Rare Footage Emerges Of The Moment Sonny Liston Shot a Gun At Muhammad Ali!

Sonny Lison Vs. Muhammad Ali was one of boxing biggest ever spectacles. Across two fights, this match up captured the world’s attention more than any other sporting event of it’s time (the mid-1960s). The hype was immense. And, although the actual fights themselves were marred in various controversies (most of the post-bout debates revolved around whether or not ‘Big Bear’ Liston had thrown the fights), they go down in boxing folklore.

Before the two stepped into the ring though, Ali had waged a campaign of psychological warfare against Liston that saw him really get into his opponent’s brain. Many of us are familiar with events like the night Ali (Cassius Clay, at the time) pitched up at Chez Liston in a bus, yelling taunts at him through a loudspeaker. But how many of us have seen ‘The Gun Incident’?

Ali tracks Liston down to a Vegas casino called The Desert Inn (since demolished and replaced with the Wynn). Sonny’s playing craps. Badly. He’s losing. Ali taunts him as ever. Then Liston loses it, draws his gun and shoots…