At 22 years old, Cassius Clay shocked the oddsmakers on February 25, 1964, when he defeated Sonny Liston, the world heavyweight boxing champion, via technical knockout in the seventh round. Joe Louis, the former champion, referred to it as “the biggest upset in the history of boxing.” The 8-to-1 favorite was the fearsome Liston, who had destroyed previous champion Floyd Patterson twice in a single round. Clay declared that he would “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee” and defeat Liston in the eighth round, predicting victory.
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