@louth00 I dont believe he was past his prime, because after the two ali fights he won 15 more bouts 13 of them came by way of knockout losing only one to martin. It was just that ali was an outside fighter and FAST and sonny wasnt used to those kind of fighters.
this a cool video.this song was liston's favorite song and he used to listen to it while he trained.i would have loved to have seen liston fight marciano, frazier, tyson and bernard hopkins.
Ahhh the left hooks of the greats. Nowadays, everyones scared of gettin hurt. Man were these guys tough, Liston had that left hook before Frazier... devastating
IF IT HADNT BEEN FOR ALI, SONNY WOULD HAVE BEEN CHAMP FOR 12YRS. TO ME, WHEN FLOYD DEFENDED HIS TITLE AGAINST AN AMATEUR AND MEANWHILE LISTON WAS MOPPING UP THE TOP TEN, HE BECAME CHAMP. SONNY MAY WELL HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP(AFTER ALI) EVER. NO ONE COULD SCARE AN OPPONENT MORE THAN HE. THERE'S A PICTURE OF HIM WITH THE HOOD OF HIS ROBE ALMOST COVERING ALL OF HIS HEAD. ALL YOU CAN SEE IS FACE AND EYES. HE LOOKS LIKE AN NEANDERTHAL AND TWO CLUBS TO MATCH. THE CLUBBING BIG BEAR.
Liston KO'd Marshall in the re-match and then beat him again 11 months later when he filled in for an injured Harold Johnson, just for good measure. Won 9 of 10 rounds to an easy victory.
@Croft578707 Liston would have smashed on Marciano. Tyson would have been the best matched up becuase prime Tyson had great head movement and faster hand speed than any of swarmers you listed.
@DDeCouto marciano was asked how he would have done against liston he repied" i would have to work on my defense alot." damn shame shame sonny was old by the time he got a title shot. he remains one of my favorite fighters
@drogheda1942 Did Albert Westphal ever get up after the anvil fell on his head? Sonny Liston was probably as good as any heavyweight fighter, ever. A younger Liston may still have lost to Ali in a legit bout, given Ali's speed, stamina, courage, tough chin, and boxing intelligence. That said, Liston was scientific and hit like a sledge hammer, both hands. Look what he does to Cleveland Williams in his prime, before Williams was shot. Underappreciated. In top 5 HWs of all time.
@drogheda1942 True. I think he was manipulated much the same way Tyson was and was screwed over by the corrupt people in the sport. Jersey Joe Walcott suffered much the same fate. His last two losses to Marciano were in the 23rd year of his career. Had Walcott be managed better as a young fighter he would have been even better. He did kick Joe Louis's ass so badly in the first fight that Louis refused to call himself the champ until he beat Walcott.
@MelC54 Reach isn't everything. Hence, why Ali was able to outjab Terrel and Tyson was able to out jab many of his taller opponents. Cus D'Amato said timing is more important than reach. I'll take Cus's side.
Can someone tell me why Ali gets so much credit for beating a washed up Cleveland Williams, when Liston destroyed a prime Williams twice ? Great to see Sonny, who in my opinion was vastly underestimated. I would have Sonny right up there with Joe Louis in the Heavyweight hall of fame; shame that he wasn't the right fit for his time. As Angelo Dundee said " Liston would clean up today."
@carmodifire Liston is overlooked, as are most fighters who lost to Ali. But in his prime he actually had it all...boxing skills, slugging skills, a great chin, punching power and quite a speedy jab also.
@MrBumboclart Yes. I rate him above Joe Louis. A lot of people would say that's ridiculous, but when Liston became champion, a lot of people thought at the time that he was better. I think only Jack Johnson and Ali would be able to beat a prime Liston. If Foreman had skills and stamina, he'd be Liston.
@carmodifire I know for sure he would beat Joe, because as much as I love the Brown Bomber he never fought quality opposition really. And I agree about Foreman, Liston had a bigger arsenal of weapons such as outside and inside skills as well as a superior jab to beat the young George.
