Immediately after the Liston fight, Cassius Clay announced that he was now a member of the Muslim sect ‘The Nation of Islam’. Now following the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, he wanted to be known as Muhammad Ali from that point forward. Much of this was treated by the press as folly, with the important news being he was the new champion of the world. Talks of Liston losing because of a torn shoulder muscle sparked instant talks of a rematch between the two. November 16th in Boston, Massachusetts was the agreed date, and many still thought Sonny would handle the ‘Lip’ in the next go round.
Three days before the rematch, Ali was hospitalized with a strangulated hernia, and the fight was called off. 6 months later the bout was rescheduled for Lewiston, Maine, and May 25th would be the date.
The fight itself was anti-climatic to say the least. Liston took an obvious dive from a punch that couldn’t have broken wind, and his known mob ties affected the public’s opinion. A man that had never been knocked out,rolled around on the canvas after being hit by a right hand by a man would didn’t hit that hard as he was taking a step backwards. Liston would be forever known as a coward, and a quitter and never got another title shot after falling from the phantom punch.
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