50 Years Later, Cassius Clay Vs. Sonny Liston Still Captures The Imagination

Liston lands a straight right to the hip (an illegal blow), while Clay counters with a left hook (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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Liston and Clay trade jabs (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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A frustrated Liston jabs but Clay slips the punch. (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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Clay leaps into the ring, where trainer Angelo Dundee and referee Barney Felix await. (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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Clay takes a moment to pray. Pictured: Angelo Dundee, Bundini Brown, welterweight champion Luis Manual Rodriguez, Luis Sarria and Ferdie Pacheco crowd the corner. (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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Yet another Cassius Clay fan and author, Truman Capote, arrives at the match with fashion icon Gloria Guinness, one of his “swans.”(Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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On the Waterfront author and boxing fan Budd Schulberg at the 1964 match. His 1972 book The Loser and Still Champion: Muhammad Ali would cover one of the fighter’s later bouts with Joe Frazier. (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)

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Liston and Clay exchange blows…Liston’s face shows signs of damage (Courtesy: HistoryMiami/Miami Herald)