Floyd Patterson vs. Sonny Liston (9/26/1962)

[@murcielagosv9244]

The fact that Floyd Patterson took this fight at a 25 pound weight deficit speaks volumes of his courage.

[@Javier-r7d]

Floyd Patterson is still one of the greatest of all time. liston too.

[@esunsalmista]

Liston was both one of the best jabbers and one of the biggest punchers in heavyweight history. Patterson's defense was his offense, but he couldn't really handle good jabbers all that well. He was outweighed by about 25 lbs. In short, everything about Liston was all wrong for him. He continued to compete at the highest level for a few years which is a testament to his greatness.

[@richmcintyre1178]

I remember this fight and I agree. Liston was all wrong for him. By today's standards, he'd be a medium-sized Cruiserweight, great boxer but too small (only 1 Holyfield). Liston's great jab plus his size and power were too much. But... the division was going to be exciting over the next 40 years.

[@edupbeat]

Most peek a boo style fighters have a hard time with a good jab.

[@esunsalmista]

@@edupbeat Yeah unless you use a ton of head movement you’re always there on your front foot in the pocket just available to get hit. One of the most awkward styles in boxing.

[@sorshiaemms5959]

BOTH MEN LOOK SLOW PATTERSONS MISTAKE WAS NOT GOING FAST AT HIM WITH BOTH HANDS LIKE HE DID AGAINST PREVIOUS OPPONENTS WATCH HOW HE FOUGHT ALI IN THERE 1972 REMATCH THERE HE WAS ABLE TO WORK AGAINST THE JAB

[@joekavanagh7171]

Bobbing and weaving is a bad style to adopt against someone of Liston's class. You're already half way to the canvas when he hits you

[@ssviking81]

Sonny was giving him the stare down during the instructions

[@m.ali.67.]

yes!

[@KD-zs8lj]

Floyd was avoiding his eyes

[@phillipd.reddenjr.1329]

Welp, that didn't last long did it? Hell, the intro damn near lasted longer than that fight!!!!

[@christopherg7149]

Patterson looks like a middweight

[@jeffriessman9693]

For sure. An 67 Prime Ali would have beaten him also ,and had better footwork. I thinks Ali speed was as good and 150 ponds heavier boxer.

[@tom11zz884]

Patterson in reality was about 165lbs for this fight No way he was over 185lbs

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

"The champion, sentimental favorite, Floyd Patterson...." 🎲🎲

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

JohnHenry 👊

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

JohnHenry Fair enough, John. Listen to the narration at the top of the reel. At the time, it was the *richest* fight in boxing history. The stage was set. It's at "Comiskey Field" in *Chicago* during the summer of '62. *Sonny Liston* is the "challenger" and he's, at least, 25 lbs heavier than *Floyd Patterson* stepping into the ring. My 1st post was what I thought I heard the great *Chris Schenkel* say as they came thru the ropes.

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

JohnHenry Check out the slow motion playback of the punches. When you're standing in the ring and ducking down to your waist, that'll wear you out. Especially if the opponent's gloves are digging into your body on the way back because you dipped your head out of harm's way on the 1-2.

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

JohnHenry True. Now, *Sonny Liston* had the odds on his side in a fight that was held where *Sam Giancana* had complete control of the underworld. If you *manage* the Heavyweight Champion of the World in 1962, how the hell do you make that fight? Here's how I see it: 😢🔫

[@tailor-mademedia1406]

JohnHenry I does. ✊

[@michaelohalloran5332]

He put on a boxing clinic in the for North Jersey people the Bergen Mall..me my younger brother were in the first row.fantastic times

[@risboturbide9396]

Great upload, thank you! I love Sonny Liston, RIP

[@PattyBandAidz]

Floyd Patterson had a less than zero chance of winning this fight....when they're in the ring together before the fight begins you can see it in his face that he had no confidence in himself whatsoever ... i read a book a while ago that said he battled with himself for years and years over whether he was "good enough"...i understand there was a lot of pressure for him to give Liston this shot but if I was part of Pattersons team, I would have done anything to stop this fight from happening

[@conanthelibrarian3370]

Wasn’t Liston number one contender? It’s either fight him or get stripped of so!

