It was on this day in 1963 that Sonny Liston defended his World Heavyweight title against Floyd Patterson in a rematch from the previous year.  The fight took place in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sonny Liston entered the first fight against Patterson as a heavy betting line favorite.  However, Sports Illustrated along with former heavyweight champions James Braddock, Ezzard Charles, Rocky Marciano and “Jersey” Joe Walcott all predicted that Floyd Patterson would come out victorious.  They were all way off as Liston used his power to dominate Patterson, knocking him out just 2:06 into the first round.

The rematch was a carbon copy of the first fight as Sonny Liston used his huge weight and reach advantage to once again knockout Patterson in the first round.  The fight lasted just four seconds longer that the first one as Patterson was counted out at 2:10 of the first round.

Here are highlights from the fight.

Notable Birthdays

Dave Stieb, MLB – Born July 22^ND 1957 (age 54) in Santa Ana, California

Tim Brown, NFL – Born July 22^ND 1966 (age 45) in Dallas, Texas

Steven Jackson, NFL – Born July 22^ND 1983 (age 28) in Las Vegas, Nevada