Sonny Liston Record
| Total Fights | 54 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 50 |
| Losses | 4 |
| Draws | 0 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| Title Wins | 4 |
|---|---|
| Title Defenses | 1 |
| Title-Fight KOs | 2 |
| KO Wins | 39 |
| KO Losses | 3 |
Featured Opponents
What is Sonny Liston's boxing record?
In a professional boxing career spanning 16 years and nine months, Sonny Liston fought 54 times with 50 wins and 4 losses.
Liston's boxing record after his last fight was 50-4, which included four heavyweight world-title wins and one successful title defense fight. He had a 72.2% knockouts-to-fights ratio with 39 of his total 54 fights being knockout wins, two of which were in title fights. Liston suffered three knockout losses in his career, two of which were in title fights.
His last fight was a 9th round RTD victory over Chuck Wepner on June 29, 1970.
Some of Liston's best fights and notable victories include wins over Hall-of-Famer Floyd Patterson, Cleveland Williams, Roy Harris, Zora Folley, Willi Besmanoff, Niño Valdés, and Amos Lincoln.
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Res | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54 | Jun 29, 1970 | 38 | Chuck Wepner | Win | RTD9 |
| 53 | Dec 6, 1969 | 37 | Leotis Martin | Loss | KO9 |
| 52 | Sep 23, 1969 | 37 | Sonny Moore | Win | KO3 |
| 51 | May 19, 1969 | 37 | George Johnson | Win | TKO7 |
| 50 | Mar 28, 1969 | 36 | Billy Joiner | Win | UD |
| 49 | Dec 10, 1968 | 36 | Amos Lincoln | Win | KO2 |
| 48 | Nov 12, 1968 | 36 | Roger Rischer | Win | KO3 |
| 47 | Nov 3, 1968 | 36 | Willis Earls | Win | KO2 |
| 46 | Oct 14, 1968 | 36 | Sonny Moore | Win | TKO3 |
| 45 | Jul 6, 1968 | 36 | Henry Clark | Win | TKO7 |
| 44 | May 23, 1968 | 36 | Billy Joiner | Win | RTD7 |
| 43 | Mar 16, 1968 | 35 | Bill McMurray | Win | TKO4 |
| 42 | Apr 28, 1967 | 34 | Elmer Rush | Win | TKO6 |
| 41 | Mar 30, 1967 | 34 | Dave Bailey | Win | KO1 |
| 40 | Aug 19, 1966 | 34 | Amos Johnson | Win | KO3 |
| 39 | Jul 1, 1966 | 34 | Gerhard Zech | Win | KO7 |
| 38 | May 25, 1965 | 33 | Muhammad Ali | Loss * | KO1 |
| 37 | Feb 25, 1964 | 31 | Cassius Clay | Loss * | RTD6 |
| 36 | Jul 22, 1963 | 31 | Floyd Patterson | Win * | KO1 |
| 35 | Sep 25, 1962 | 30 | Floyd Patterson | Win * | KO1 |
| 34 | Dec 4, 1961 | 29 | Albert Westphal | Win | KO1 |
| 33 | Mar 8, 1961 | 28 | Howard King | Win | TKO3 |
| 32 | Sep 7, 1960 | 28 | Eddie Machen | Win | UD |
| 31 | Jul 18, 1960 | 28 | Zora Folley | Win | KO3 |
| 30 | Apr 25, 1960 | 27 | Roy Harris | Win | TKO1 |
| 29 | Mar 21, 1960 | 27 | Cleveland Williams | Win | TKO2 |
| 28 | Feb 23, 1960 | 27 | Howard King | Win | RTD7 |
| 27 | Dec 9, 1959 | 27 | Willi Besmanoff | Win | RTD6 |
| 26 | Aug 5, 1959 | 27 | Niño Valdés | Win | KO3 |
| 25 | Apr 15, 1959 | 26 | Cleveland Williams | Win | TKO3 |
| 24 | Feb 18, 1959 | 26 | Mike DeJohn | Win | TKO6 |
| 23 | Nov 18, 1958 | 26 | Ernie Cab | Win | RTD7 |
| 22 | Oct 24, 1958 | 26 | Bert Whitehurst | Win | UD |
| 21 | Oct 7, 1958 | 26 | Frankie Daniels | Win | KO1 |
| 20 | Aug 6, 1958 | 26 | Wayne Bethea | Win | TKO1 |
| 19 | May 14, 1958 | 26 | Julio Mederos | Win | RTD2 |
| 18 | Apr 3, 1958 | 25 | Bert Whitehurst | Win | PTS |
| 17 | Mar 11, 1958 | 25 | Ben Wise | Win | TKO4 |
| 16 | Jan 29, 1958 | 25 | Billy Hunter | Win | TKO2 |
| 15 | Mar 6, 1956 | 23 | Marty Marshall | Win | UD |
| 14 | Dec 13, 1955 | 23 | Larry Watson | Win | TKO4 |
| 13 | Sep 13, 1955 | 23 | Johnny Gray | Win | TKO6 |
| 12 | May 25, 1955 | 23 | Calvin Butler | Win | TKO2 |
| 11 | May 5, 1955 | 22 | Emil Brtko | Win | TKO5 |
| 10 | Apr 21, 1955 | 22 | Marty Marshall | Win | TKO6 |
| 9 | Mar 1, 1955 | 22 | Neal Welch | Win | PTS |
| 8 | Sep 7, 1954 | 22 | Marty Marshall | Loss | SD |
| 7 | Aug 10, 1954 | 22 | Johnny Summerlin | Win | SD |
| 6 | Jun 29, 1954 | 22 | Johnny Summerlin | Win | UD |
| 5 | Mar 31, 1954 | 21 | Stanley Howlett | Win | PTS |
| 4 | Jan 25, 1954 | 21 | Martin Lee | Win | TKO6 |
| 3 | Nov 21, 1953 | 21 | Bennie Thomas | Win | SD |
| 2 | Sep 17, 1953 | 21 | Ponce de Leon | Win | PTS |
| 1 | Sep 2, 1953 | 21 | Don Smith | Win | TKO1 |
* World-title fight
Boxing career
Sonny Liston (The Big Bear) was an American professional boxer. He was born in Sand Slough, Arkansas, U.S. on May 8, 1932. He was a heavyweight world champion. He died on December 30, 1970 at the age of 38 years. Liston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1991. His professional boxing career spanned more than 16 years — from 1953 to 1970.
Liston made his professional boxing debut against Don Smith at the age of 21 on September 2, 1953, defeating Smith via 1st round TKO. He went on to win 6 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 1 wins via stoppage.
He had his first world title fight at the age of 30 on September 25, 1962 after 34 professional fights, against Floyd Patterson for the heavyweight NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring titles. He defeated Patterson via 1st round KO to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Sonny Liston was a one-time undisputed heavyweight world champion, and won three world titles at heavyweight. For all the details about Liston's world title wins and defenses refer to the "Championships" section below.
Liston had a total of four losses in his professional boxing career.
His last professional fight was a non-title bout against fellow American boxer Chuck Wepner at 38 years of age, on June 29, 1970. Liston won the fight via 9th round RTD.
Championships
Liston had a total of four world-title fights, which includes winning four world titles and one successful title defense. He won two of these fights and lost two.
Title Wins
Sonny Liston fought for heavyweight world titles in three fights and won two of these fights, both of them via stoppage. In total, he won three heavyweight belts.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Won | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 1963+ | Floyd Patterson | Heavyweight | WBC | KO |
| Sep 25, 1962 | Floyd Patterson | Heavyweight | NYSAC, WBA, The Ring | KO |
Title Defenses
Sonny Liston had two heavyweight world-title defense fights. He won once and lost once.
Following is the table of his successful title defense fights, the next section has the fights where he lost his titles.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Defended | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 22, 1963+ | Floyd Patterson | Heavyweight | WBA, The Ring | KO |
Title Losses
Sonny Liston lost one world-title defense fight, and lost three titles in the fight.
| Date | Opponent | Division | Titles Lost | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 25, 1964 | Cassius Clay | Heavyweight | WBA, WBC, The Ring | RTD |
Highlights
Liston fought a total of 54 times during his professional career, which includes 4 world-title fights at the heavyweight division. He was among the very best of his generation and was known for his great performances in his fights. These four fights are the highlight of his career.
April 15, 1959: Sonny Liston puts on the first remarkable performance of his career, defeating Cleveland Williams via 3rd round TKO.
March 21, 1960: Sonny Liston beats Cleveland Williams via 2nd round TKO.
September 25, 1962: Liston wins his first world titles by defeating Floyd Patterson via 1st round KO. He is now the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring heavyweight world champion.
July 22, 1963: Liston becomes the undisputed heavyweight world champion by defeating Floyd Patterson via 1st round KO. He now holds the WBA, The Ring, and WBC heavyweight world-champion belts.
FAQs
How 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%).
What was Sonny Liston's first world title win?
Liston's first world-title win were the NYSAC, WBA, and The Ring belts at heavyweight. He defeated Floyd Patterson via 1 round KO to win the titles.
How many world titles did Sonny Liston win?
Liston won three world titles at heavyweight.
How many title defenses did Sonny Liston make?
Liston had a total of two title defense fight. He was successful one time and lost one time.