50 years ago, a young 22 year old underdog stepped into the boxing ring and defeated one of the toughest boxers of all time. In one night, Muhammad Ali went from a "trash talking", Olympic gold medal winning, young underdog, to "The Greatest" boxer of all time. And, Ali would make sure no one would ever forget it. Society was changing and Ali would become one of the leaders of this change, as he is even today.Sonny Liston was known as the "Big Bear", and for good reason. He was 6'1", 215 lbs. He was 35-1 at the time, with 24 knock-outs. Boxing trainer Johnny Tocco, who worked with boxers George Foreman and Mike Tyson, as well as, Liston, would later say, Sonny hit harder than anyone. Very few professional boxing analysts thought Ali had a chance to win.
I was born a little over a year after this fight back on February 25,1964, so as I youth, I was able to see Ali fight in some legendary bouts. The "Thrilla in Manila" vs Joe Frazier. The "Rumble in the Jungle" vs George Foreman. The "Jawbreaker" vs Ken Norton, a fight Ali lost, but he would later come back to defeat Norton twice. With characters such as Howard Cosell and Don King. It was the "Golden Age" of boxing,
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