[@tyrfree5733]

Read Tyson's book..cus TRIED to stop this fight. Like CRAZY. He knew floyd had no chance.

[@fiucik1]

@@conanthelibrarian3370 There was a lot of politics going on, and since Liston was involved with mob and nobody wanted him as a champion I think Floyd could have avoided him, which was what Cus wanted. But Patterson was a proud man, he knew Sonny deserved a shot and he gave it to him. Maybe he was scared of Liston, but he faced his fear. Twice. Respect Floyd.

[@joekavanagh7171]

If you avoid a challenger you risk being labelled by history as a coward. Patterson was no coward.

[@GrubKiller436]

Pay your respects, Patterson was a great fighter, and a champion in his own right. Yes he was gonna lose, but he wasn't gonna lose without a fight.

[@elitemangudai1016]

His Reach is ridiculous

[@freddy8479]

81 inches!!!!

[@robertdecker146]

84" actually. Patterson had a 71" reach. They stated the 13" reach difference just before the bout began.

[@jakevendrotti1496]

9:55-10:10 Charles "Sonny" Liston embracing Floyed Patterson with concern. Two sportsman, two champions, two men of integrity.

[@markstanley4141]

Floyd Patterson was never the same after losing against Ingemar Johanson. He sure had the heart, but not that killer instinct anymore. A bit underested in my opinion, seems like Mike Tyson adopted the same style of boxing as Floyd (using the advantage of smaller size and speed).

[@GeorgioArmoni]

They were taught by the same coach

[@chipschannel9494]

@@GeorgioArmoni Cuss DeMato?

[@freddiereagan6705]

@@chipschannel9494 yes

[@chipschannel9494]

He won the second Johansson, fight, and Liston demolished him in two maulings, Patterson was a light heavyweight giving away 20 lbs to Liston and Clay/Ali , Jerry Quarry also, in the wrong weight class

[@robertdecker146]

Too bad the cruiserweight division wasn't formed until 1979. It was 176-190 upon it's initial formation, later to be adjusted to 176-200. That adjustment came about around 2005 If I stand correct.

[@colinwhitman]

I do not know why I like boxing But this is a great display here 🎉

[@alexsm3882]

That left hand was absolutely insane

[@bossplayermfs5972]

It’s not Patterson fault for losing, he got hit by a “Night 🚊 “.

[@sunnygummadi1434]

“I'm sonny Liston and Jack Dempsey”Mike Tyson

[@bazookaschoolboy]

"I'll eat your children"

[@dynamitekid5521]

Tyson wasn’t no Liston or Dempsey.

[@cmoneytheman]

@@dynamitekid5521 yea way better

[@verscarii3238]

@@cmoneytheman Eh, probably better than Dempsey, but Mike himself would admit that Sonny was better.

[@cmoneytheman]

@@verscarii3238 better in which way cause he didnt have close to the skills so which way was he better so no mike wouldnt admit that

[@TSTrecords]

Liston would knock him out 100/100 times..

[@trevinhickman9022]

Imagine 80's Iron Mike Tyson vs Sonny Liston, talk about what would have been an iconic fight

[@martincosby9743]

An incredible fight indeed - a prime Liston would have won convincingly however

[@trevinhickman9022]

@@martincosby9743 Thanks for the reply brother. My friends had this discussion and we were divided about who was better. I personally felt that 80's Iron Mike would have defeated Sonny. I believe it would have gone 8 to 9 rounds and I believe Mike would have won. Because Sonny Liston was a true Juggernaut like Mike my only thing was Sonny had the might and punching power but he wasn't really good defensively. I believe Muhammad Ali exposed that about Sonny. I believe Mike Tyson was good enough defensively and conditioned well enough to withstand Sonny Liston's power. One of my buddies disagreed with me. He felt Sonny Liston was more powerful than Mike Tyson and Mike would not have held up to Sonny's power punches. So I think its a very interesting to controversial debate indeed.

