Background

January, 1963

Apart from priests and lawyers, anybody who claims to have had heart-to-heart conversation with Sonny Liston is either a ventriloquist or a liar. He has no inclination to talk and if he had he couldn't. Hence, practically every word he has ever said in public has been taken down and treasured, quoted and requoted. "All I want is a referee who can count past eight" has been translated into 36 languages. So has "In this business you go into the ring to beat the other fellow." A...