@MrBumboclart Bullshit about Louis, man. Louis consistently fought top 10 contenders. The term 'bum of the month club' came from the sheer amount of fights he had in the period from 1939 to 1942. It really had nothing to do with the quality of opponents. Sure, Louis fought a few bums, but so has EVERY heavyweight champion.
@MIKESOWELL Nope sorry, he was outboxed by Billy Conn and was knocked out by Max Schmeling in his prime, he was also in trouble against smaller punchers than Sonny, such as Tony Galento. You think a glass-jawed Louis would stand up to Liston? Liston could box and punch, name a fighter Joe fought who could do both as good as Liston. Joe = slow on his feet, big puncher, glass jaw. Ring any bells? Cleveland Williams. Sure JL was better, but by comparison...KO6 Liston
@MrBumboclart How on earth can you compare a man (Liston) who only successfully defended his heavyweight title once, and against the man he beat it for, with a man who held the title for 11 years and beat all comers? The fact that you have Liston this high screams no objectivity from yourself to me. As far as glass jaw, Louis went down a few times, but he did not have a glass jaw. He got caught with great punches. Liston was knocked out cold by Leotis Martin and Muhammad Ali, who was not known
@MIKESOWELL A few times? Please. And you're criticising an OLD Liston for losing to a PRIME Ali, just how dumb are you? You think Louis would beat Ali? No. So what if Ali was Louis's second title defense? Then Louis too would only have had one title defense. You can't hold a loss against a prime Ali against Liston because chances are prime Ali would have beaten 100% of past and present heavyweight ATG's.
@MIKESOWELL We would have seen the best of Sonny if he hadn't been pissed about so much by Cus D'Amato and Floyd Patterson, he was in his mid-30's when he got the title shot. Big whoop for Ali! In terms of comparing resume see how fast Liston dispatched Patterson twice? In total under 6mins? How long did it take prime Ali to beat an older Patterson twice? A lot longer. Louis ranks higher ATG and pound-4-pound but PRIME vs PRIME, Liston kills him.
@MrBumboclart You want to go by cherry picking fighters that they fought? Okay, why did Sonny Liston have so much trouble with Marty Marshall? The guy that broke Liston's jaw, knocked Liston down in the rematch, and had a rather unimpressive record of 23-13 with 2 draws and just 11 knockouts?
@MIKESOWELL Maybe because it was early in his career? And correct me if I'm wrong but Liston KO'd him in 6 rounds in the rematch? A sloppy SD against a green fighter or a TKO6, I'd go with Sonny getting the best out of Marshall to be honest. You forget how mis-managed Sonny was. Did he ever fight a bum? Hell no. He went straight it fighting the best competition he could, RANKED CONTENDERS on some of his debut fights, and to have lost only once? Doesn't sound that bad to me.
@MrBumboclart (continued) as a big puncher. You pointed out Louis' weaknesses, well Liston had his own weaknesses. He relied too much on his ability to take a punch, and he was vulnerable to faster fighters. That is why he had trouble with Ali and Eddie Machen. Louis had arguably the fastest hands in boxing. He is also the most accurate puncher in heavyweight championship history as well as one of hardest punching heavyweight ever, some think he is the hardest hitter.
@MIKESOWELL Those who consider him the biggest punchers are wrong. Sonny is way harder a puncher. Yes Joe was more technical, quicker and slicker but he looked good against smaller men who waded in and took his punches. What happened with Billy Conn in the first fight? Sonny would never wade into the Brown Bomber's clutches, he'd be outside using that enormous reach advantage and superior jab to keep the Brown Bomber on his toes and KO him when he was ready. Easy win.
@MrBumboclart i disagree 100% that sonny would have had an easy time with joe louis, let alone even beat him. Yea joe lost to max schmelling and was out boxed by billy conn, but take a look at the rematch of louis and schmelling (louis was also in his prime during this fight), and conn outboxed louis but it obviously didnt work well enough on account that he got knocked the fuck out
fought a lot bums and guys smaller then him it looks like
FIGHTFANNERD3 3 weeks ago
@FIGHTFANNERD3 No, he was just better and bigger than they were
middleastboxer21 3 weeks ago
does anyone else see that he is 30 pounds heavier than some of these guys. When he fought someone his own size, he got his ass kicked, twice
june1683 3 weeks ago
@june1683 Cleveland Williams and Chuck Wepner get your head out of your ass.
bobdole135 3 weeks ago
@june1683 He was also probably 30 years older than many of them too.
