Editor’s note: This story was originally published on Feb. 25, 2025.
A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Feb. 25, 1964, a 22-year-old Muhammad Ali, then Cassius Clay, became world heavyweight boxing champion for the first time as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Florida.
And oh boy, was it an upset.
The story
On the day of the fight, front page headlines were somber and typical in the Deseret News. A jet liner had crashed near New Orleans with all onboard feared dead. The U.S. House of Representatives had passed a big tax cut, the U.S. was dealing with problems in Russia and Cuba, and Jimmy Hoffa — yes, that Jimmy Hoffa — testified about price fixing in a Tennessee courtroom.
In the sports section, however, it was all boxing, all the time.
The headlines on the day of the fight all but predicted a win for the popular Liston, with a bulletin item that Clay had been fined for causing a disturbance at the weigh-in:
“At last! Liston gets chance to zip Clay lip,” with a captioned photo of Liston labeled ”... and still champion (?)”
“Facts, figures on big bout”
“Segregated seating shuts theater doors”
It seemed like the fight would be a cakewalk for the defending champion.
The fight and furor
While Clay was just making a name for himself as the greatest of all time, this early fight ranks as one of the most controversial in history. Was it the fight of the century?
Clay, who was an 8-to-1 underdog, won in a major upset, when the champion gave up at the opening of the seventh round.
Clay, who soon embraced Islam and changed his name to Muhammad Ali, had predicted he would “float like a butterfly and sting like a bee.”
The headlines in the sports headlines the next day were overwhelming, as every single story on the cover was about the fight:
“Incredible Cassius is champ, but ...”
“Fightdom’s dramatic ‘upset’ of the century — in three acts”
“But it looked so phony”
“Florida probe is promised on ‘surpriser’”
“Cass th’ Lip is louder, longer”
“Phoenix paper protests fight”
More than a year later, the two fought in Lewiston, Maine, which Ali won with a first-round knockout. The infamous “phantom punch,” as well as a botched count by the referee, aroused suspicions of a fix and have been subject to debate ever since.
Ali died in 2016. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives of the fight, the rematch and Ali’s amazing career:
“The Muhammad Ali I never knew ... until then”
“That time when Muhammad Ali turned Salt Lake upside down”
“Champ Ali’s Louisville friends remember early days”
“Muhammad Ali, who riveted the world as ‘The Greatest,’ dies”
“Ali! Ali! Ali! The Greatest lights up the ‘96 Olympics”
“The latest reaction to Ali’s death: Jerry West says Ali had ‘God-like presence’”
“Deseret News archives: ‘Thrilla in Manila’ in 1975 an epic conclusion to a heavyweight trilogy”
“Ali to return to his Louisville neighborhood one last time”