, billed as a benchmark of female attractiveness and consisting of a photoshoot and profile of the winning woman. Originally, it

2730-465: The Miami Boxing Commission, determined that he was "emotionally unbalanced, scared to death, and liable to crack up before he enters the ring." He said if Ali's blood pressure didn't return to normal, the fight would be canceled. Many others also took Clay's antics to mean that he was terrified. In fact, a local radio station later reported a rumor that he had been spotted at the airport buying

2821-521: The NOI—banned from speaking to the press and suspended from all official NOI roles and duties—and would soon officially break with the Nation), agreed to keep a low profile, save for the night of the fight when he would rejoin Clay's entourage as spiritual advisor and view the fight from a ringside seat. While Clay would not definitively link himself with the Nation of Islam and its leader, Elijah Muhammad , until

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2912-408: The Nation of Islam several years prior to the fight, but had kept his religion and affiliation a secret up until the fight. Ali's outbursts reached their peak at the pre-fight weigh-in/physical the morning of the event. Championship bout weigh-ins, before this, had been predictable and boring. Ali entered the room where the weigh-in would be held wearing a denim jacket with the words "Bear Huntin'" on

3003-700: The Postal Service was protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution . During the 1950s, Al Moore replaced Petty and Vargas as the main pinup illustrator for Esquire . Petty illustrated for Esquire from 1933 to 1956, Vargas was hired to replace Petty in 1940 and was active until 1946. Beginning with its second number, a blond, pop-eyed, mustachioed character named "Esky" (created by cartoonists E. Simms Campbell and Sam Berman ), graced almost every Esquire front page for over

3094-525: The World: Muhammad Ali and the Rise of an American Hero , David Remnick spoke with one of Liston's cornermen, who told him that Liston could have continued: "[The shoulder] was all BS. We had no return bout clause with Clay, and if you say your guy just quit, who is gonna get a return bout. We cooked up that shoulder thing on the spot." Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule wrote that Liston's shoulder injury

3185-674: The authors whose careers he assisted. Lish helped establish the career of writer Raymond Carver by publishing his short stories in Esquire , often over the objections of Hayes. Lish is noted for encouraging Carver's minimalism and publishing the short stories of Richard Ford . Using the influential publication as a vehicle to introduce new fiction by emerging authors, he promoted the work of such writers as T. Coraghessan Boyle , Barry Hannah , Cynthia Ozick , Reynolds Price and William Harrison . In February 1977, Esquire published "For Rupert – with no promises" as an unsigned work of fiction: this

3276-484: The back and carrying an African walking stick. He began waving the stick, screaming, "I'm the champ! Tell Sonny I'm here. Bring that big ugly bear on." When Liston appeared, Ali went wild. "Someone is going to die at ringside tonight!" he shouted. "You're scared, chump!" He was restrained by members of his entourage. Writer Mort Sharnik thought Ali was having a seizure. Robert Lipsyte , the New York Times writer, likened

3367-457: The bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout . Liston became the first World Champion since Jess Willard in 1919 to retire on his stool during a Heavyweight title fight. At that point the bout was level on the official scorecards of the referee and two judges. Sensing that he had made history, Clay quickly ran to the ropes amidst the commotion in the ring and shouted at sportswriters, "Eat your words!" In

3458-467: The bell). Clay had been hit hard by a right to the stomach, but he said later, "I felt good because I knew I could survive." Milt Bailey, one of Liston's cornermen , recalled, "In the first round Sonny couldn't catch up with Clay, and I thought we might have some trouble." Indeed, it was perhaps the worst round of Liston's career. Between rounds, sitting on his stool, Clay turned to the press contingent at ringside and opened his mouth as if yawning or making

3549-529: The caption, "Why is this man laughing?" However, the February 2006 "Dubious Achievement Awards" used the caption under a photo of W. Mark Felt , the former FBI official revealed in 2005 to be " Deep Throat ", the source for Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein to uncover the Watergate scandal . The magazine discontinued the Nixon photo in February 2007, referring to a poll stating that George W. Bush had surpassed Nixon as