SCROGY 3 weeks ago
84 inch reach = 7 foot wingspan
saukrates420 3 weeks ago
liston had an 84 inch reach...dayum
Uprising771 1 month ago
can you stop at 0:10 in the video? Sonny's reach is awsome. He had arms like Mr. fantastic !!!
gianca60 1 month ago
GRANDE PICCHIATORE!
DRAGON7336 1 month ago
Of all the fighters in their prime, nobody better in my book.
bisquik3006 1 month ago
@louth00 I dont believe he was past his prime, because after the two ali fights he won 15 more bouts 13 of them came by way of knockout losing only one to martin. It was just that ali was an outside fighter and FAST and sonny wasnt used to those kind of fighters.
middleastboxer21 1 month ago
this a cool video.this song was liston's favorite song and he used to listen to it while he trained.i would have loved to have seen liston fight marciano, frazier, tyson and bernard hopkins.
MultiJman69 1 month ago in playlist More videos from CompleteBoxing
Jesus, I can feel Liston's punches through the youtube.
scientifico 2 months ago
Ｍａｒｃｉａｎｏ ｋｎｏｃｋｅｄ ｏｕｔ ｏｌｄ ｍｅｎ ｐａｓｔ ｔｈｅｒｅ
ｐｒｉｍｅ ｉｅ， Ｌｏｕｉｓ ， Ｍｏｏｒｅ，Ｃｈａｒｌｅｓ ，Ｗａｌｃｏｔｔ
ａｌｌ ｇｒｅａｔ ｆｉｇｈｔｅｒｓ ｂｕｔ ｐａｓｔ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｐｒｉｍｅ．
bavwai 2 months ago
Ahhh the left hooks of the greats. Nowadays, everyones scared of gettin hurt. Man were these guys tough, Liston had that left hook before Frazier... devastating
RandomLevitation 3 months ago
ALI/HOLMES>Liston>Marciano/Louis
B04Jordan 3 months ago
IF IT HADNT BEEN FOR ALI, SONNY WOULD HAVE BEEN CHAMP FOR 12YRS. TO ME, WHEN FLOYD DEFENDED HIS TITLE AGAINST AN AMATEUR AND MEANWHILE LISTON WAS MOPPING UP THE TOP TEN, HE BECAME CHAMP. SONNY MAY WELL HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMP(AFTER ALI) EVER. NO ONE COULD SCARE AN OPPONENT MORE THAN HE. THERE'S A PICTURE OF HIM WITH THE HOOD OF HIS ROBE ALMOST COVERING ALL OF HIS HEAD. ALL YOU CAN SEE IS FACE AND EYES. HE LOOKS LIKE AN NEANDERTHAL AND TWO CLUBS TO MATCH. THE CLUBBING BIG BEAR.
ELVIS4221 3 months ago
Comment removed
ELVIS4221 3 months ago
Look how fucking long his arms are. It looks almost comical, but it's so devastating in the ring..
delerak 3 months ago
Liston KO'd Marshall in the re-match and then beat him again 11 months later when he filled in for an injured Harold Johnson, just for good measure. Won 9 of 10 rounds to an easy victory.
Croft578707 4 months ago
Very few ATG Heavyweights Liston doesn't lay a complete beating on, particularly the swarmers (Dempsey, Marciano, Frazier and Tyson). Chopped Liver
Croft578707 4 months ago
@Croft578707 Liston would have smashed on Marciano. Tyson would have been the best matched up becuase prime Tyson had great head movement and faster hand speed than any of swarmers you listed.
DDeCouto 4 months ago
@DDeCouto marciano was asked how he would have done against liston he repied" i would have to work on my defense alot." damn shame shame sonny was old by the time he got a title shot. he remains one of my favorite fighters
drogheda1942 2 months ago
@drogheda1942 Liston would have opened Marciano up like an over-ripe tomato.