[@martincosby9743]

@@trevinhickman9022 Yes fascinating. My feeling are: 1) Tyson was only really effective when he could blast his opponents out - once his fights got beyond a few rounds, he was generally in a spot of bother. Not so much Liston who really didn't care how long things took and didn't seem to be at all tired in any of his (admittedly rare) longer fights. 2) Tyson had the advantage of scaring his opponents. Liston was however a genuinely hard man who was never scared of anyone in the ring (in fact he was scared of Ali, not in the sense of boxing, but because he genuinely thought that Clay was unbalanced, and that was quite different). 3) The only time Liston was ever off his feet was as a result of the bizarre second fight with Ali... which was so clearly not a knockdown in the true sense. (Don't forget Sonny Liston went on to fight a further 10 times after his defeat to Ali, still being avoided by all the best boxers, and was still in the top 10 when he died at almost 50 years old!) Liston was born into a sharecropping family only a generation after slavery. He was pulling a plough in the fields when the animals were unable, when he was 9 or 10. He was by all accounts the strongest and most complete heavyweight of all time. His problem was that he was not young, and by the time he fought Ali he was perhaps almost 40 (still no one knows his birth date for sure, but he certainly made himself younger for the sake of his career.) 10 years earlier, he would have been champion for an extended period. A bit of a shame

[@kerrykelaher2607]

Both fighters in their prime tyson would win ( faster hands knockout punch )

[@trevinhickman9022]

@@kerrykelaher2607 I agree. My thing is I believe it would have went around 8 to 10 rounds. Sonny Liston was serious business. In close combat situations I do believe that Sonny could floor Mike with his power indeed. But when I studied Sony's fight with Ali his defense was not that good. I think Mike was quicker and his conditioning was good to. I think Mike Tyson would have defeated Sonny Liston

[@The_Honcho]

Sonny Liston was a terrifying combo of strength and raw power. Possibly the most underrated heavyweight of all time

[@cmoneytheman]

overrated

[@daultontansil3618]

Patterson was tailor made for Liston. He wasn't big enough and his so-called speed advantage was nonexistent. He fought him a second time with the same results. We all know Liston would get his when he faced an opponent just as big as him and twice as fast: Ali.

[@PattyBandAidz]

To me, Ali beating Sonny Liston (twice by the way) is more impressive than defeating Frazier and Foreman....

[@cormacmcquillan828]

@Floyd PattersonII Again ignore the casuals who don't understand the sweet science. Floyd wasn't a natural HW, but that was the only division to make money in at the time. Liston was also insanely skilled, and he respected Floyd, even going as far as to defend him after he beat him. Its a pity floyd didn't fight in more recent eras. He'd have been a golden boy for the middleweight, super middleweight and light heavyweight divisions.

[@sterling7178]

@@PattyBandAidz Ali made it look easy. I wasn't that impressed because Ali beat Liston so bad. Liston couldn't hit Ali and was easily frustrated. Can you imagine Liston and his power vs more modern heavyweights and their lack of head movement.

[@blueterminal7495]

@@sterling7178 Liston was easily frustrated from the start, not because he couldn't reach Ali, it was because his left shoulder was torn and he was taking insurmountable pain throughout the fight, which worsened when Liston was swinging aimlessly. It also rendered his left hand, that was his most powerful hand, useless. Like Ali said, Luck and age and his injuries were on my side. Liston was a very unlucky man.

[@EXPOSEDBYGABRIELPEREZ]

They could had fought 10 times and same result

[@joekavanagh7171]

Around 1970 before Liston's death there was talk of a third meeting. Patterson had been busy and successful in the intervening years, while Liston was washed up after being knocked out by Leotis Martin. I actually think that Floyd could have done well in that fight, but it obviously never happened.

[@EXPOSEDBYGABRIELPEREZ]

@@joekavanagh7171 before the lost to Martin. Liston won 15 fights in row. Third ?again ko in 3

[@joekavanagh7171]

@@EXPOSEDBYGABRIELPEREZ After fighting Ali, Patterson had beaten some good fighters like Machen, Cooper, Chuvalo and Bonavena. Apart from Martin, Liston had fought a bunch of nobodies. Even Martin wasn't that good

[@app6984]

@@joekavanagh7171 well actually his age was a lot older than the media had said. His shoulder was busted and he was at least mid 40s when he got knock out. way past his prime bruh, also Liston and Patterson fought twice both where he got knocked out early. stop fanboying and accept what happened.

