Featured Exhibit

If this fight wasn't already controversial, its ending did not help. As soon as the fight was declared over, chaos ensued. The crowd loudly booed the fighters and yelled, "Fix!" Ali was celebrating his victory with his cornermen, and Jersey Joe Walcott remained dumbfounded as he watched his surroundings. The awkward moments of confusion between the knockdown and the official end of the fight were due to Walcott not hearing the count from the knockdown timekeeper.

Liston was knocked down at 1 minute, 44 seconds; he stood up at 1 minute, 56 seconds; Walcott stopped the fight at 2 minutes, 12 seconds. 

Later, when angered fight fans calmed down and exited the arena, Sonny Liston emerged from his dressing room to speak to the press. He told them:

"I was hit with a short right-hand punch to the left cheekbone. I went down because it surprised me, but I've been hit by harder punches...Cleveland Williams hit me with a harder punch...Did I quit? No, I didn't quit. I didn't have the count. It was all Walcott's fault. I thought maybe the round was over."

When Jersey Joe Walcott was questioned about his failure to pick up the count, he admitted to making the mistake. He claimed he was attempting to get Ali to a neutral corner and by the time he looked to the timekeeper, approximately twelve seconds after Liston went down, the fight was over.

Fight Decided Without Walcott Knowing It - The Record American, May 26, 1965