Just another simple video of some of boxing's greatest champions and trainers giving praise to Sonny Liston, with some of his highlights thrown in there. Hopefully there are some clips in here that you haven't seen before. Will be uploading a Big George Foreman documentary soon, stay tuned!

"if he comes to me i'll kill him and if he runs i"ma catch him and kill him" so cold🥶

I'm a recent, newer boxing fan. I started to get into boxing history and became a fan around 2015. From my childhood until recently, I had always thought of Sonny Liston as nothing more than a criminal bully who got knocked out by Ali. I have come to recognize this man's greatness. One of the great things about the age of Google is that misunderstood historical figures- sports figures are being judged more fairly. It warms my heart that the Big Bear is finally getting his flowers. Only wish he could have lived to see it. You know it would have healed his soul. Rest in Peace, Sonny.

One of the saddest comments I've ever heard came from Liston. Some fighters were discussing their fathers, and what they'd given their sons. Sonny spoke up and said 'The only thing my old man ever gave me was a beating.' How tragic. Life treated him terrible. Even in death, when the police knew he was dead, they let Sonny rot for several days in his own home

"Sonny Liston made me look like a boy scout" -Mike Tyson "He did not even have to hit a guy to knock him out, he only needed to walk around him untill he would drop dead of a heartattack!" -Mike Tyson

Patterson knew his chances weren't high. Not because he didn't believe in himself, but because he knew what an absolute monster Liston was, but he faced him. Nowadays everyone looks for an excuse, avoids the toughest fights, when will Spence vs. Crawford happen? Or Fury vs Usyk? It's so sad. I have so much Respect for Floyd Patterson.

He’s definitely the most underrated Heavyweight ever along with Larry Holmes

Thank you for giving Sonny some of the credit he hugely deserves. Most boxing "fans" on KZfaq don't realize how great of a fighter he was.

When Ali was interviewed about Sonny Liston and asked were you scared of Sonny Liston, and Ali answered, scared to death! I have so much respect for Ali's honesty, especially he TKO'd Liston in 1st and knocked out Liston in one round the 2nd time, he still admitted that he was scared of Liston.

On his march to the world heavyweight title, Sonny Liston ticked off each name of the top ten contenders in the division, one by one like an assassin. Only Ingemar Johansson and the Henry Cooper escaped his wrath because they wanted no part of him. Nobody clears out the division like that anymore.

It feels good to see him getting the respect he deserves. It's long overdue.

Charles Liston’s hands were so big at birth that the midwife who delivered him told his mother that her baby was going to be a boxer. His Las Vegas sparring partner Gary Bates suggested that a geneticist must have bred him in a test tube for the purpose of beating up other men. “Sonny Liston was a massive ball of muscle,” he said. “Nobody was ever built like that.” If any of Dundee’s fighters gave him trouble, he threatened to put them in with Sonny, who he referred to as a killer, a destroyer, a dreadnaught, and the Monster Man. “Nobody wants any part of that guy,” Dundee said in 1960. “He could kill you.” Sonny had to give his opponents the major share of the purse simply to get them to agree to fight him. “We always had a problem getting sparring partners. Nobody wanted to spar. Sonny was too tough,” said Sonny’s first manager, Frank Mitchell. “Everlast made 22 oz. gloves for Sonny Liston and his sparring partners had to get chest protectors because he broke ribs in the gym,” said promoter Don Elbaum. During his 50-year career, Ray Arcel trained 22 world champions and had been head cornerman in 11 heavyweight championship fights. He said, "Sonny Liston practically made a science out of initiating fear in the hearts and minds of his opponents. Entering the ring wearing a floppy hood, staring out from under it like some character from the Netherworld, Liston’s searing eyes cast a laser-like look that could cause his opponents to curl up like a burnt piece of toast. In short, Sonny Liston was the meanest “Muthah” on the boxing block and wanted everyone to know it."