[@devilface97]

@@joekavanagh7171 martin spared with sonny for years and had a great chin. Thats also the fight George read him his contract and said he was sick that night

[@paloomo581]

He could not stay close to Liston without absorbing those wide sweeping hooks. But Pattersons's whole style was weaving and moving forward. Not just a matter of size but styles. Sonny was destined to win.

[@cmoneytheman]

yea that style would not work with mike at all way to easy to read and slow looks so rookieish mike would wait and counter he was way better defensive then floyd and hit way harder he would run thru son 1st round

[@solortus]

Damn, liston made it look like a street fight; and he clobbered floyd

[@pickenspolitics]

It does not look like Liston was connecting, but evidently was because Patterson just stopped punching and was trying to tie him up. Then Liston hit with those two lefts.

[@bluefen]

The right upper cut was the killer punch... he was out on his feet after that..

[@joeyjohnson942]

watching this after wilder fury 3 things have gotten weird

[@americanpatriot3759]

For the wba and the lineal heavyweight championship

[@everydaymeditation9270]

Patterson is 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@larryjohnson3178]

I don't know bout that ,he wasn't the same after Johansson,he ko him in the rematch! Floyd really should been a light heavyweight ,but had a great career Hall if Famer! Cus baby sitted Floyd , avoided Liston for years! Floyd did right getting rid of Cus he's a Hall of Famer!

[@paoloalcantara2465]

Liston looked like he was at least in his mid thirties here, not 28.

[@dustylover100]

And both were given a boxing lesson by Muhammad Ali.

[@lloydkline1518]

Wish muhammad ali would've fought Floyd Patterson & sonny liston invincible & bonecrushing punching power 1950s/ very early 1960s;; different outcome;; muhammad ali kiss 💋the canvas & needs smelling& sauce& stretcher

[@zaipollizamabdulmalek5822]

@@lloydkline1518 probably not, sonny maybe could win but floyd patterson would get put into the canvas.

[@freddy8479]

2 LOSS FOR SONNY AND 2 LOSS FOR FLOYD AT ALI'S HANDS!!!!

[@pcharliew]

Liston would have won anyway, but about 5 seconds before Patterson went down, Liston was holding Patterson in place for 2 brutal punches. That should have been called. Like I said, it didn't make a difference. But I think the ref was far off not making sure it was a clean affair.

[@chipschannel9494]

That was Patterson doing the holding.

[@jackwellington8275]

this was a good fight!

[@jonpogoda6451]

Size does matter, that's why there's weight classes. A lot of light heavies, when they rehydrate after the weigh-in, step into the ring close to what Patterson weighed. You wouldn't have a jr. middleweigh t step in with a light heavy..

[@freddiereagan6705]

😂

[@freddiereagan6705]

Nice

[@keithharrison9797]

Liston got one hell of a jab !

[@Ram_1893]

Sonny Liston was George Foreman in those days Dangerous puncher to face Patterson made a mistake like Ken and Joe do against George Foreman 👊👊👊

[@chipschannel9494]

George modeled himself after Sonny

[@michaelohalloran5332]

Love Floyd.. Always had time for kiids...

[@teejr9683]

You can tell Cus D’Amato trained Floyd.

[@kallenordvall]

I don’t think that Ingemar Johansson would have much of a chance against Sonny. He’d probably last about 4-5 rounds before being knocked out and landing a few good hits on Sonny.

[@Ditka-89]

I respect Floyd as a good fighter, but damn was he exposed the second he stopped fighting bums hand picked for him by Cus D’Mato.

[@bluefen]

The right upper cut did the damage...didn't take much after that..

[@J4sse]

Why was there such gaps of inactivity for both fighters before this title match?

[@juanig4198]

nobody wanted to fight Liston ,he was better than everybody by a long shot, also the civil rights movement and Cus D'amato didn't wanted him to fight Patterson because he would make a "bad representation" of black people, the fight was supposed to be in new york but they didn't wanted Liston to fight there, so they made it in Chicago. even after his defeat to Ali he was much better than many of the top contenders yet he wasn't ranked no more.

[@ProjectDystopia]

& Ali beat them both.