3640-523: The crowd is getting frantic But our radar stations have picked him up somewhere over the Atlantic.   Who on Earth thought, when they came to the fight, That they would witness the launching of a human satellite. Hence the crowd did not dream, when they laid down their money, That they would see a total eclipse of Sonny. Clay also presented that poem on The Jack Paar Show with Liberace giving improvised piano harmony. Jesse Bowdry brought

3731-481: The day after the fight—at the annual NOI Savior's Day celebration—his association with the Nation, seen by many as a hate group due in part to its strict anti-integrationist stance, further complicated his relations with the press and the white public, further deprived the fight of the "good guy/bad guy" narrative, and negatively affected the gate. MacDonald would ultimately lose $ 300,000 on the bout. According to Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali had converted to Islam and joined

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3822-493: The early 1990s and the problems of the magazine industry during the middle of the decade led to a sustained decline in circulation that threatened the future of Esquire , which had relied upon an elegant, highly-literate audience (until the late 1970s, it published a "back-to-college" issue each September, and during the second half of the 1980s it published a year-end register featuring leading cultural figures under 40 years of age) but did not appeal to younger men. David M. Granger

3913-578: The end of the round, as Clay seemed tired, and delivered punishing shots to Clay's body. It was probably Liston's best moment in the entire fight. But as the round ended, Clay shouted to him, "you big sucka, I got you now". Sitting on his stool between rounds, Liston was breathing heavily as his cornermen worked on his cut. During the fourth round, Clay coasted, keeping his distance and Liston appeared dominant. Joe Louis commenting on TV at ringside said "It's looking good for Sonny Liston". However, when Clay returned to his corner, he started complaining that there

4004-470: The end of the sixth round, and under me I could hear the press like they had gone wild," Clay later said. "I twisted round and hollered down at the reporters, 'I'm gonna upset the world. ' " There are two basic narratives about what occurred next in Liston's corner. According to Ali biographer David Remnick, Liston told his cornermen, "That's it." This supposedly rallied Liston's handlers, who thought he meant he

4095-471: The evil eye—I don't care who you were—you shrunk [ sic ] to two feet tall." Tex Maule wrote in Sports Illustrated : "Liston's arms are massively muscled, the left jab is more than a jab. It hits with true shock power. It never occurred to Liston that he might lose a fight." Johnny Tocco, a trainer who worked with George Foreman and Mike Tyson as well as Liston, said Liston was the hardest hitter of

4186-412: The eyes. "Clay did the worst thing when he started screaming and let Liston know it had worked," Machen said. "Clay panicked. I didn't do that. I'm more of a seasoned pro, and I hid it from Liston." It is noteworthy that Machen did not mention the eye burning problem immediately after his fight with Liston, citing an injury to his arm as contributing to his defeat. Liston said he quit the fight because of

4277-639: The fight in the next round, it seemed clear to many that he would be no match against the daunting Liston, who seemed a more complete boxer in every way than Cooper. The brash Clay was equally disliked by reporters and his chances were widely dismissed. Lester Bromberg's forecast in the New York World-Telegram was typical, predicting, "It will last longer than the Patterson fight—almost the entire first round." The Los Angeles Times ' Jim Murray observed, "The only thing at which Clay can beat Liston

4368-468: The fight quickly and decisively. However, Clay's superior speed and movement were immediately evident, as he slipped most of Liston's lunging punches, making the champion look awkward. Clay clearly gained confidence as the round progressed. He hit Liston with a combination that electrified the crowd with about 30 seconds left in the round and began scoring repeatedly with his left jab (the round lasted an extra 8.5 seconds because referee Barney Felix didn't hear

4459-649: The fight, the Miami Herald published an article quoting Cassius Clay Sr. as saying that his son had joined the Black Muslims when he was 18. "They have been hammering at him ever since," Clay Sr. said. "He's so confused now that he doesn't even know where he's at." He said his youngest son, Rudy Clay, had also joined. "They ruined my two boys," Clay Sr. said. "Muslims tell my boys to hate white people; to hate women; to hate their mother." Clay Jr. responded by saying, "I don't care what my father said. ... I'm here training for

