On February 25, 1964, Sonny Liston (35-1, 25 KOs), the undisputed heavyweight world champion, holding the WBA, WBC, and The Ring belts, defends his undisputed championship against fellow American challenger, Muhammad Ali (19-0, 15 KOs).
Sonny Liston is coming in to the fight on a 28-fight win streak with a 69% KO rate; his last fight was a 1st round KO victory over Floyd Patterson, 7 months and 3 days ago. Muhammad Ali is on a 19-fight win streak with a 78% KO rate, with his last fight being a 5th round TKO win over Henry Cooper, 8 months and 7 days ago.
The winning odds are at 60.1-39.9 in favor of Muhammad Ali. Sonny Liston also has a chance at winning but he will have to put up a really good fight to get the win.
The champion refused to continue the fight in the 6th round, and Muhammad Ali is crowned the new WBA, WBC, and The Ring heavyweight world champion — and becomes the undisputed heavyweight world champion — in his first world-title fight. Ali improves his record to 20-0 (16 KOs), while Liston adds a loss to his record at 35-2.