14 stories on BoxingScene are published under the Mike Dunn byline.
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For those interested in knowing more about the life and times of one of the most enigmatic and troubled heavyweight champs, the book "The Devil and Sonny Liston," by Nick Tosches (Copyright 2000, published by Little, Brown and Company), is a wealth of knowledge. Tosches, who hails from Newark, writes in an engaging style that is as beautifully stylish as a Liston left jab and as savagely straightforward.
Few fights have generated more myths than the March 13, 1963 bout at Madison Square Garden between heavyweight contenders Cassius Clay and Doug Jones. To hear some people tell it, Clay was given a gift decision. Jones kept hurting him with rights, they say. Jones was too slippery for Clay to hit. Jones nearly knocked Clay out with a right in the first round. Jones would have had a knockdown if the ropes hadn't kept Clay from spilling to the canvas. On and on it goes. The facts about the fight are these: 1. Jones stunned Clay with a solid right-hand lead early in the first round. Yes, Clay was near the ropes, but the ropes DID NOT keep him from being knocked down. Clay used some evasive tactics for 30 or 40 seconds, until his head cleared sufficiently, and then he began trading punches with Jones again. By the middle of the round, the impact of Jones's right-hand blow had worn off completely. Clay, in fact, landed a couple of stiff rights himself before the end of the round.
Did Sonny Liston throw one or both of his fights with Cassius Clay? A lot of people think so, including boxing insiders. Many others don't believe it. Some think Liston may have thrown the second fight in Lewiston, Maine, but not the first one.
Now that Mike Tyson has lost convincingly to Danny Williams, a heretofore little-known British heavyweight who would have been mere cannon fodder for Tyson in his heyday, what happens next? I don¹t mean for Tyson, who should permanently retire, but for the sport of boxing?