4550-469: The fortnightly experiment proved to be a failure, and by the end of that year, the magazine lost US$ 5 million. Felker sold Esquire in 1979 to the 13-30 Corporation, a Tennessee-based publisher, which reverted the magazine into a monthly, beginning with the July issue (dated both as of July 3 and 19). During this time, New York Woman magazine was launched as something of a spin-off version of Esquire aimed at

4641-425: The heavy bag. He secretly resorted to heavy icing and ultrasound therapy after each training session. And, ironically, because of his dominance, Liston had actually logged little ring time in the past three years. Between March 1961 and the Clay fight, Liston had fought three times and won each bout with first-round knockouts—meaning that he had fought a total of just over six minutes during a 35-month stretch. One of

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4732-425: The hints were abandoned. The feature was criticized for objectifying women. In a Slate article following Penélope Cruz 's 2014 Sexiest Woman Alive profile, Katy Waldman called the article the "latest icky entry in the icky genre" and describing it as using "rapt, creepy, overheated language to say practically nothing about his subject, except that she is 'impossibly beautiful,' 'has no physical flaws,' 'looks like

4823-832: The irritation that blinded Clay in round four. "Joe Pollino had used Monsel's Solution on that cut," Angelo Dundee said. "Now what had happened was that probably the kid put his forehead leaning in on the guy—because Liston was starting to wear in with those body shots—and my kid, sweating profusely, it went into both eyes." Two days after the fight, heavyweight contender Eddie Machen said he believed that Liston's handlers made deliberate use of illegal medication to temporarily blind Clay. "The same thing happened to me when I fought Liston in 1960," Machen said. "I thought my eyes would burn out of my head, and Liston seemed to know it would happen." He theorized that Liston's handlers would rub medication on his shoulders, which would then be transferred to his opponent's forehead during clinches and drip into

4914-438: The magazine received nearly a hundred stories. Rick Moody , Jonathan Ames , Bret Anthony Johnston , Joshua Ferris , Yiyun Li , Aimee Bender , and ZZ Packer are among the notable writers included. For many years, Esquire has published its annual Dubious Achievement Awards , lampooning events of the preceding year. As a running gag , the annual article almost always displayed an old photo of Richard Nixon laughing, with

5005-494: The magazine while Jackson led and edited the fashion section, which made up most of the magazine in its first fifteen years of publishing. Additionally, Jackson's Republican political viewpoints contrasted with the liberal Democratic views of Smart, which allowed for the magazine to publish debates between the two. Esquire initially was supposed to have a quarterly press run of a hundred thousand copies. It cost fifty cents per copy (equivalent to $ 11.77 today). However, demand

5096-415: The magazine, among which fashion photographer Gleb Derujinsky , and Richard Avedon . In spite of its success, the magazine under Granger became increasingly criticized for its focus on the so-called metrosexual culture (a criticism he previously had late in his GQ tenure). David Granger stepped down in 2016, being replaced by Jay Fielden, who revamped the magazine into its more classical up-market style. At

5187-502: The magazine. Other writers who have recently appeared in Esquire include Ralph Lombreglia , James Lee Burke , and Stephen King . In 2007, Esquire launched the Napkin Fiction Project, in which 250 cocktail napkins were mailed to writers all over the country by the incoming fiction editor, in a playful attempt to revive short fiction—"some with a half dozen books to their name, others just finishing their first". In return,

5278-540: The mid-1960s, Esquire partnered with Verve Records to release a series of "Sound Tour" vinyl LPs that provided advice and music for traveling abroad. In August 1969, Esquire published Normand Poirier 's piece, "An American Atrocity", one of the first reports of American atrocities committed against Vietnamese civilians. Like many other magazines of the era, Esquire shrank from the traditional large-magazine format (about 10 + 1 ⁄ 4  in ×  13 + 3 ⁄ 8  in or 260 mm × 340 mm) to

5369-563: The mid-late 1980s, the magazine's June "Summer Reading" issues featured a full-length fiction story accompanied by shorter pieces, all written for the magazine. Although the magazine greatly reduced its fiction content during the 1990s in line with most other magazines, it has nevertheless continued to publish fiction in occasion. Writer Elizabeth Gilbert debuted in Esquire in 1993, while Chris Adrian , Nathan Englander , Benjamin Percy , and Patrick Somerville among others have also contributed to

