Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) defeated World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Sonny Liston in Miami Beach on this date. The fight was one of the most anticipated, watched, and controversial matches of all time. This first of two meetings between the two heavyweights was held in the Miami Beach Convention Hall, with over 8,000 people in attendance, and grossed nearly $4.5 million dollars, one of the highest grossing fights of all time. Clay was the underdog coming into the match, but dominated most of the fight, eventually winning in the seventh round when Liston refused to re-enter the ring, effectively conceding the fight. Their second meeting could occur on May 25th, 1965 in Lewiston Maine with Ali (he officially changed his name in March, 1964) again defeating Liston, this time with a TKO in the first round.