Sonny Liston Record & Stats
Sonny Liston (The Big Bear) was an American professional boxer. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on January 1, 1930. Liston made his professional boxing debut at the age of 23 against Don Smith on September 2, 1953. He was a heavyweight world champion. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 40 years. Liston is a Hall of Famer.
- Born
- Jan 1, 1930
- Died
- Dec 30, 1970 (40 years)
- Debut
- Sep 2, 1953
- Record
- 50-4
- Rounds
- 264
- KO Pct
- 72.2%
- Height
- 185 cm
- Reach
- 213 cm
- Ape Index
- 28 cm
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Last Fight
| WBA | WBC | TheRing |
|---|---|---|
| HV w1 d1 | HV w1 d0 | HV w1 d1 |
Featured Opponents
Sonny Liston Record
In a career spanning 16 years and 9 months, Sonny Liston fought 54 times with 50 wins and 4 losses. By his last professional fight on June 29, 1970, Liston's record stood at 50-4 (39 KOs). In total, he fought 264 rounds of professional boxing in 54 bouts.
| Total Fights | 54 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 50 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| KO Wins | 39 |
|---|---|
| Total Title Wins | 4 |
| Title Defenses | 1 |
| Title-Fight KO Wins | 2 |
| Losses via KO | 3 |
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Result | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Jun 29, 1970 | 40 | Chuck Wepner | Win | RTD9 |
| 53 | Dec 6, 1969 | 39 | Leotis Martin | Loss | KO9 |
| 52 | Sep 23, 1969 | 39 | Sonny Moore | Win | KO3 |
| 51 | May 19, 1969 | 39 | George Johnson | Win | TKO7 |
| 50 | Mar 28, 1969 | 39 | Billy Joiner | Win | UD |
| 49 | Dec 10, 1968 | 38 | Amos Lincoln | Win | KO2 |
| 48 | Nov 12, 1968 | 38 | Roger Rischer | Win | KO3 |
| 47 | Nov 3, 1968 | 38 | Willis Earls | Win | KO2 |
| 46 | Oct 14, 1968 | 38 | Sonny Moore | Win | TKO3 |
| 45 | Jul 6, 1968 | 38 | Henry Clark | Win | TKO7 |
| 44 | May 23, 1968 | 38 | Billy Joiner | Win | RTD7 |
| 43 | Mar 16, 1968 | 38 | Bill McMurray | Win | TKO4 |
| 42 | Apr 28, 1967 | 37 | Elmer Rush | Win | TKO6 |
| 41 | Mar 30, 1967 | 37 | Dave Bailey | Win | KO1 |
| 40 | Aug 19, 1966 | 36 | Amos Johnson | Win | KO3 |
| 39 | Jul 1, 1966 | 36 | Gerhard Zech | Win | KO7 |
| 38 | May 25, 1965 | 35 | Muhammad Ali | Loss | KO1 |
| 37 | Feb 25, 1964 | 34 | Cassius Clay | Loss | RTD6 |
| 36 | Jul 22, 1963 | 33 | Floyd Patterson | Win | KO1 |
| 35 | Sep 25, 1962 | 32 | Floyd Patterson | Win | KO1 |
| 34 | Dec 4, 1961 | 31 | Albert Westphal | Win | KO1 |
| 33 | Mar 8, 1961 | 31 | Howard King | Win | TKO3 |
| 32 | Sep 7, 1960 | 30 | Eddie Machen | Win | UD |
| 31 | Jul 18, 1960 | 30 | Zora Folley | Win | KO3 |
| 30 | Apr 25, 1960 | 30 | Roy Harris | Win | TKO1 |
| 29 | Mar 21, 1960 | 30 | Cleveland Williams | Win | TKO2 |
| 28 | Feb 23, 1960 | 30 | Howard King | Win | RTD7 |
| 27 | Dec 9, 1959 | 29 | Willi Besmanoff | Win | RTD6 |
| 26 | Aug 5, 1959 | 29 | Niño Valdés | Win | KO3 |
| 25 | Apr 15, 1959 | 29 | Cleveland Williams | Win | TKO3 |
| 24 | Feb 18, 1959 | 29 | Mike DeJohn | Win | TKO6 |
| 23 | Nov 18, 1958 | 28 | Ernie Cab | Win | RTD7 |
| 22 | Oct 24, 1958 | 28 | Bert Whitehurst | Win | UD |
