Sonny Liston's life was one long rabbit hole

If there is one thing most of us know it is the date of our birth.

Sonny Liston was never sure of his and there is no record of it. Arkansas, the state he was born in, did not consider birth records worth making mandatory until 1965 and Sonny was never sure of his.

A childhood of which he said '"The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating" mixed with his illiteracy led to a life on the streets and crime. Sonny got busted but didn't moan about prison, at least it gave him three meals a day he later mused.

The prison athletic coach suggested Sonny should try boxing to keep his fists away from the law. Sonny was a natural, as an amateur he beat 1952 Olympic Heavyweight Champion Ed Sanders. A professional contract followed and Sonny allegedly said on signing  "Whatever you tell me to do, I'll do"

Sadly for Sonny the men who fronted the money were from the shadier corners of an already gloomy  boxing world and Sonny worked as an enforcer as well as a boxer. Though he rose through the pro rankings earning himself a formidable reputation Sonny could never quite escape the rabbit hole the gangsters had dug for him.

His serious countenance was mistaken for surliness so Sonny lived up to the 'surly' tag,  in interviews he was often monosyllabic and soon became a figure of hate.

 This was magnified when he beat popular Floyd Patterson to become world champion in 1962. Then came the two still controversial fights in 1964 with Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali. Sonny was accused of throwing one and surrendering the other to the new champ.

The rabbit hole now fully opened and Sonny spent the rest of his career trying to find his way out. He fought often and won often but never became a serious challenger.

Sonny was found dead in his Las Vegas home on December 30th 1970, heroin and marijuana were found near the body. Heart failure and lung congestion were the official causes of death but foul play has long been suspected which, judging by the title of his deeply researched and grippingly told book on Sonny's life, is also author Shaun Assaels considered opinion.

For a trip down boxings deepest rabbit hole take the ISBN 9781509814831 to your local bookshop. As usual it's in stock at mine...

Another rabbit hole soon.