On September 26, 1962, the nice guy, crowd favorite, heavy weight champion of the world, Floyd Patterson, lost his esteemed heavy weight crown to Charles “Sonny” Liston.

Boxing fans loved Floyd Patterson for his big heart and courage. They loved him for his Olympic gold and his polite, soft spoken ways. On the other hand, Sonny Liston was one of the most disliked, and infamous heavy weights in the business. He had mob connections: and, he was big and mean.

Sonny was one of as many as 25 brothers and sisters who were subjected to a violent and abusive father. As a teenager, he ran away from home and entered a life of crime. By the age of eighteen, Liston was in prison for armed robbery. While in prison, Liston learned to box, and he became the prison champion. When his prison sentence was complete, he became an amateur champion and, then, bad boy Sonny turned pro.

Sonny was a portent of things to come. He was bigger than most heavy weights of his day-much bigger than Floyd. His fighting weight was well over two hundred and ten pounds, and he was armed with unmatchable strength. He easily disposed of all contenders in the heavyweight ranks.

Floyd ducked Sonny for 2 yrs. Some said it was because the boxing commission, the fans and the public did not think a man of Liston’s crime ridden past and mob connections deserved a shot at the title. When Sonny finally received his chance, he easily defeated Patterson, disposing of him in the first round. Newspapers describe the 19,000 fans as shocked and disappointed by the quick knock out. A year later in the rematch, Liston dropped Patterson again in the first round. Floyd didn’t have a chance.

After the boxing heroics of such legends as the great Sugar Ray Robinson and Rocky Marciano, no one expected to see the bad guy to win. But, the harsh reality of life is often played out in the ring, and this time the bad guy won. Unfortunately, he won easily and he won big