--- title: Muhammad Ali vs. Liston 1964: Classic Photos of Ali's First Title Bout description: Photos from the night Cassius Clay -- soon to be Muhammad Ali -- beat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing crown, and launched a legend. canonical: https://time.com/3719077/ali-vs-liston-in-miami-beach-the-night-the-greatest-was-born/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-02-25T17:34:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:05:27.279Z og:title: Muhammad Ali vs. Liston 1964: Classic Photos of Ali's First Title Bout og:description: Photos from the night Cassius Clay -- soon to be Muhammad Ali -- beat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing crown, and launched a legend. og:url: https://time.com/3719077/ali-vs-liston-in-miami-beach-the-night-the-greatest-was-born/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea881ab436fd2ea2/6987809855a8598001a85f8e/140221-muhammad-ali-sonny-liston-fight-01.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ali-Liston Fight February 1964 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Muhammad Ali vs. Liston 1964: Classic Photos of Ali's First Title Bout twitter:description: Photos from the night Cassius Clay -- soon to be Muhammad Ali -- beat Sonny Liston for the heavyweight boxing crown, and launched a legend. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltea881ab436fd2ea2/6987809855a8598001a85f8e/140221-muhammad-ali-sonny-liston-fight-01.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ali vs. Liston in Miami Beach: The Night 'the Greatest' Was Born by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 25, 2014 5:34 PM UTC  Cassius Clay weighs in before his 1964 heavyweight title bout with Sonny Liston. Cassius Clay weighs in before his 1964 heavyweight title bout with Sonny Liston.Herb Scharfman—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 25, 2014 5:34 PM UTC He was Cassius Marcellus Clay then, of course — an Olympic gold medalist, undefeated challenger for the world heavyweight crown and the most charismatic (and, for some, the most controversial) athlete of the era. It was February 1964, and the 22-year-old Clay, whose professional record was an impressive 19-0, was slated to fight [Sonny Liston](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sonny%5FListon) for the heavyweight title in Miami Beach. Hardly anyone in the boxing world — and certainly very, very few in the close-knit and deeply conservative boxing media — gave the supremely self-confident Kentuckian the slightest chance of beating the hard-punching “Big Bear.” And while no one gave him much of a chance, nor could anyone possibly ignore a fighter who recited his own comical, self-aggrandizing poetry to anyone who would listen. (One pre-fight gem: “The crowd did not dream when they put up the money / that they would see a total eclipse of the Sonny.”) But on the night of Feb. 25, 1964, Clay took the crown from Liston with a 7th-round technical knockout in a performance that marked the arrival of an unmistakably formidable boxing talent. Clay — soon to be renamed [Muhammad Ali](http://www.ali.com/) — possessed an unprecedented set of skills, including balletic footwork, lightning hand speed and bone-crushing punching power. When the referee counted Liston out in that ring in Miami Beach, it was clear that the world of boxing, and the universe of sports in general, would never be the same. As the great New York _Times_ sportswriter [Robert Lipsyte wrote on the night the fight](http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/10/25/specials/ali-upset.html): --- > “” --- [\[MORE: See photos from the second Ali-Liston fight in May 1965 — the legendary “Phantom Punch” bout in Lewiston, Maine\]](http://life.time.com/icons/muhammad-ali-sonny-liston-and-the-phantom-punch-title-bout-1965/#1) _Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at_ [_@LizabethRonk_](https://twitter.com/LizabethRonk)_._  Cassius Clay weighs in before his 1964 heavyweight title bout with Sonny Liston. Herb Scharfman—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Sonny Liston at the weighting-in ceremonies before his heavyweight championship fight with Cassius Clay (sitting at left). Herb Scharfman—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Action during the sixth round of the Clay-Liston bout, Feb. 25, 1964. Herb Scharfman—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Sonny Liston readies to throw a punch during the fifth round of the Clay-Liston bout, Feb. 25, 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Sonny Liston hammers Cassius Clay during their first heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Action from the first Clay-Liston heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Cassius Clay and Sonny Liston grapple during their first heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Cassius Clay lands a left jab to Sonny Liston's face during their first heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Cassius Clay pounds Sonny Liston's head during their first heavyweight title fight, Feb. 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The fight is over. Clay shouts, 'I am so pretty!' as he realizes Liston won't come out for seventh round. Trainer Angelo Dundee rushes to Cassius as handler Bundini Brown tries to restrain the half-hysterical champ. Herb Scharfman—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images  Cassius Clay celebrates victory over Sonny Liston, Miami Beach, Fla., Feb. 25, 1964. Ralph Morse—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  LIFE magazine, March 6, 1964. Bob Gomel—LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, March 6, 1964. LIFE Magazine  LIFE magazine, March 6, 1964. 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