The Devil and Sonny Liston
Encyclopedia
The Devil and Sonny Liston is a biography of world heavyweight champion boxer
Sonny Liston
by Nick Tosches
. The book's title is a reference to the story The Devil and Daniel Webster
. Tosches' intended title was "Night Train
" after one of Liston's favorite songs. It was changed at the behest of his publisher in order to avoid potential confusion with the novel of the same name
by Martin Amis
.
Among the controversial topics covered are Liston's disputed birth date, his alleged mob
ties, corruption in the professional boxing world, the 1964 Liston-Clay fight in which Liston claimed to have a shoulder injury, the 1965 Liston-Ali fight and the so-called "phantom punch", and Liston's heroin overdose death in 1970.
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Sonny Liston
Sonny Liston
Charles L. "Sonny" Liston was a professional boxer and ex-convict known for his toughness, punching power, and intimidating appearance who became world heavyweight champion in 1962 by knocking out Floyd Patterson in the first round...
by Nick Tosches
Nick Tosches
Nick Tosches is an American journalist, novelist, biographer, and poet of Albanian and Italian descent.- Life :After different odd-jobs, Tosches started writing with poetry and rock-'n'-roll magazines, including Creem, Fusion, and Rolling Stone.Tosches' second book, a biography of Jerry Lee Lewis...
. The book's title is a reference to the story The Devil and Daniel Webster
The Devil and Daniel Webster
"The Devil and Daniel Webster" is a short story by Stephen Vincent Benét. This retelling of the classic German Faust tale is based on the short story "The Devil and Tom Walker", written by Washington Irving...
. Tosches' intended title was "Night Train
Night Train (song)
"Night Train" is a twelve bar blues instrumental standard first recorded by Jimmy Forrest in 1951.-Origins and development:"Night Train" has a long and complicated history. The piece's opening riff was first recorded in 1940 by a small group led by Duke Ellington sideman Johnny Hodges under the...
" after one of Liston's favorite songs. It was changed at the behest of his publisher in order to avoid potential confusion with the novel of the same name
Night Train (novel)
Night Train is a novel by author Martin Amis, named after the song "Night Train" which features several times in the novel.-Plot summary:...
by Martin Amis
Martin Amis
Martin Louis Amis is a British novelist, the author of many novels including Money and London Fields . He is currently Professor of Creative Writing at the Centre for New Writing at the University of Manchester, but will step down at the end of the 2010/11 academic year...
.
Among the controversial topics covered are Liston's disputed birth date, his alleged mob
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
ties, corruption in the professional boxing world, the 1964 Liston-Clay fight in which Liston claimed to have a shoulder injury, the 1965 Liston-Ali fight and the so-called "phantom punch", and Liston's heroin overdose death in 1970.