appeared to be back in contention for a title shot when he dropped a decision to California heavyweight Henry Clark (record 14-3-2). He then came back from that defeat to upset and knock out Thad Spencer in nine rounds. His title quest, however, again was derailed when Martin travelled to Argentina to meet Oscar Bonavena in his home town of Buenos Aires, where he lost by decision. Bonavena went on to fight Frazier for the world title. After the Bonavena loss, Martin put together a four-fight win streak, including two wins over Detroit hometown favorite Al "Blue" Lewis. These fine efforts landed him a match with veteran former champion Sonny Liston on December 6, 1969. Liston had resumed boxing after his two stunning losses to Muhammad Ali, and had run off a winning streak of 14 fights with 13 knockouts. Although slowed by age, Liston was still a feared heavyweight. Martin, who formerly had been Liston's sparring partner, devised a simple fight plan. Rather than attempting to slug with the bigger and heavier Liston, Martin stayed away from him, boxing and waiting for the older man to tire. Despite a close call in the fourth round when Liston caught him with a booming left hook that knocked Martin down, Martin seemed to get stronger with every passing round while Liston weakened. Finally, in the ninth round, Martin hit Liston with a powerful combination that knocked the former champion out. Fate, however, double-crossed Martin once again. He had suffered a detached retina during the fight, and was forced to retire before he could capitalize on the biggest win of his career. After boxing For the next 26 years Martin lived a quiet life in the Mount Airy section of Philadelphia. Early in 1995 he retired from Budd & Co. after 31 years as a machinist. In November that year Martin had a stroke brought on by hypertension and complications from diabetes, and died en route to a local hospital, aged 56. Martin's death received little coverage in the boxing media. Professional boxing record References External links !colspan=3 style="background:#C1D8FF;"| Regional titles Boxers from Arkansas Heavyweight boxers 1939 births 1995 deaths Winners of the United States Championship for amateur boxers People from Helena, Arkansas American male boxers