MelC54 1 month ago
@MelC54 Sonny Liston was a great fighter, too bad he didnt get his chance when he was young. he was one of of the toughest heavyweights of all time.
drogheda1942 1 month ago
@drogheda1942 Did Albert Westphal ever get up after the anvil fell on his head? Sonny Liston was probably as good as any heavyweight fighter, ever. A younger Liston may still have lost to Ali in a legit bout, given Ali's speed, stamina, courage, tough chin, and boxing intelligence. That said, Liston was scientific and hit like a sledge hammer, both hands. Look what he does to Cleveland Williams in his prime, before Williams was shot. Underappreciated. In top 5 HWs of all time.
drjimiboy69 1 month ago
@drjimiboy69 For sure.
SCROGY 3 weeks ago
@drogheda1942 True. I think he was manipulated much the same way Tyson was and was screwed over by the corrupt people in the sport. Jersey Joe Walcott suffered much the same fate. His last two losses to Marciano were in the 23rd year of his career. Had Walcott be managed better as a young fighter he would have been even better. He did kick Joe Louis's ass so badly in the first fight that Louis refused to call himself the champ until he beat Walcott.
SCROGY 3 weeks ago
@MelC54 Ezzard Charles cut Rocky open like a melon too........before he went to sleep.
SCROGY 3 weeks ago
@SCROGY Ezzard Charles didn't have a reach of 84' either. Marciano never would have gotten close enough to put Liston to sleep.
MelC54 1 week ago
@MelC54 Reach isn't everything. Hence, why Ali was able to outjab Terrel and Tyson was able to out jab many of his taller opponents. Cus D'Amato said timing is more important than reach. I'll take Cus's side.
SCROGY 1 week ago
Glad to see you left out his fixed fights with Clay/Ali.
marcxopoco 5 months ago
Sonny was dangerous inside and outside the ring !!
gianca60 5 months ago
Who was that HUGE dude Money Makin' Sonny continuously knocks down after the first guy in the video?
ANT1989 6 months ago
@ANT1989 the big guy is 'big cat' williams. big bear vs big cat
carmodifire 6 months ago
i favour this music 10 to 1 over modern music !
xx2josh2xx 6 months ago
The reason i don't think the Ali-Liston fight was fixed,because Ali was able to
defeat guys just as powerful(Shavers) or stronger(Foreman).Just my opinion.
AnnaAnnaYes 8 months ago
Can someone tell me why Ali gets so much credit for beating a washed up Cleveland Williams, when Liston destroyed a prime Williams twice ? Great to see Sonny, who in my opinion was vastly underestimated. I would have Sonny right up there with Joe Louis in the Heavyweight hall of fame; shame that he wasn't the right fit for his time. As Angelo Dundee said " Liston would clean up today."
onepunch1968 9 months ago
@onepunch1968 I agree. Sonny was a total best. I have him as the #3 greatest heavyweight of all times in my list.
MrBumboclart 8 months ago
@MrBumboclart Me too, #3
carmodifire 8 months ago
@carmodifire Liston is overlooked, as are most fighters who lost to Ali. But in his prime he actually had it all...boxing skills, slugging skills, a great chin, punching power and quite a speedy jab also.
MrBumboclart 8 months ago
@MrBumboclart Yes. I rate him above Joe Louis. A lot of people would say that's ridiculous, but when Liston became champion, a lot of people thought at the time that he was better. I think only Jack Johnson and Ali would be able to beat a prime Liston. If Foreman had skills and stamina, he'd be Liston.
carmodifire 8 months ago
@carmodifire I know for sure he would beat Joe, because as much as I love the Brown Bomber he never fought quality opposition really. And I agree about Foreman, Liston had a bigger arsenal of weapons such as outside and inside skills as well as a superior jab to beat the young George.
MrBumboclart 8 months ago
@MrBumboclart Bullshit about Louis, man. Louis consistently fought top 10 contenders. The term 'bum of the month club' came from the sheer amount of fights he had in the period from 1939 to 1942. It really had nothing to do with the quality of opponents. Sure, Louis fought a few bums, but so has EVERY heavyweight champion.
