Sonny Liston.E2.80.94Muhammed Ali fight Androscoggin Bank Colisée
on may 25, 1965, youth center venue wbc heavyweight boxing championship rematch between 34-year old former champ sonny liston , 23-year-old reigning champion muhammad ali. both liston , ali controversial figures, , many cities refused host fight. boston garden original location, boston district attorney blocked it. cities of cleveland, pittsburgh, , houston declined host. lewiston economic development director sam michael offered youth center, , promoters agreed. dominican fathers received $2,500 event.
tickets priced @ $25, $50 , then-high $100 ringside seats. lower-priced seats sold quickly, higher-priced seats did not. eventual crowd smallest witness heavyweight title fight in modern times. however, of profits came closed-circuit television rights across world, not in-person ticket sales. ali beat liston in 2 minutes, 12 seconds.
it @ fight sports illustrated photographer neil leifer took time magazine has called perhaps greatest sports photo of century. photo taken 1 minute , 44 seconds first round, ali stood on liston s prone body. ali reportedly taunted liston in moment, saying , fight, sucker!
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