[@ladydi497]

the greatest

[@aidenlivingstone9593]

i mean at the time ali has like mild parkinson’s disease but ok

[@aidenlivingstone9593]

had*

[@ProjectDystopia]

@@aidenlivingstone9593 I'm using informal English so it doesn't need the "had." I appreciate your attention to detail, though.

[@غالبعليباشا]

@Jason Voorhees Tyson Killed that coward

[@victorrossomano5025]

There was clearly a difference in size and physical power on the part of Liston (97 kgs), with more than 10 kg of weight over Patterson (84 kgs) ... it is the problem of the "Heavy" category, since it is "a kgs free "... On the other hand, in front of Muhammad Alí the physical conditions change, since Alí weighed 100 kgs

[@leeharris9958]

Part of the problem was that Patterson was never a true heavyweight, more like an overstuffed light heavyweight. He only weighed 182 lbs. when he first won the heavyweight title and was lucky to break 190 lbs. in his career. He was mismatched against a 25 lb. heavier Liston but, win or lose, he fought the top heavyweight contenders of the 1970s like Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry, Jimmy Ellis, and Muhammad Ali.

[@miraclemeditations3919]

What I see after the kayo is that Sonny wants to speak some consoling words to Patterson but keeps being pulled away. He tries again but is pulled away again. I am old enough to remember this fight and all the drama and build-up that preceded it. Liston was treated so unfairly and disrespectfully by the press (and police), but that is just the way things were in those days. White people (and I am white) had yet to attach any shame to the disrespectful manner in which they treated black people (and Sonny Liston in particular). Liston's misfortune is that in his very second title defense, he ran into the one heavyweight in history who had the perfect style to beat him. If it wasn't for Muhammad, Liston would have remained champion for at least another ten years. I am not exaggerating; who was going to beat him. Smokin' Joe? No way? Frazier would have brought the fight to Sonny, and that would have been suicide. Around 68 or 69, Liston tried to get a fight with Joe and was quickly declined. As Liston said, fighting Joe Frazier would have been like "shooting fish in a barrel." The worst portion of this video came at the end when Chris Schenkel referred to Liston as "inarticulate." When was he given a chance to talk? Sonny didn't live a perfect life, but he was born into terrible circumstances: a black kid who was the 24th of 25 children, born in the state of ALABAMA. Liston was so misunderstood it was pathetic! I thought for many years that America was making progress in its treatment of black people, but now (it is the election year of 2024), I am not so sure. One man in particular has brought racism back out of the closet, and it is fashionable again.

[@mattsharkey8437]

Sonny Liston in his prime and without Mob or NOI influences takes out Ali.

[@sorshiaemms5959]

LISTON TELEGRAPHS HIS JABS FLOYDS PROBLEM IS HES SCARED AND IS TO FOCUSED ON EVADING PUNCH AND NOT COUNTERING ENOUGH WHEN HE SHOULD

[@larryjohnson3178]

Liston telegraphs his jabs he had one if the best jabs ever and it could hurt u! Liston to me #2 Heavyweight of All Time! 50 &4 39 kos! 2 losses to The GOAT!!

[@sorshiaemms5959]

@@larryjohnson3178 it was a hard jab and could hurt but could be evaded

[@americanpatriot3759]

Maybe this where cus d Amato was inspired and taught Michael Tyson

[@romanzapata7613]

Sonny had to be older than 28... dude looked at least 35 lol.

[@juanig4198]

yeah his birth date is believed to be between 1919 and 1932, but nobody knew not even liston

[@johnwelchs3576]

Sonny liston #1

[@timothylanders3189]

Nice continued kidney punches by Liston, or is that ok....

[@chipschannel9494]

Brutal.

[@cmoneytheman]

so slow and easy to read why would people think son beats mike weird

[@Rockstar_a.i]

I GET UPSET LOOKING AT THIS FLOYD SHOULD OF THREW MORE COUNTER SHOTS HE WAS IN POSITION MANY TIMES TO THROW BODY HOOKS AND OVER HAND RIGHTS #final #order

[@buddythelittletinyrescuedo5114]

Heavy weight vs Cruiser weight Floyd was very good but....

[@NoneSaveable]

No point of doing bobbing and weaving if your just going to tie him up.

