As a child, Bill Wingate was enamored with the huge, friendly, wealthy family friend who gave him love, bought him toys, and treated every kid in the neighborhood when the ice cream truck came by. He discovered later that the man was, in fact, the infamous Sonny Liston ... and Liston was his biological father.
In a diverse, far-reaching interview on The Ringside Boxing Show, Wingate shares amazing stories, not only about his legendary dad, but also about his own astonishing life in Philadelphia, where he once was head of the second-largest street gang in the city ... where he was featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer as "the toughest bouncer in town" .... where he once punched out former heavyweight champion Bert Cooper in a street fight.
Wingate also tells an emotional tale about visiting his father's grave in Las Vegas when he was in town to speak at a ceremony honoring the former heavyweight king.
If you're a fan of the 1950s-'60s boxing scene, this is an interview for the ages.

And don't forget to check out the regular edition of The Ringside Boxing Show this coming Sunday (6 p.m. Pacific, 7 Mountain, 8 Central, 9 Eastern at thegruelingtruth.net), when we'll review the Canelo-Golovkin showdown with our expert analysts and interview future West Coast Boxing Hall of Famer Randy Shields, who fought Leonard, Hearns, Benitez and Cuevas, worked as a celebrity bodyguard, and became an actor and Hollywood screenwriter.

Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor-publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of "Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy," currently on Amazon's Bestsellers list.