Watching Sonny cuss out the police before putting himself in the truck considering the time was badass. He had more than one incident where multiple would try to rough him up and hed whoop everybodys ass then go turn himself in. Sonny was a bad mf. The part that sucks is he also spent quite a bit of time and money in the children's hospital, and talked about becoming a priest. Unfortunately, when Sonny tried to do better, no one would ever let him. Its a shame he wasnt born later, we love a great comeback story-- and right now today, Sonny would've been embraced. People that hear about him now become fans. He was a great boxer. Sucks those were the cards he was dealt. Liston was so dominant at that time, no one could've beat him but Ali.

Sonny Liston also had an 84 inch reach which was freaky for a 6'1 guy. I still feel the 2nd Ali fight was suspicious. Ali beat him fair and square first time out. Sonny's untimely passing further reinforces some of the dark forces surrounding the sport at the time

I have a picture of sunny listen and George foreman when sonny was near the end of his career and George was just beginning, I was stunned by how much bigger sunny was than George, I had always thought George was the bigger man, but he looked like a little boy beside liston, Man I was shocked.

Sonny Liston mentored Big George when he was young

Liston was a phenomenon that you would not find today...a true American man of mystery. He may have been the best of them all. we will never know which fights were thrown that hye may have won had they been on the level.... We don't know when he was born or exactly when or how he died...... We may never see his equal again.

Sonny Liston was a great heavyweight champion.

Sonny Liston was one of the scariest dudes to ever step into the ring! Had guys in fear! Hit like a sledgehammer! Had a jab that would snap guys' heads back. Just a brutal dude! Wanted to hurt you!!

2:26: This has never happened before or since. When has a reporter ever told a world champion at the peak of his career "you know, if you didn't fight this guy, no one would blame you"? THAT'S how fearsome Liston was. Avoiding him was the sensible option to take.

Sonny Liston, like so many greats, were before my time, but thanks to your docs Im able to experience their greatness. RDB, im going to reiterate this, you are the best history teacher ive ever had!! Cant wait to see the doc on Mr.Foreman!! All the best, my friend. ✌👊

more videos on sonny liston like these please he was the greatest heavyweight in the world and his legacy should not be forgotten thank you for this video rainy day boxing you never miss!

Sonny liston. My favourite boxer. His talent, his story , are captivating.

To hear Ali say he was scared to death to fight Liston says plenty about him !

Got excited af when I saw rainy day dropped but then saw it’s only a 4 min video 😕

This is an era of boxing that I wish I was old enough to have lived through

Liston had the stare to break a fighter's will ... the most intimidating boxer of all ...

I love Ali's response to rhe question, "Were you scared of Sonny Liston?" Ali responded, "Scared to death."

Love the honesty from Patterson 'to feel' like heavyweight champion he had to fight him, these fighters were cut from a different cloth than most of todays who are divas

I wish I could have seen him fight sounds terrifying most guys today would have avoided but men had true class in those days

Definitely one of the most underrated boxers ever an awesome force

When Muhammad Ali admitted that he was "scared to death" of Sonny Liston, and yet, still fought him, that was the ultimate display of pure courage, not to take anything away from Liston here, but that was the definition of courage, taking one step forward dispite the fact that everything in you wants to take five steps back because of shear terror.

Why has no one made a bio pic about Sonny Liston? What an incredible story that would be!

Hard to evaluate Sonny Liston because he threw both Clay fights.

Someone said Sonny’s jab was like getting hit by telephone pole!

"he can hit a guy in his elbow and just about break his arm!" 😂

Thank you for putting this up, RESPECT, he undoubtedly he deserves, all the best

1:0 the first footage of George Foreman appears sparing with Sony Liston. never seen that before.

Dang so many of the greats feared this guy

Congratulations again brother absolutely fantastic! You're my favorite boxing Creator on KZfaq your videos are so well done thank you

Great stuff! I love this channel!

