1965 Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay vs. Liston II Program....

Description

1965 Muhammad Ali/Cassius Clay vs. Liston II Program. Perhaps the rarest of all Ali programs, this specimen issued for the Heavyweight Championship rematch has a good reason for its scarcity. After the original November 1964 date in Boston, Massachusetts had to be canceled following Ali's emergency hernia surgery, the promoters were forced to relocate to a small auditorium in Lewiston, Maine. Due to the remote location, well over one hundred miles from Boston, fewer than 2,500 fans were in attendance, setting the record for the smallest crowd ever to watch a Heavyweight Championship bout.

Whether the first round knockout of Liston was a "phantom punch," and, if it was, whether Liston dove for the gamblers or for fear of the Nation of Islam which strongly backed Ali, will never be known. But you can rest assured it will be a long time until this rarity surfaces again. Some dampstaining at the right edge of the cover is the only condition issue of noted. Otherwise the program remains complete with no tearing or creasing beyond a tiny rear cover corner bend, and no signs of staining beyond the front cover.

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