5460-419: The moment: "Cassius hit Liston with a one-two combination; a jab followed by a straight right. Cassius pulled the jab back and there was a mouse underneath Sonny's right eye. Then he pulled the right back and there was a gash underneath the other eye. ... It was like the armor plate of a battleship being pierced. I said to myself, 'My God, Cassius Clay is winning this fight! ' " A clearly angered Liston rallied at

5551-597: The name Cassius X, as members of the organization adopt the last name X because they no longer want to bear names handed down by former slave-owning families. On March   1, 1964, Ed Sullivan said on his show: "I saw the Liston-Clay fight. This was a stinker of all-time. I swear The Beatles could beat the two of 'em! No kidding!" The Beatles had been on The Ed Sullivan Show twice in February. During their second appearance, which aired February   16 from Miami, Sullivan actually had Liston and Joe Louis— who were in

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5642-755: The reasons that Clay's chances were dismissed is that his boxing style seemed ill-suited to the heavyweight division. He was widely viewed as a fast but light puncher lacking the ability to take a punch or to fight inside. The signatures of Clay's style and later greatness—the tendency to keep his hands low and lean away from punches (often leaving his opponent hitting air, off balance, and exposed to counter punches), his constant movement and reluctance to set (making him extremely difficult to hit)—were viewed as fundamental technical flaws that would be quickly exploited by an experienced, hard-hitting heavyweight like Liston. New York Journal-American columnist Jimmy Cannon summarized this view when he wrote: "Clay doesn't fight like

5733-436: The referee's instructions to see that Clay was considerably taller than Liston. While receiving instructions, Liston glowered at Clay, while Clay stared back and stood on his toes to appear even taller. Clay later said of the moment: "I won't lie, I was scared ... It frightened me, just knowing how hard he hit. But I didn't have no choice but to go out and fight." At the opening bell, an angry Liston charged Clay, looking to end

5824-508: The ring, crawl out of the ring on my knees, tell him he's the greatest, and catch the next jet out of the country." Clay insisted to a skeptical press that he would knock out Liston in eight rounds (former light heavyweight champion José Torres , in his 1971 biography of Ali, Sting Like a Bee , said that as of 1963, Ali's prophetic poems had correctly predicted the exact round he would stop an opponent 12 times). Clay's brashness did not endear him to white Americans, and, in fact, even made Liston

5915-477: The ring. Henry Cooper , the British champion, said he would be interested in a title fight if Clay won, but he was not going to get in the ring with Liston. Cooper's manager, Jim Wicks, said, "We don't even want to meet Liston walking down the same street." Boxing promoter Harold Conrad said, "People talked about [Mike] Tyson before he got beat, but Liston was more ferocious, more indestructible. ... When Sonny gave you

6006-425: The round, he hit Liston with several combinations, causing a bruise under Liston's right eye and a cut under his left, which eventually required eight stitches to close. It was the first time in his career that Liston had been cut. At one point in this attack, Liston was rocked as he was driven to the ropes. Les Keiter , broadcasting at ringside, shouted, "This could be the upset of the century!" Mort Sharnik described

6097-399: The same result – Patterson was knocked out in the first round. At the time of the fight, Liston was generally considered the most intimidating fighter in the world, and among the best heavyweight boxers of all time. With the Patterson victory, Liston had defeated eight of the top 10 ranked contenders at heavyweight; seven of those victories were by knockout. Many were reluctant to meet him in

6188-422: The same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Phantom Punch . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Phantom_Punch&oldid=799491056 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

6279-417: The same time, its political coverage became more comprehensive, following a trend among American magazine publications in general. After a series of shake-ups at Hearst's magazine division, Michael Sebastian became editor in mid-2019, reverting to its 2000s-era style. In September 2006, the magazine launched a special style-focused issue entitled The Big Black Book , which beginning in 2009 was published twice

6370-400: The scene to a "police action, with an enormous amount of movement and noise exploding in a densely packed room." Amidst the pandemonium, he was fined $ 2,500 by the commission for his behavior. Ali worked himself into such a frenzy that his heart rate registered 120 beats per minute, more than twice its normal rate, and his blood pressure was 200/100. Dr. Alexander Robbins, the chief physician of

