Liston made his second title defense on February 25, 1964, in Miami Beach, Florida against Muhammad Ali. Liston was a heavy favorite. In a pre-fight poll, 43 of 46 sportswriters picked Liston to win by knockout. Odds makers gave Liston 7-1 to win. Ali countered in verse, "If you want to lose your hard-earned money, go ahead and bet on Sonny!" Liston was supremely confident of easily beating Ali, trained minimally for the fight and went ahead with it despite an injury to his left shoulder.