After dispatching 19 boxers on his way to an unblemished record, including 15 knockouts, by the end of 1963, Cassius Clay had become the top contender for the Heavyweight Championship of the World, held by the extremely formidable Sonny Liston. The fight was scheduled for February 25, 1964 in Miami Beach, FL. The champion Liston was bigger, stronger and more intimidating than Clay, and after dismantling former champion Floyd Patterson in a first round knockout, then beating Patterson again with another first round knockout, Liston was listed as a 7-1 favorite to keep his belt. What was not lost on boxing fans was that the tougher opponents Clay had faced had actually knocked him down and around (but not out!). However, despite being a huge underdog, the brash boxer known as The Louisville Lip for his trash talk before, during and after his matches, kept up his aggressive attitude.

      This trash talk did not quell prior to Clay’s first Heavyweight Championship fight. In fact, it grew in stature and virility. Clay called Liston “The big, ugly bear”, even saying Liston smelled like one. Liston countered after the fight, he “could be locked up for murder” indicating Clay would be hurt really bad. At the pre-fight weigh in, Clay was visibly nervous further evidencing this would be a quick night for all involved. The actual fight was a quick night, but for the opposite reason everyone thought. Clay used his speed advantage to avoid the early big blows, and began to use his trademark jabbing and quick combinations to beat Liston when the champ could not come out for the 7th round. The fight was, at the time, the biggest upset in Heavyweight boxing history.

      Clay was the new heavyweight champion, and after changing his name to Muhammad Ali, set the pace for the new style of Heavyweight Champion. This 14 x 22 inch poster is printed on thick cardboard, and was displayed on site at the Miami Beach Convention Center that day and night on February 25, 1964 when a new Heavyweight Champion was crowned. As with most on site items, the majority of these posters were destroyed, and very few actually survived the storminess of that evening. However, many of these posters were torn down.

      Both fighters are featured, with the menacing look of Liston opposite the stoic Clay, with each appearing ready to rumble. The colorful poster has been professionally framed and matted to a dimension of 20.5 x 28.75 inches, enhancing the magnitude of this wonderful piece. The visible area is 13.25 x 21.5 inches and we consulted with boxing expert Craig Hamilton, who handled the original sale of this item many years ago and said this piece had some paint restoration, which is not uncommon for a piece of this age and material. 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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