Stopped what I was doing just to say the bear is still the greatest intimidater

2:53 That moment must've been frightening to Patterson. Shaking hands with that monster of a man... We can only imagine what he must've felt when he experienced the most humongous, heaviest hands that were about to be the weapons he had to endure lol

the legend, big respect for Floyd Patterson as well for taking the fight like a real champ, despite all the people telling him not to

It's a good day when Rainy Day uploads thank you for the video

Everytime he hit me he broke something

A George Foreman video would be perfect now when his movie is coming to theaters👌🏽

Patterson had huge courage to let Liston fight because he knew full well when he lost (which was a certainty) he was contracted to a rematch. How terrifying would it be to get in the ring with Liston a second time after being demolished by him in the previous fight?

so sad how rainy day boxing does not drop every week a video this guy is phenomenal!!

Sonny Liston the real true definition of beast mode

Brilliant film RDB, the book on Listons life ,Night train, is excellent too.

I still wonder about the Ali bout, if he took a dive for whatever reason, we will never know

The only boxer I can confidently say he'd beat everyone of his opponents from boxing outside the ring. he was just that guy.

So many mouths to feed on the farm Sonny was the second to the last one born His mama ran away and his daddy beat him bad And he grew up wild good love he never had He had a left like Henry's hammer A right like Betty Bamalam Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread And all them sluggers went down like lead Well he hung with the hoods he wouldn't stroke the fans But he had dynamite in both his hands Boom bam like the slammer door The bell and the can and the bodies on the floor Beware the bear's in town Somebody's money says the bear's going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny's going down for miles and miles Sonny's going down for miles and miles The writers didn't like him the fight game jocks With his lowlife backers and his hands like rocks They didn't want to have a bogey man They didn't like him and he didn't like them Black Cadillac alligator boots Money in the pockets of his sharkskin suits Some say the bear took a flop They couldn't believe it when they saw him drop He had a left like Henry's hammer A right like Betty Bamalam Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread And all them sluggers went down like lead Joe Louis was his hero he tried to be the same But a criminal child wears a ball and chain So the civil rights people didn't want him on the throne And the hacks and the cops wouldn't leave him alone Beware the bear's in town somebody's money says The bear's going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny's going down for miles and miles Sonny's going down for miles and miles At the foot of his bed with his feet on the floor There was dope in his veins and a pistol on the drawer There was no investigation as such He hated needles but he knew too much Cris-crossed on his back Scars from his daddy like slavery tracks The second-last child was the second-last king Never again was it the same in the ring He had a left like Henry's hammer A right like Betty Bamalam Rode with the muggers in the dark and dread And all them sluggers went down like lead They never could be sure about the day he was born A motherless child set to working on the farm And they never could be sure about the day he died The bear was the king they cast aside Beware the bear's in town Somebody's money says the bear's going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny's going down for miles and miles Sonny's going down for miles and miles Some day they're gonna write a Blues for fighters. It'll just be for Slow guitar, soft trumpet and a bell Sonny Liston 1962

Liston looked like he worked on the fields... Ploughing tge land with this huge Till

He had an 83 or 84 inch reach (same as Jon Jones) while only being 6' 1" or less, crazy

We need more of these

Liston said Cleveland Williams hit just as hard as he did, but said he couldn't take it like he could

Strong as f*ck with enormous hands.He'd wiped the floor with today's heavys

Rainy day, bring back posting boxing videos more frequently! You have great content

What was impressive to me about Sonny was that he beat and bloodied his very last fighter(Chuck Wepner).

Wow. That's freaking cool that Sonny Liston was actually George Foreman's idol.

One of the greatest

Anyone with that much power gets my respect. He played a good guy on Love, American Style. He stopped that troublesome roomy.

Great to see Ron Lyle speaking on here!

The mystery around this man makes him look like a series of Chuck Norris memes.

Sonny Liston is the greatest boxer of all time to me, no question.

Sonny was the most underrated and misunderstood Champion of all times.

In the summer of 1955 Arkansas cops was dispatched to a domestic situation at liston and his then girlfriends house during the visit things got messy and before they could get a chance to put him in handcuffs he swung and dropped the cop the other cop ran and called for backup..liston broke the cop jaw and cheekbone

Muhammad Ali: “scared to death” , that says it all, very gracious of Ali.