| 21 | Oct 7, 1958 | 28 | Frankie Daniels | Win | KO1 |
| 20 | Aug 6, 1958 | 28 | Wayne Bethea | Win | TKO1 |
| 19 | May 14, 1958 | 28 | Julio Mederos | Win | RTD2 |
| 18 | Apr 3, 1958 | 28 | Bert Whitehurst | Win | PTS |
| 17 | Mar 11, 1958 | 28 | Ben Wise | Win | TKO4 |
| 16 | Jan 29, 1958 | 28 | Billy Hunter | Win | TKO2 |
| 15 | Mar 6, 1956 | 26 | Marty Marshall | Win | UD |
| 14 | Dec 13, 1955 | 25 | Larry Watson | Win | TKO4 |
| 13 | Sep 13, 1955 | 25 | Johnny Gray | Win | TKO6 |
| 12 | May 25, 1955 | 25 | Calvin Butler | Win | TKO2 |
| 11 | May 5, 1955 | 25 | Emil Brtko | Win | TKO5 |
| 10 | Apr 21, 1955 | 25 | Marty Marshall | Win | TKO6 |
| 9 | Mar 1, 1955 | 25 | Neal Welch | Win | PTS |
| 8 | Sep 7, 1954 | 24 | Marty Marshall | Loss | SD |
| 7 | Aug 10, 1954 | 24 | Johnny Summerlin | Win | SD |
| 6 | Jun 29, 1954 | 24 | Johnny Summerlin | Win | UD |
| 5 | Mar 31, 1954 | 24 | Stanley Howlett | Win | PTS |
| 4 | Jan 25, 1954 | 24 | Martin Lee | Win | TKO6 |
| 3 | Nov 21, 1953 | 23 | Bennie Thomas | Win | SD |
| 2 | Sep 17, 1953 | 23 | Ponce de Leon | Win | PTS |
| 1 | Sep 2, 1953 | 23 | Don Smith | Win | TKO1 |
Sonny Liston Stats
Career Summary
Sonny Liston was active from from 1953 to 1970. He started boxing professionally at 23 years of age; Liston debuted against Don Smith on September 2, 1953, and defeated Smith via 1st round TKO.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 32 on September 25, 1962 after 34 professional fights against Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring titles. Liston defeated Patterson via 1st round KO to become the new heavyweight champion of the world.
Liston's notable victories include wins over Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Amos Lincoln, George Johnson, Billy Joiner, Sonny Moore, and Willis Earls. For a complete list of Liston's best performances refer to Sonny Liston's best fights.
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against fellow American boxer Chuck Wepner at 40 years of age, on June 29, 1970. Liston won the fight via 9th round RTD.
Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1991.
FAQs
How many titles did Sonny Liston win?
Sonny Liston fought for world titles in three fights and won two of them. In total, he won three belts at heavyweight (WBA, WBC, The Ring). He was a one-time undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Date Against Weight Titles Won Jul 22, 1963+ Floyd Patterson HV WBC Sep 25, 1962 Floyd Patterson HV NYSAC, WBA, The Ring + Became undisputed world championHow many KOs does Sonny Liston have on his record?
Liston knocked out 39 of his 54 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 72.2%. Of his total 50 wins, 39 of them were via KO (78%).
Who did Sonny Liston lose to?
Sonny Liston had a total of four losses in 54 fights — two of them in title bouts and two in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Marty Marshall via 8 round SD in his 8th fight. He was stopped three times and lost once via decision.
Leotis Martin, Muhammad Ali, Cassius Clay, and Marty Marshall are the four boxers who have beaten Liston. For more details about these defeats, refer to All of Sonny Liston's losses.