Leotis Martin

Leotis Martin (March 10, 1939–November 20, 1998) was an American boxer best known for his victory over former heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. This was Liston's only defeat in his comeback campaign after losing his heavyweight title to Ali and the rematch. Martin was a good puncher and a fairly skilled heavyweight who fought from 1962 to 1969. He compiled a record of 31 wins (19 KOs) and 5 losses and was named to the Ring Magazine's list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. His career, however, was marked by inconsistency and bad luck.

Amateur career

Martin was the 1960 Chicago and Intercity Golden Gloves 160 lb champion and the 1961 160 lb Intercity Golden Gloves Champion (alternate). He also was the United States National AAU 165-lb. champion in 1960 and 1961.

Professional career

From February 1964, where Martin fought on the Liston-Clay world heavyweight championship fight undercard, to June of 1967, Martin fought 15 times without suffering a defeat. This winning streak qualified him for the WBA heavyweight elimination championship series, after that group had stripped Muhammad Ali of its world heavyweight crown when he refused induction into the United States Army. But even this win streak was laced with hard luck, On May 10, 1965, he faced Sonny Banks, then one of only two fighters to have knocked Muhammad Ali down for a count. Martin scored a nine round knockout over Banks. Martin's jubilation was short lived. Banks never recovered from the blows he received during the fight and died from his injuries.

Although Martin was selected for the WBA tournament, he was matched, in his very first fight, against the ultimate tournament winner Jimmy Ellis. The two fought in the Houston Astrodome on August 5, 1967. Ellis, as was his style at the time, came out blazing, trying to score an early knockout victory. Although unable to knock Martin out, Ellis inflicted a nasty cut inside of Leotis' mouth which ultimately caused the fight to be stopped in the ninth round.

Martin rebounded from the Ellis defeat by travelling to Germany to knock out German and European heavyweight champion Karl Mildenberger in 7 rounds. Martin appeared to be back in contention for a title shot when he dropped a decision to California heavyweight Henry Clark (record 14-3-2). He then came back from that defeat to upset and knockout Thad Spencer in 9 rounds. His title quest, however, again was derailed when Martin travelled to Argentina to meet Oscar Bonavena in his home town of Buenos Aires, where he lost by decision.

After the Bonavena loss, Martin put together a four fight win streak, including two wins over Detroit hometown favorite Al "Blue" Lewis. These fine efforts landed him a match with former champion Sonny Liston on December 6, 1969. Liston had resumed boxing after his two stunning losses to Muhammad Ali, and had run off a winning streak of 14 fights with 13 knockouts. Although slowed by age, Liston was still one of the most feared heavyweights in the game.

Martin, who formerly had been Liston's sparring partner, devised a good fight plan. Rather than attempting to slug with the bigger and heavier Liston, Martin stayed away from him, boxing and waiting for the older man to tire. Despite a close call in the fourth round when Liston caught him with a booming left hook that knocked Martin down, the plan worked to perfection. With every passing round Martin seemed to get stronger while Liston weakened. Finally, in the ninth round, Martin hit Liston with a beautiful, powerful combination that knocked the former champion out. Fate, however, double crossed Martin once again. He had suffered a detached retina during the fight, and was forced to retire before he could capitalize on the biggest win of his career.

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