6461-500: The site in Surfside, Florida where Liston (nicknamed the "Big Bear ") was training, and repeatedly called Liston the "big, ugly bear". Liston grew increasingly irritated as the motor-mouthed Clay continued hurling insults: "After the fight, I'm gonna build myself a pretty home and use him as a bearskin rug. Liston even smells like a bear. I'm gonna give him to the local zoo after I whup him ... if Sonny Liston whups me, I'll kiss his feet in

6552-474: The smaller standard letter size ( 8 + 1 ⁄ 2  in × 11 in or 220 mm × 280 mm) in 1971. The magazine was sold by the original owners to Clay Felker in 1977 (although Esquire Inc. kept its name until its acquisition by Gulf + Western in 1983). Felker reinvented the magazine as a fortnightly in 1978, under the title of Esquire Fortnightly , ditching the script logo that had been used (with minor tweaks) since 1933. However,

6643-414: The sponge and I pour the water into his eyes trying to cleanse whatever's there, but before I did that I put my pinkie in his eye and I put it into my eye. It burned like hell. There was something caustic in both eyes." The commotion wasn't lost on referee Barney Felix, who was walking toward Clay's corner. Felix said Clay was seconds from being disqualified. The challenger, his arms held high in surrender,

6734-480: The three. Several boxing writers actually thought Liston could be damaging to the sport because he could not be beaten. Liston's ominous, glowering demeanor was so central to his image that Esquire magazine caused a controversy by posing him in a Santa Claus hat for its December 1963 cover. Liston learned to box in the Missouri State Penitentiary while serving time for armed robbery . Later, he

6825-476: The valid heavyweight he is. He seldom sets and misses a lot. In a way, Clay is a freak. He is a bantamweight who weighs more than 200 pounds [91kg]." Liston trained minimally for the bout, convinced that he would dispose of Clay within the first two rounds. He typically ran just one mile a day instead of his usual five, reportedly ate hot dogs and drank beer, and was rumored to have been furnished with prostitutes in training camp. The television series I've Got

6916-531: Was a member of the Nation of Islam. His membership in the group was first disclosed the previous night at the group's annual national convention in Chicago by Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad. "I began worshiping this way five years ago when I heard a fellow named Elijah Muhammad on the radio talking about the virtues of the Islam religion," Clay said. "I also listened to his ministers. No one could prove him or them wrong, so I decided to join." Clay started going by

7007-510: Was a part of the "Women We Love" issue that had appeared yearly since 1988 (after being a section of "The Passions of Men" issue, June 1987), being initially titled "Woman of the Year". To build interest, the magazine would do a tease, releasing partial images of the woman in the issues preceding the November issue. By 2007, it had become the dominating story of the issue and to create an element of surprise

7098-419: Was demanding that the fight be stopped and Dundee, fearing the fight might indeed be halted, gave his charge a one-word order: "Run!" Clay later said he could only see a faint shadow of Liston during most of the round, but by circling and moving he managed to avoid Liston and somehow survive. By the sixth round, Clay's sight had cleared, and he began landing combinations almost at will. "I got back to my stool at

7189-418: Was finally angry enough to win, but Liston really meant that he was through fighting, which he indicated by spitting out his mouth guard. However, Liston biographer Paul Gallender's take is that Liston's shoulder was essentially paralyzed by the end of round six, and his corner made the decision to end the fight, despite Liston's protests. Liston spit out his mouth guard in disgust, still not believing that Clay

7280-410: Was founded and edited by David A. Smart , Henry L. Jackson and Arnold Gingrich . Jackson died in a plane crash in 1948, while Gingrich led the magazine until his own death in 1976. Smart died in 1952, although he left Esquire in 1936 to found a different magazine for the company, Coronet . The founders all had different focuses; Gingrich specialized in publishing, Smart led the business side of

7371-408: Was his toughest ever. There were allegations of a fix as soon as the fight ended. Arthur Daley of the New York Times did not believe the claim. He wrote: After a month-long investigation, Florida State Attorney Richard E. Gerstein said there was no evidence to support the claim of a fix, and a United States Senate subcommittee conducted hearings three months later and also found no evidence of

