Wednesday, February 26, 1964 The Frances Hubbard Diaires

February 26, 1964
Wednesday, bright, sunny day, 72 high.  I cleaned the house and finished mending.  David went to Escondido in am.  Wrote to Doug and Mother.
Comment: And last night, on the 25th, Cassius Clay surprised the world by knocking out Sonny Liston in 7 rounds.."On February 25, 1964, 22-year-old Cassius Clay shocks the odds-makers by dethroning world heavyweight boxing champ Sonny Liston in a seventh-round technical knockout. The dreaded Liston, who had twice demolished former champ Floyd Patterson in one round, was an 8-to-1 favorite. However, Clay predicted victory, boasting that he would "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee" and knock out Liston in the eighth round. The fleet-footed and loquacious youngster needed less time to make good on his claim--Liston, complaining of an injured shoulder, failed to answer the seventh-round bell. A few moments later, a new heavyweight champion was proclaimed."  See.....http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/clay-knocks-out-liston

I remember the fight well and thought Cassius would be annihilated. After the fight, I went back and read all the articles preceding the fight to see why I and  everyone else was so wrong.  All of the articles emphasized how big and bad Sonny Liston was but none of them pointed out that Clay was taller than Liston and also had about and inch or so of "reach".  He also weighed about the same and was much faster.  So, duped again by the fourth estate as we often were and still are....And Ali goes on to become one of the best known and admired people in the world....at 8-1 odds. Nobody ever knows anything....