Slow motion replays show Ali throwing a combination with the last punch only grazing Liston at best-although, typical boxing, there were many to argue that Ali had thrown a "phantompunch".
Ali himself was caught on camera asking his corner: "Did I hit him?".
Ali wasn't slow to capitalise on his own legend instead of focusing on Liston's action but there were many suspicions that Liston had either made a big bet on himself to lose or had been in thrall to the Mafia in a fixed fight. Sports Illustrated writer Mark Kramsaid that years later Liston told him he had thrown the fight because of fear of Ali's cohorts in the Black Muslims: "That guy [Ali] was crazy. I didn't want anything to do with him. And the Muslims were coming up. Who needed that? So I went down. I wasn't hit." Liston was dead six years later, from a heroin overdose even though he had no history of drug usage and an almost pathological fear of needles - leading to the never-proven theory that he was murdered by underworld figures.
8. Danny Green v Paul Briggs, 2010
Shades of the "phantom punch". Australian Briggs went down as if shot after 29 seconds of the first round against countryman Danny Green, recent conqueror of New Zealand's Shane Cameron. The punch seemed only to have brushed him. Green was embarrassed enough to take the ring microphone and tell the packed stadium: "Chill out. No one is as pissed off as me, believe me. He ain't even a canine," Green said of Briggs. "Paul Briggs (isn't) getting paid a cent. That's criminal what he just did. I apologise to you for his behalf. I can't say anymore. I will make it up to you on that canine's behalf. He ain't getting paid. Thank you Perth, I'm sorry."
7. Luis Resto v Billy Collins Jnr, 1983 and trainer Panama Lewis
Lewis was a world-class trainer. His fighter Resto was a journeyman. Collins was a rising star close to a welterweight world title fight. Panama and another trainer removed padding from Resto's gloves and poured an illegal hardening agent on his hand wraps. Resto battered his unsuspecting opponent for 10 rounds. In the post-fight clinches, Collins' father grabbed Resto's hand and immediately notified ringside officials. Lewis and Luis Resto both had their licenses permanently revoked and were given prison sentences. Collins never fought again, his career ruined by the eye injuries he received. He died less than a year later after a one-car accident where suicide was suspected.
6. Joe Louis v Jersey Joe Walcott, 1947
A 20-to-1 underdog versus the greatest heavyweight yet seen; a just-made-the-weight heavyweight versus a physically imposing specimen, this contest looked a no-contest. Yet Walcott knocked Louis down in rounds 1 and 4 and fought a smart fight, connecting cleanly with a sharp jab and some telling rights. All who saw it felt Walcott had won at least eight of the 12 rounds, even if Louis had comeback to win the last three. But Louis was awarded the fight on a split decision and confirmed the thoughts ofmost when he said to Walcott, after the verdict in the ring: "I'm sorry, Joe." Louis, however, came back strongly to win the re-match in 1948 by a brutal 11th round knockout.
5. Lennox Lewis v Evander Holyfield, 1999
Lewis clearly won this unification bout. If the evidence of your eyes wasn't enough, the punch counts of 348 punches landed by Lewis, compared to 130 for Holyfield seemed to settle matters.
But the fight was declared a draw after judge Eugenia Williams scored the fight for Holyfield- and later told a grand jury no one had influenced her. The strong contention among fight fans at the time was that the Americans did not want all the heavyweight titles to be resident in Britain - but no wrong doing was ever established. Eight months later, Lewis won a unanimous decision over Holyfield in the re-match.
4. Pernell Whitaker v Julio Cesar Chavez, 1993
Considered the two best pound-for pound fighters in the game, these two participated in one of the great controversies in boxing in this WBC welter weight world title fight. Chavez was a 87-0 fighter and a legend-but Whitaker clearly outboxed him, landing 50 per cent more punches. Somehow, two of the judges scored the fight a draw, with the third opting for Whitaker - leading to that reviled boxing decision, a "majority draw". Even Chavez's most rabid supporters were embarrassed when that was announced. After the bout, a bitter Whitaker said: "I whipped his ass last night. And easily. I mentally and physically beat him. I put an old-fashioned project beating on him. A housing authority beating.
A ghetto beating. Everyone tried to build him up, but I condemned the building." There was no re-match.
3. Jeff Fenech v Azumah Nelson, 1991
This ranks high because Fenech would have - and should have - won his fourth world title but the shock draw seemed to unhinge his career. Many judges said Fenech, the best-performed boxer ever to comeout of Australia, won the WBC world lightweight bout clearly. When a draw was announced, a highly emotional Fenech was inconsolable, believing he'd been robbed. The result seemed to deflate his career.
Instead of becoming the nation's only four-time world champion, he lost the re-match to the famous Ghanaian boxer, knocked out in the eighth round, and then lost two of his next four fights before retiring aged 31, with a 29-3-1 record.
2. Manny Pacquiao v Tim Bradley, 2012
Like Fenech v Nelson, this one wasn't even close. The "Pacman", commonly regarded as the best pound-for-pound boxer in the sport, seemed to win 11 of the 12 rounds, as confirmed by an HBO TV commentator. But he lost on split decision, in spite of Pacquiao landing 253 punches to Bradley's 159 and scoring with 190 power punches to Bradley's 108.
Well known Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said he was never as ashamed to be part of boxing as he was on this night.
1. Roy Jones Jr v Park Si-Hung, Seoul Olympics 1988
This one has a Kiwi connection. Jones went on to become one of the best-performed and most skilful boxers in history but was subject to one of the most blatant judging scandals in the sport - and that's saying something. Jones dominated the fight, winning all three rounds but the five-man judging panel scored it 3-2 in favour of the embarrassed hometown fighter Park.
Referee Aldo Leoni whispered, as he raised Park's hand, "I can't believe they're doing this to you," to the disbelieving American. The Moroccan judge said he voted for Park only because he thought it would be a 5-0 win to Jones and he didn't want the home nation to be embarrassed. He and two other judges were suspended for six months pending an investigation but were eventually cleared by the International Boxing Association.
The Kiwi connection? Korean feelings ran high after an earlier bantam weight bout between Bulgaria's silver medallist Alexander Hristov and South Korea's Byun Jong-il. Byun was twice docked points by New Zealand referee, Keith Walker.
The deductions cost him the fight and Korean officials stormed the ring, aiming kicks and punches at Walker. The referee fled the arena and the country. Byun sat in the ring for 67 minutes in protest.
An ongoing sense of injustice at the hands of US fighters (some Koreans thought wrongly Walker had been involved in some other decisions against Korean boxers) set the tone for the Jones-Park final. Incredibly, the result was allowed to stand although a new system of transparent scoring was then introduced at the Olympics.
