Fifty Years Ago, Miami Made Muhammad Ali

WLRN 91.3 FM

Published February 28, 2014 at 12:27 AM EST

1 of 10

Liston and Clay trade jabs.

HistoryMiami

2 of 10

Liston and Clay exchange blows. Liston’s face shows signs of damage.";

HistoryMiami

3 of 10

Liston lands a straight right to the hip (an illegal blow), while Clay counters with a left hook

HistoryMiami

4 of 10

Clay uses his legs to slip Liston’s right-hand punch.";

HistoryMiami

5 of 10

A frustrated Liston jabs but Clay slips the punch.

HistoryMiami

6 of 10

Cassius Clay enters the fight hall, led by cornerman and assistant trainer “Bundini” Brown.";s:

HistoryMiami

7 of 10

Clay leaps into the ring, where trainer Angelo Dundee and referee Barney Felix await.

HistoryMiami

8 of 10

Clay takes a moment to pray. Pictured: Angelo Dundee, Bundini Brown, welterweight champion Luis Manual Rodriguez, Luis Sarria and Ferdie Pacheco crowd the corner.

HistoryMiami

9 of 10

Ali fan and renown author Norman Mailer at the 1964 match. Mailer would later write The Fight, a book about the Ali vs. Foreman match in Zaire. Behind him is hard-punching middle-weight contender Florentino Fernández."

HistoryMiami

10 of 10

Famed artist LeRoy Nieman sketches the Clay vs. Liston fight – one of numerous pieces of his artwork featuring Clay and his long boxing career.";

HistoryMiami

Before basketball, the sport to behold in Miami was boxing. That love of sport captured the imagination well beyond the sunny sands and palm trees. Fifty years ago this week, Charles "Sonny" Liston fought Cassius Clay for the World Heavyweight Championship at the Miami Beach Convention Center.

The beloved 22-year-old boxer from the 5th St. Gym stepped into this fight as Cassius Clay and people say he emerged as Muhammad Ali.

Go back in time, put on your best outfit and take your place beside the ring:

Ramiro Ortiz, now the President of HistoryMiami, once wanted to become a boxer, instead he made money:

Betting_Ali_web.mp3

Click here to hear who Ortiz bet on to win.

At the weigh-in for the fight, Cassius Clay employed his eye and ear for publicity and psychological tactics to scare his opponent:

Weigh_In_Ali_web.mp3

Click here to listen to the story of Clay and Liston's weigh-in.

Watch the whole fight: