MIAMI BEACH: Cassius Clay scored one of the greatest upsets in fight history when he stopped heavyweight champion Sonny Liston at the end of six rounds and became the new heavyweight ruler.

Sonny Liston failed to come out at the start of the seventh round. He was heavily bandaged round the shoulder before leaving the ring and said he thought his shoulder — the left one — had been broken. Clay, dancing round the ring with delight, recalled his last night’s [Feb 25] forecast (he had said that he would end the fight within eight rounds) and declared: “Didn’t tell you I would surprise the world tonight? I am a man of my word.”

Later it was said that Liston’s left shoulder was dislocated.

Amid scenes of chaos and confusion typical of the man, 22-year-old Cassius Clay, the bard from Louisville, and 8-to-1 undergo in the betting, thus made good on his year-long boast and laughed at a world that thought him only a clown. He battled the fearsome 36-year-old Liston for six rounds, using speed, elusiveness, punching power and guts to keep the plodding Liston off. Then Liston, without any warning to the excited crowd of 8,297, gave up his coveted title sitting in his corner, after a reign of 17 months.