This show how smart Ali was. The "rope a dope" he used with George was risky, but he never thought to use it with Sonny Liston. Liston would have murdered him

Liston had arms like a gorilla. His reach was like 10 inches more than his height

I always wondered how Liston got his strength ( I heard it was cotton picking and field working, plus I heard somewhere that he'd push a wheelbarrow up a hill or something...)

There's a good article from Gay Talese (I think is called "the loser") about Floyd Patterson just after his fight with Liston. Pretty good read

That long rubber jab is CRAZY

My all time favorite boxer. Sad story. Misunderstood man with so much unrealized potential.

Liston was in his 40s when he reigned as champ. It was confirmed by his sister

Is there any truth to the rumors that he was much older than people thought? Even his own mother supposedly didn't know the exact year he was born. I've heard people say that he could've been 37 by the time he beat Patterson.

Another great video! When can we get some frank bruno??

Literally a great champion boxer, a good hearted human being, and devastatingly misunderstood person that wanted to be seen as a person who can live normally amongst society. Too bad mob ties made him give up his title. Really though he just gave up after that and wasn’t the same. Probably had his family threatened on multiple occasions if he didn’t do as he was told

A great sportsman..

If Ali says he was 'scared to death', that's all you need to know.

Sonny Liston was also a former undefeated Heavyweight Champion during one of his stints in prison..

sonny liston was a king👑

Nobody could beat Sonny Liston if both men were 25 yrs old in there prime when the Great Ali beat Liston Ali was 22 Liston was between 32 & 40 he didn’t know how old he was plus he was battle worn if Liston was 22 & Ali was 22 Liston would TKO Ali

The great Sonny Liston - What a champion fighter. Took the absolute greatest to beat him. Many fighters dodged him. One of my favourites.

Liston is the reason Marciano stayed retired.

Sonny was just to deep in with the Mafia smh he would lose to ppl he could beat because the mafia would make him for money

Sonny lListon was an excellent boxer.

What Sonny lacked in ring IQ he more than made up for in raw power, incredible reach and durability. He was known for stalking opponents instead of cutting off the ring, this is one of the only reasons he was every beaten. He also did not have great speed with his punches. To make up for those short comings he had the largest ape index in the history of Heavyweight boxing and had incredible power to back it up. He was able to jab people into corners or up into the ropes and beat them. God help anyone who thought of going toe to toe with him. He was able to weather virtually any storm. It is worth noting that the Ali fights are mired in troubles. Liston had a shoulder injury, the fight was put off for Clay, he was also Somewhere in his mid 30's or possibly late 30's at the time. (that is not a mistake, no one knows exactly when Liston was born) The second fight there were many rumors of threats from the Nation of Islam towards Liston's family. Reports from Liston's camp are that he trained harder for the rematch with Ali than any fight in his career; he was seeking to regain the title. The questionable count from Walcott following the knockdown was unfortunate. As seen in the film Liston rose to his feet and continued to fight. If you go back and watch the first Ali and Liston fight and score it honestly you will end up with a similar score card to the judges. Straight down the middle.

Pause the video at 2:55 and look at Listons massive hands compared to Floyd’s. The biggest fists in heavyweight history to this day.

Any fighter with 15in. fist, like liston's, gotta be bad.

My Father always felt, win or lose, how are you a true champion if the best aren't given a chance.

You have to respect Floyd Patterson: he agreed to a fight that he knew would be a massacre.

Pure mean, very heavy handed fighter. Left without outside interference, Sony was the best ! !

If Liston did not have bad personal habits and a different mind frame no one would have stood in his way, that photo of him and Ali might have reversed

I've heard his name before from KZfaq but then today I was watching baki Hanma and thats what made me want to look him up and now im terrified

Where'd the Tyson clip come from? I assume his podcast?

If he had enough luck, he would become the 🐐.

The way George Foreman copied sonny Liston about killing him and breaking his neck had me weaaak 😭😭😭