Top 100 momentsNo. 62
Clay beats Liston
Cassius Clay, 22, beats Sonny Liston and then tells the world his name is Muhammad Ali. The heavyweight title gets a new mouth, and a new politics.
Sonny Liston is supposed to destroy the loud young poet from Louisville. In Miami Beach, Cassius Clay does not cooperate. Liston quits on his stool after six. Clay yells that he is the greatest. Shortly after, he confirms he is a Muslim and will be called Muhammad Ali.
The title change is a sports story. The name change is an American one. Newspapers refuse it. Ali insists. The heavyweight champion will not be a quiet ornament.
Everything that follows — the draft, Foreman, Manila — needs this night. A 22-year-old took the belt and then refused the old name that came with it.