The Devil and Sonny Liston

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The Devil and Sonny Liston
The Devil and Sonny Liston.jpg
First edition
Author Nick Tosches
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Genre Biography, Music, Journalism
Publisher Little, Brown (USA)
Publication date
April 2000 (USA)
Media typePrint (Hardback, Paperback)
Pages272 pp (hardback first edition)
ISBN 0-316-89775-2
796.83/092 B 21
LC Class GV1132.L53 T68 2000

The Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer Sonny Liston by Nick Tosches. [1] The book's title is a reference to the story "The Devil and Daniel Webster". Tosches' intended title was "Night Train" after one of Liston's favorite songs. It was changed at the behest of his publisher in order to avoid potential confusion with the novel of the same name by Martin Amis.

Boxing combat sport

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Sonny Liston

Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was an American professional boxer who competed from 1953 to 1970. A dominant contender of his era, he became the world heavyweight champion in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round, repeating the knockout the following year in defense of the title; in the latter fight he also became the inaugural WBC heavyweight champion. Liston was particularly known for his toughness, formidable punching power, long reach, and intimidating appearance.

Nick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet. His 1982 biography of Jerry Lee Lewis, Hellfire, was praised by Rolling Stone magazine as "the best rock and roll biography ever written."

Among the controversial topics covered are Liston's disputed birth date, his alleged mob ties, corruption in the professional boxing world, the 1964 Liston-Clay fight in which Liston claimed to have a shoulder injury, the 1965 Liston-Ali fight and the so-called "phantom punch", and Liston's heroin overdose death in 1970.

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References

  1. Patrick, Vincent (April 30, 2000). "Fight Club" . The New York Times . Retrieved February 23, 2010.