7462-410: Was legitimate. He cited Liston's inability to lift his arm: "There is no doubt that Liston's arm was damaged. In the sixth round, he carried it at belt level so that it was of no help in warding off the right crosses with which Clay probed at the cut under his left eye." He also cited medical evidence: "A team of eight doctors inspected Liston's arm at St. Francis Hospital in Miami Beach and agreed that it

7553-464: Was named editor-in-chief of the magazine in June 1997, fresh from a six-year stint at GQ , which he turned around from its fashion-heavy tradition. After his arrival, the magazine received numerous awards, including multiple National Magazine Awards. Its award-winning staff writers include Tom Chiarella , Scott Raab , Mike Sager , Chris Jones, John H. Richardson, Cal Fussman , Lisa Taddeo , and Tom Junod . Famous photographers have also worked for

7644-499: Was re-incarcerated for assaulting a police officer. For much of his career, his contract was majority owned by Frankie Carbo , a one-time mob hitman and senior member of the Lucchese crime family , who ran boxing interests for the Mafia . The mob was deeply entrenched in boxing at every level at the time, and Liston was never able to escape being labeled as the personification of everything that

7735-547: Was so high that by its second issue (January 1934), it transformed itself into a more refined periodical with an emphasis on men's fashion and contributions by Ernest Hemingway , F. Scott Fitzgerald , Alberto Moravia , André Gide , and Julian Huxley . In the 1940s, the popularity of the Petty Girls and Vargas Girls , particularly among the Armed Forces provided a circulation boost, but also proved controversial: in 1943,

7826-414: Was something burning in his eyes and he could not see. "I didn't know what the heck was going on," Angelo Dundee, Clay's trainer, recalled on an NBC special 25 years later. "He said, 'cut the gloves off. I want to prove to the world there's dirty work afoot.' And I said, 'whoa, whoa, back up baby. C'mon now, this is for the title, this is the big apple. What are you doing? Sit down!' So I get him down, I get

7917-511: Was the big Negro in every white man's hallway." He was a man who, according to Ali biographer David Remnick , "had never gotten a break and was never going to give one". On the other hand, Clay was a glib, fast-talking 22-year-old challenger who enjoyed the spotlight. Known as "The Louisville Lip", he had won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome , Italy. He had great hand and foot speed and lightning fast reflexes, not to mention

8008-852: Was the first time it had published a work without identifying the author. Readers speculated that it was the work of J. D. Salinger , the reclusive author best known for The Catcher in the Rye . Told in first-person, the story features events and Glass family names from the story " For Esmé – with Love and Squalor ". Gordon Lish is quoted as saying, "I tried to borrow Salinger's voice and the psychological circumstances of his life, as I imagine them to be now. And I tried to use those things to elaborate on certain circumstances and events in his fiction to deepen them and add complexity." Other authors appearing in Esquire at that time included William F. Buckley , Truman Capote , Murray Kempton , Malcolm Muggeridge , Ron Rosenbaum , Andrew Vachss and Garry Wills . During

8099-406: Was the superior fighter. As the bell sounded for the seventh round, Clay was the first to notice that Liston had spat out his mouth guard. Clay moved to the middle of the ring with his arms raised, dancing the jig that would become known as the "Ali Shuffle" while Howard Cosell , broadcasting at ringside, shouted "wait a minute! Wait a minute! Sonny Liston is not coming out!" Liston failed to answer

8190-480: Was too badly damaged for Liston to continue fighting. The torn tendon had bled down into the mass of the biceps, swelling and numbing the arm." Those findings were confirmed in a formal investigation immediately after the fight by Florida State Attorney Richard Gerstein , who also noted that there was little doubt that Liston went into the fight with a sore or lame shoulder. Despite Liston carrying an injury and being undertrained, Ali stated in 1975 that this fight

8281-482: Was unseemly and criminal in the sport, despite the fact that his criminality had been in the past. He distrusted boxing writers, and they paid him back, often depicting him as little more than an ignorant thug and a bully. He was typically described in thinly veiled racist terms—a "gorilla" and "hands like big bananas". Author James Baldwin understood Liston perhaps better than anyone in the press and sympathized with him and liked him, unlike boxing writers. He said "Liston

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