Presented is a framed poster from one of the most legendary heavyweight boxing matches of the 20th Century, the Cassius Clay versus Sonny Liston fight of Tuesday, February 25th, 1964 in Miami Beach. Clay, who would announce after the fight he was now to be known as Muhammad Ali, was only 22 years old when he “shocked the world” by becoming the youngest man to take a title from the reigning heavyweight champion. The colorful 13 ½ x 21 ½ inch poster bills the event as “The Greatest Fight in History.” The poster features images of Liston (on the left) and Clay posed above their names with a yellow background, and black, red, and white letters.

     Liston was the most intimidating fighter of his day, and before meeting Clay was considered to be among the best heavyweight fighters of all time. He distrusted the sports writers of the era, and they were often dismissive of Liston as a “brute.” Clay was a glib, fast-talking 22-year-old challenger who enjoyed the spotlight. Known as "The Louisville Lip", he had won the light heavyweight gold medal at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. Ali had great hand and foot speed and lightning fast reflexes, not to mention his limitless supply of “braggadocio” – Ali began taunting Liston in the weeks prior to the fight in the media. By fight time, Clay was a 7-to-1 underdog; of the 46 sports writers gathered at ringside, 43 had picked Liston to win by knockout.

     As the bell sounded for the seventh round after Clay had taken control of the fight, Clay was the first to notice that Liston had spat out his mouth guard. Clay moved to the middle of the ring with his arms raised, dancing what would become known as the "Ali Shuffle" while radio broadcaster Howard Cosell, broadcasting at ringside, shouted "Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Sonny Liston is not coming out!" Liston failed to answer the bell for the seventh round, and Clay was declared the winner by technical knockout. It was the first time since 1919 that a World Heavyweight Champion had quit sitting on his stool. The poster features images of Liston (on the left) and Clay posed above their names with a yellow background, and black, red, and white letters. The poster is in a white matte with blue borders, and in a 21 x 29 inch black wood and glass frame. This is one of the few remaining examples of this attractive and historic poster, appearing on site at the biggest upset in boxing history, and beginning the Championship career of Cassius Clay and Muhammad Ali. The first Liston fight was the last bout in which the Cassius Clay name was used as his name was forever changed to Muhammad Ali before his 1965 rematch with Liston, adding to the historical significance of this poster. This poster is very high grade, very eye appealing and is one of the greatest boxing display pieces presented at auction.

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