MIKESOWELL 4 months ago
@MIKESOWELL Nope sorry, he was outboxed by Billy Conn and was knocked out by Max Schmeling in his prime, he was also in trouble against smaller punchers than Sonny, such as Tony Galento. You think a glass-jawed Louis would stand up to Liston? Liston could box and punch, name a fighter Joe fought who could do both as good as Liston. Joe = slow on his feet, big puncher, glass jaw. Ring any bells? Cleveland Williams. Sure JL was better, but by comparison...KO6 Liston
MrBumboclart 4 months ago
@MrBumboclart How on earth can you compare a man (Liston) who only successfully defended his heavyweight title once, and against the man he beat it for, with a man who held the title for 11 years and beat all comers? The fact that you have Liston this high screams no objectivity from yourself to me. As far as glass jaw, Louis went down a few times, but he did not have a glass jaw. He got caught with great punches. Liston was knocked out cold by Leotis Martin and Muhammad Ali, who was not known
MIKESOWELL 4 months ago
@MIKESOWELL A few times? Please. And you're criticising an OLD Liston for losing to a PRIME Ali, just how dumb are you? You think Louis would beat Ali? No. So what if Ali was Louis's second title defense? Then Louis too would only have had one title defense. You can't hold a loss against a prime Ali against Liston because chances are prime Ali would have beaten 100% of past and present heavyweight ATG's.
MrBumboclart 4 months ago
@MIKESOWELL We would have seen the best of Sonny if he hadn't been pissed about so much by Cus D'Amato and Floyd Patterson, he was in his mid-30's when he got the title shot. Big whoop for Ali! In terms of comparing resume see how fast Liston dispatched Patterson twice? In total under 6mins? How long did it take prime Ali to beat an older Patterson twice? A lot longer. Louis ranks higher ATG and pound-4-pound but PRIME vs PRIME, Liston kills him.
MrBumboclart 4 months ago
@MrBumboclart You want to go by cherry picking fighters that they fought? Okay, why did Sonny Liston have so much trouble with Marty Marshall? The guy that broke Liston's jaw, knocked Liston down in the rematch, and had a rather unimpressive record of 23-13 with 2 draws and just 11 knockouts?
MIKESOWELL 4 months ago
@MIKESOWELL Maybe because it was early in his career? And correct me if I'm wrong but Liston KO'd him in 6 rounds in the rematch? A sloppy SD against a green fighter or a TKO6, I'd go with Sonny getting the best out of Marshall to be honest. You forget how mis-managed Sonny was. Did he ever fight a bum? Hell no. He went straight it fighting the best competition he could, RANKED CONTENDERS on some of his debut fights, and to have lost only once? Doesn't sound that bad to me.
MrBumboclart 4 months ago
@MrBumboclart (continued) as a big puncher. You pointed out Louis' weaknesses, well Liston had his own weaknesses. He relied too much on his ability to take a punch, and he was vulnerable to faster fighters. That is why he had trouble with Ali and Eddie Machen. Louis had arguably the fastest hands in boxing. He is also the most accurate puncher in heavyweight championship history as well as one of hardest punching heavyweight ever, some think he is the hardest hitter.
MIKESOWELL 4 months ago
@MIKESOWELL Those who consider him the biggest punchers are wrong. Sonny is way harder a puncher. Yes Joe was more technical, quicker and slicker but he looked good against smaller men who waded in and took his punches. What happened with Billy Conn in the first fight? Sonny would never wade into the Brown Bomber's clutches, he'd be outside using that enormous reach advantage and superior jab to keep the Brown Bomber on his toes and KO him when he was ready. Easy win.
MrBumboclart 4 months ago
@MrBumboclart i disagree 100% that sonny would have had an easy time with joe louis, let alone even beat him. Yea joe lost to max schmelling and was out boxed by billy conn, but take a look at the rematch of louis and schmelling (louis was also in his prime during this fight), and conn outboxed louis but it obviously didnt work well enough on account that he got knocked the fuck out
Dippz905 6 days ago
Best Liston tribute I've ever seen.
27danielDM 1 year ago
Superb video.
Donal111 1 year ago