Spring 2020 Premium Auction
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 5/20/2020
Presented is a 1964 Cassius Clay (a.k.a. Muhammad Ali) versus Sonny Liston ticket stub from their legendary world heavyweight boxing championship match at the Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Florida on February 25, 1964. The $20 ticket is orange paper printed in red and black, with black and white head & shoulder photographs of Liston and Clay on the front for the scheduled 15-round fight. The back of the ticket is printed with disclaimers in black and red on orange. This is the fight that Sports Illustrated magazine named as the fourth greatest sports moment of the 20th century. Liston was the World Heavyweight Champion at the time of the first Liston–Clay fight in Miami Beach, having demolished former champion Floyd Patterson by a first-round knockout in September 1962. Ten months later, Liston and Patterson met again with the same result, Patterson was knocked out in the first round. Liston was the most intimidating fighter of his day, and considered by some, at the time of the Clay fight, to be among the best heavyweights of all time. Many were reluctant to meet him in the ring. Clay, who was a 7–1 underdog, won in a major upset, when Liston gave up at the opening of the seventh round (after being clearly dominated in the sixth). This item has been authenticated and encapsulated by PSA (40982122) and is graded VG-EX 4.