Phantom Punch

This picture was taken February 25, 1964. This was the day that the World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston was knocked out by the young Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali). This was the most important fight in the history of boxing, and is one of the most important moments in all of sports. This picture depicts Clay yelling in victory after he knocked out Liston who previously had only lost once, in which he had a broken jaw, and this photo of the iconic “Phantom Punch” as the “punch” Clay threw as Liston was on the ground was the real knockout because many believed that Clay didn’t knock out Liston actually, and it was the cover of Sports Illustracted “The Centurys Greatest Sports Photos.” This photo marks a change in all of sports because it is the generation of the “trash talking” and with the success of Clay allowed players from all sports to become the big talking and flashy people that they are. After this fight Liston would drop from publicity of boxing, while Clay is on a rise to become the most important athlete of all time and especially gained publicity when he converted to become a Muslim and changed his name to the now popular Muhammad Ali. Also, after he changed his name to Ali he was enlisted by the army by the draft but refused due to his faith, which then took away all of his wins and even his title fight with Liston. Lastly, he was also born in Louisville, KY and is known as one of the most important people to ever be born in KY, which makes this picture even more important to myself and other fellow Kentuckians.