Las Vegas Sun

December 3, 2009

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Sun Flashbacks: Sparring with Sonny Liston

Saturday, July 1, 2000 | 2:26 a.m.

Alan Laythorpe, a sports reporter/columnist, sports editor, rural reporter, 1962-65, 1969-72 and 1980-86, on his coverage of late world heavyweight boxing champion Sonny Liston:

"I had a feud with Sonny Liston after I wrote a column saying he was 32 going on 37. He got mad and swore he was 32 years old, but I pointed out if that were true, he would have been 12 years old at the time he was in the Missouri state prison.

"(A year later) I was at Thunderbird Downs (horse race track) with (Sun columnists) Joe Delaney and (the late) Paul Price. We saw Liston, and they bet me $10 I wouldn't dare go up to him and shake his hand. I took the bet, walked up to Liston and said, 'Hello Champ, how are you?' and stuck out my hand. He said, 'I'm OK' and shook it.

"He got his revenge, I guess, because it took me a week to pry my fingers apart after I got my hand back. But I did get the $10."

Today, Alan Laythorpe is a thoroughbred race horse broker in San Diego.

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