[@JoeTaclas-cc3rw]

He forgot to duck, thas all???!!!

[@michaelfugate2404]

Zero proof sonny was 28

[@chipschannel9494]

Hahahahaha

[@michaelfugate2404]

@@chipschannel9494 read up on Charles "Sonny" Liston. His own family didn't have the exact date known. Even sonny didn't know his birth date.

[@paoloalcantara2465]

Looked like he was at least in his mid thirties here.

[@kingsports1113]

The mob made patterson lose

[@eulissbeniot9024]

I'm still shocked how he easily destroyed Patterson

[@lloydkline1518]

1958/ 1962 younger sonny liston was invincible;; Cassius clay didn't have a prayer in 1962

[@kisamehoshigaki8917]

Lol

[@redredbostonelecelec]

floyd was a class boxer and gentleman, but Liston was just too strong.

[@sasa1982uk]

They move so slow

[@proplayer566]

One thing about Floyd i agree with Ali. Floyd loved him some white folk more than he loved life.

[@GrubKiller436]

Yeah well Ali was a racist and always brought up race for no reason

[@sdriza]

28..... maybe 38.... who cares

[@ihsanullahkhan3422]

One weak point about Patterson was he wanted to be white and loved to serve whites

[@cmoneytheman]

mike was mid range floyd was more close floyd threw combos usually outta random mike threw 3-4 combos usually from counters or seeing a person is hurt already mike changed angles at anytime once he seen his victim had bad defense to catch them off guard I called them switches so why do you dummies say mike was the same as floyd when mike was way better and would destroy son fast

[@natozilla2425]

100%

[@cholly853]

Liston was holding and hitting just before Patterson went down. Watch closely and it's obvious.

[@chipschannel9494]

No that was Floyd

[@moehoward8691]

Floyd was a better boxer but too small and not strong enough.

[@canon-muestrasdefotosyvide7924]

Two mediocre fighters of that time, years later the hard ones began to emerge ...

[@rgg.x1]

Liston possibly the strongest jab of all time, and patterson one of the fastest and the first to regain the heavyweight champion ship. "Mediocre" fighters.

[@sterling7178]

@JEET PRABHAKAR I wouldnt call them mediocre but neither is in the top 10 heavyweights of all time. And even with that margin, a guy like Riddock Bowe or Klitschko slams either of these boxers. Liston was obviously better than Patterson. And Liston had zero heart. You saw guys like Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Holyfield, and Ali be down in fights and battle their way back. Liston didn't have that in him. He knew Ali was better than him from minute one and instead of brawling it out, like Frazier did, he quit.

[@martincosby9743]

@@sterling7178 You clearly haven't looked in to Liston's history. There were bizarre reasons for his performances against Cassius/Ali. Liston certainly had "heart". He had one fight early on in his career when his jaw was broken in the first or second round. Yet he went the distance without complaint, then had surgery which put him out for a year. It must also be remembered that Liston's birth date was never known, even by himself. When he fought Ali he was in fact probably around 40. After the second loss to Ali, most fighters would have been devastated and stopped, fighting but he fought on and in fact was still ranked in the top 10 when he died in 1970 - and he was still being avoided by most top heavyweights, even at almost 50 years old! Foreman sparred with him in 1969 and said that he was the only boxer to ever back him up in the ring and that he had the heaviest punch he had ever experienced. A lot has been written about Liston's strange and unfortunate career, especially the Ali fights, have a read.

[@martincosby9743]

"Mediocre" fighters?? What a ridiculous statement. Are you joking? Liston was the most feared heavyweight ever. Even Mike Tyson said he would have been afraid to fight Liston, and he modeled his own career on Liston. Liston had the hardest jab ever and Foreman said he had the hardest punch he had experienced when they sparred in 1969. Liston spent his whole career being avoided by other boxers - which is the main reason why his reign as champion didn't last. Liston was probably nearing 40 when he fought Cassius Clay for the first time, having spent his prime years in the wilderness as everyone was afraid to get in the ring with him. Mediocre indeed! Do some reading up of history please

[@lloydkline1518]

Legendary sonny liston bonecrushing punching power & invincible;; 19581962 ;; could've taken on anybody Cassius clay etc etc