By Bobby Franklin 11.17.2025

Legend has it that a 12 year old from Louisville, Kentucky was drawn to a boxing gym so he could learn to box in order to punish the person who stole his brand new bicycle. He never did find the bike or the thief, but that fateful event set the course for Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, to go on to become one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all-time, as well as an iconic historical figure. But what if his two-wheeled transport hadn’t been absconded with? Would he have gravitated to another sport? Seeing that he also enjoyed drawing, would he have followed in his father’s footsteps and become a sign painter? 

Fate is a funny thing. Small events in people’s lives can result in huge consequences. Ali’s life is one example of this. It is also true that all our lives are intertwined with one another. What happens to one person can effect many others, even millions. This can be positive or negative, and I am sure you can pretty quickly come up with names both good and evil that have, by a stroke of happenstance, caused someone to achieve a position of power or a place where they can influence events.

I will not go into the ramifications on all of mankind for such things. Rather I will focus on what may have happened in the career of one man had the events surrounding a stolen bicycle of another had not occurred.

After the retirement of heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano in 1955, there was a void in boxing’s most cherished title. As often happens when a great champ steps down, his shadow lingers, making it difficult for the excitement to return to boxing. In the case of the post Rocky days, this was exacerbated by the fact that the man who became recognized as his successor refused to take on the leading contenders. 

After winning the vacant title with a suspicious kayo over Archie Moore, Floyd Patterson was protected by his manager Cus D’Amato against anyone who might prove a real challenge to the tile holder. Instead of giving shots to such men as Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, and Cleveland Williams, Cus chose to put him in with the likes of Pete Rademacher who was getting a title shot in his first professional fight, as well as two unranked challengers in Brian London and Tom McNeeley. Hardly the opposition expected of a world heavyweight champion.

Most notable among those being avoided was Charles Sonny Liston. In fact, Liston was fast becoming the de facto champion by facing and beating the top heavyweights. He beat Cleveland Williams twice, Eddie Machen, Zora Folley, and Nino Valdez. Everyone, including Floyd, knew Sonny was long deserving of a title shot. 

The public also knew Liston deserved a chance at the crown, but they also were not in love with him as he had a pretty shady background. Of course, boxers have never been graduates of finishing schools, but Sonny was a rough customer even by pugilistic standards. 

Sonny would eventually get his chance and prove his superiority by knocking out Floyd in one round in 1962 and then again in 1963, also in the opening round.

As 1963 was closing out, Liston was looking at a list of top ten contenders that hardly made him nervous. He had already beaten four of them, Cleveland Williams, Zora Folley, Floyd Patterson, and Eddie Machen. He beat Williams and Patterson twice. 

The rest of the pack consisted of Doug Jones, Ingemar Johansson, Robert Cleroux, Billy Daniels, Archie Moore, and Henry Cooper. Oh yes, and that kid who was mad about his stolen bike, Cassius Clay. 

Out of this group Clay had beaten Jones and Daniels. Moore and Johansson would soon retire, Cleroux would lose to Folley, and, as he wrote in his autobiography years later; Cooper said he would never have fought Liston because he knew he had no chance against him and feared being seriously injured.

It was slim pickings and nothing to excite the fight fans. Clay did manage to stir interest in a challenge to Sonny by the shear force of his powerful personality. History was made as Clay, soon to become Ali, scored one of the biggest upsets in boxing history to win the title. It turns out the fate that set him on the road to boxing stayed with him in the fight with Liston. Boxing history would be changed forever.

But what if things had been different? What if Clay had not become a boxer? What would a Liston championship reign had looked like. It can be conjectured that another upset may have occurred. Perhaps Sonny would have underestimated  one of the contenders and come in out of shape and been taken. Looking at the opposition he would have been faced with over the next few years, I’m doubtful even an out of shape Liston would have been beatable. A Cassius Clay is not someone who comes along everyday. This was a very rare human being who combined skill, athleticism, and supreme confidence. 

Liston would have ended up fighting many of the same men as Ali did with the exception of Henry Cooper. He would not have stepped in with three of those who faced Muhammad, Williams, Patterson, and Folley because he had already twice stopped Cleveland and Floyd, and kayoed Folley once.

That leaves George Chuvalo, Brian London, Karl Mildenburger, and Ernie Terrell, the other four men, bedsides Liston, that Ali defended against.  I doubt anyone believes any of these challengers would have stood a chance if put in with Sonny. The only one I see possibly going the distance is Terrell, and that would be in a fight that would have had a lot of grabbing and holding by the challenger.

No doubt, London and Mildenburger would go out early. Chuvalo likely would have had his first loss by stoppage on account of cuts and swollen eyes.

By now Liston would have been aging, but the next group to face him would have been not terribly experienced and not ready for prime time. Would a young Jerry Quarry, Joe Frazier, Oscar Bonavena, or Thad Spencer have had a chance. Not likely, unless Sonny had started to really falter.

This may surprise you, but the one out of that young crop of fighters at that time whom I believe would have had the best chance was Jimmy Ellis. Ellis is a vastly underrated heavyweight who had the speed to give Liston trouble along with a tremendous right hand that would have given Sonny pause. Set this fight at around 1968 and it proves interesting. I’m going to give it some thought and perhaps explore what would have happened in a  future column.

In the meantime, don’t be afraid to tempt fate; you never know where it may lead you.