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Digitally Painted 1:1 NFT interpretations of The Best Moments in Sports History. View our gallery!
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Event
Heavyweight Title
Sport
Boxing
Team
None
Organizers of the rematch settled on the unlikely locale of Lewiston, Maine, but the fight itself only led to more controversy. The atmosphere of tension and violence surrounding the event was blamed for a paltry crowd of some 2500 fans at Maine’s first (and last) heavyweight championship match, and when Liston collapsed midway through round one, almost no one saw the blow that put him there; the clout that decided the contest would soon come to be known as “The Phantom Punch.”
With Liston on the canvas, Ali shouted at him to rise before circling the ring in a manic victory dance. Referee Jersey Joe Walcott, preoccupied with trying to corral Ali, failed to communicate with the timekeeper and thus never administered a count. A seemingly disoriented Liston climbed to his knees but then collapsed again, before eventually getting to his feet and attempting to resume the fight. Walcott was then informed that Liston had indeed been on the canvas for more than ten seconds and he finally halted the match and declared Ali the winner.