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964 Cassius Clay vs. Sonny Liston I Full Ticket - Signed Muhammad Ali aka Cassius Clay PSA VG-EX 4 (Only Known Example!)
<p>Offered is a marvelous opportunity to possess the ONLY known example of a full ticket signed by Muhammad Ali, to the February 25, 1964, fight at Convention Hall in Miami Beach, Florida for the World's Heavyweight Championship between the challenger, Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali's birth name and the name he fought under in this fight, which was shortly before his name change), and the champion, Sonny Liston. This epic bout was rated by <em>Sports Illustrated</em> as the 4th most important sports contest of the Twentieth Century. Sonny Liston was reputed to have mob connections, and he had served time in the Missouri State Penitentiary, the place where he learned to box. He was then regarded as one of the hardest punchers of all time, and his reputation for hard-hitting knockout blows was rivaled by the fear that his reputedly unsavory connections and his scowling demeanor put into his opponents. Liston had defeated Floyd Patterson with a 1-round knockout to claim the World Heavyweight Championship, and Liston again knocked out Patterson in the rematch. Liston was an 8-1 favorite to defeat Clay. Sportswriter Lester Bromberg was emblematic of many scribes when he forecast an easy Liston victory. "It will last longer than the Patterson fight," wrote Bromberg. "Almost the entire first round." Clay came into the fight undefeated in 19 bouts, and Liston's record was 35-1. Many pundits thought that Clay would be terrified of Liston, and the Clay fight camp allowed that speculation to continue, hoping that Liston would underestimate Clay and not train seriously. Clay was 22 years old, and Liston's age was listed as 32, but some in the fight game thought he was really much older, perhaps even close to 40 years old. When the fight began, Clay used his superior speed and height (6'3", with an 80"reach) to dance away from Liston and move in for counterattacks. Clay was in better condition than Liston, and as the rounds advanced, Liston became fatigued. Clay hurt Liston badly in the 6th round and Liston failed to answer the bell for the 7th round, giving Clay a TKO victory. Thirteen months later, in a rematch, Ali knocked out Liston in the first round. The offered ticket is signed on the back by Ali in black ink from a ballpoint pen and signed and inscribed as "Muhammad Ali AKA Cassius Clay 10-18-89". The 2.5" x 6.1" full ticket is encapsulated and graded PSA VG-EX and Auto Authentic. This ticket is one of the more significant sports tickets in the Hobby. We sold this exact ticket in 2018 for $7,000 before the ticket craze took off - it was an extraordinary price for the time. The offered signed ticket can provide the knockout punch for any sports assemblage. This is the only example on the PSA Pop Report - and The Only Known Example in the World.</p>
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