SONNY LISTON, Mysterious life and death of a champion

EMMY award winning documentary written and directed by Jeff Lieberman

[@josephsheridan7885]

He was a nice man.loved kids had a tv show for kids workout with the champ in san francisco 1959 my brother died as a infant.sonny carried the casket raised above his head to the cemetery

[@garethmorris299]

Sonny was treated badly Joseph.Nice to hear about such a nice gesture sonny did.Tremendous boxer too,mixed up with wrong people

[@doublem1975x]

@@garethmorris299 Joseph who?

[@mikecinquen]

If anybody ever got a bad break in life it was Sonny Liston. He was the poster child for bad breaks. One of my favorite boxers of all time. They never knew the exact day was born and never knew the exact day he died. How tragic. I guess the epitaph on his grave says it all "A Man"

[@paulw1570]

Shame he didn't have someone to advise him without another agenda. Imagine if he lived abroad away from the negativity & discrimination. RIP brother 🙏🏽

[@JohnDoe-xx8pe]

Very true words ! RIP champion Sonny Liston

[@adamhicks8754]

What a great man Floyd Patterson must have been to console and comfort Sonny Liston the way he did after sonny's loss to Ali , what a true champion!

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

I cant stand how this incredible fighter was treated like shit by everyone.

[@daleporter9162]

The story of him winning the title and flying home anticipating a crowd waiting is heart breaking.

[@ninclarke1357]

No one can hurt you now!!! Rest in peace Champ ❤️

[@geenadasilva9287]

Sonny Liston: A Man. RIP Sonny. Hope you found peace

[@blessyoursoul5930]

They need to make a movie on his life

[@andrehickman4656]

Showdow punch

[@lightsoutboxing4827]

The did. It's called Phantom Punch

[@nikosalexopoulos8697]

He deserves a lot better than that

[@oldtimer7635]

You are watching it!

[@oliverprstholm8716]

Honestly, done right, it could be the best movie about a boxer.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

42:20 The way Liston got to one knee and then went back down again convinced me that there was something dodgy going on in that fight.

[@AmberDiva79]

Excellent documentary!! My absolute favorite HBO sports documentary ever.

[@james09995]

A tragic life but a great man! RIP Sonny Liston

[@maturingdaily8184]

Sonny Liston deserved such a beautiful life but wasnt given one however Im sure his wife made certain he smiled and knew how he was I also want to say Mr Floyd Patterson is a hell of a Black Man. I can also tell he had a genuine love and respect for Ali.

[@tgh223]

i had trouble having respect for a draft dodger

[@maturingdaily8184]

@@tgh223 Your entitled to your opinion.

[@reth4761]

@@tgh223 no one wants to fight in a losing war

[@clubberlang589]

Ioreth Ali is right in one account and that is that War was not worth it and to kill innocent civilians and to be a promoter of such a war was a disgrace.

[@beigarthavenir4988]

@@tgh223 I have trouble trying to respect people who think themselves better than someone for not wanting to be forced to join into a losing war by a government that treated him like a second class citizen.

[@Adam-cj2jg]

One of the best HW's of all time

[@seekthelighttruth3207]

Adam facts, left jab was tuff!!!!

[@HamboneyGamezYT]

You couldn't have just typed HeavyWeight??

[@aidanweston1286]

Top 5 no doubt maybe even top 3

[@AHMAD-2324]

Definitely top ten but maybe even top five...

[@michaelfaber9198]

44:24 Great moment remembered by Floyd Patterson. Also, funny him saying, "I've experienced this myself," referring to when Liston KO'd him years before.

[@clubberlang589]

Not only that he was talking about his loss with Ingemar Johansson

[@demetriuselliott2696]

His birth is mystery and his death was a mystery

[@1NumeroUno]

Culture Freedom no one knows when he was born

[@kevio6868]

@@1NumeroUno 1927

[@frankpaya690]

@Culture Freedom obviously, you weren't paying attention.

[@matthewtester7602]

@Culture Freedom omg I think you forgot to press play on the video nobody knows including sonny liston when he was born he didnt have a birth certificate his birth was engraved on a tree and they cut down the tree so it's a complete mystery

[@user-ly8bq3tx5j]

collected debts for the mob...just saying

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

23:20 Liston had such an iron grip that if he shook your right hand it would hurt your left.

[@TheLoStBoYs89]

feel bad watching this kinda upset his life never turned around for the better

[@jrewing1512]

Sonny is still one of the greatest fighters and the one of the hardest punchers I've ever seen seen. I love Ali and happy he won the Championship.

[@KingBuckwyld]

Patterson was real for dat he didnt have to fightem but a real black man let another one shine

[@larissanicolas2150]

rare

[@joshuatraffanstedt2695]

#respect

[@botfields_hardcoregamer6401]

Facts

[@clubberlang589]

Floyd Patterson is a great Champion and was a decent man in and out of the ring. He just realised his time was up

[@Nagy50Magyar]

What is "dat?"

[@funkflexonsoundcloud]

Ali was coming into his prime before the 2nd Liston fight when Liston was already an old man. Liston trained like mad before the 2nd fight but then with Ali's operation the fight was delayed more. Poor Sonny.

[@shaneogden7437]

Ali had an operation? Was that a hernia operation? That's the only one I seem to recall reading about.

[@richardmilliken8705]

Indeed! Sonny had pulled a tendon in his left shoulder before his 1st fight against Ali, and his handlers tried to get a medical postponement for their 1st fight but it was turned down by the Florida Boxing Commission, and by the end of the 6th round, Liston had torn the tendon completely off the bone and it bled into his left bicep. Sonny had trouble lifting his left arm above his waist and his handlers threw in the towel. The fight was scored as a tie by the end of the 6th round, but when Liston quit, Ali was awarded the victory by TKO. Sonny had under-estimated Ali in 1964 and "Father Time" had finally caught up with Sonny & Ali was simply to quick for him.

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

Sonny Liston never lost to Ali. He gave up the title. His lack of training weakened Sonny Liston & made him realise his lack of conditioning was crucial to the 1st loss.

[@joshuahall1581]

He was too overconfident in his ability to win in the first fight, and he lost, then in the second fight upon the realization that he can lose he decided to through the match and lose early.

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

@@joshuahall1581 that could be true, he lost to Marshall early in his career and rebuilt from there. So loosing to Ali should’ve never intimidated him. However, it may have been the case, but I differ based on his previous ring achievements.

[@joshuahall1581]

@@clevelandwilliams5922 But the fight with Marshall, nobody expected that much out of him. Marshall was Sonny's wake up call and lit a fire under him to win and make something out of himself. With Cassius, Sonny achieved the mountain top, and Sonny did not want to let go of living on it, when Clay beat him, it destroyed Sonny, regardless of it destroying his confidence of making a better life for himself or Sonny's public image that he tried to make for himself.

[@clevelandwilliams5922]

@@joshuahall1581 like I said your summation maybe correct. You cannot handle Williams power bombs and walk through them without flinching and then win.

[@nyterpfan]

I think (and the documentary bears this out) Sonny believed prior to the first fight with Ali that all he would have to do is give him that death stare and that would be it. Ali would literally faint out of fear. He had no idea how fast and sharp Ali was and wasn't properly trained and conditioned. Consequently, Ali soundly beat him and would have ultimately KO'd Liston if he hadn't quit after the 6th round.

[@rickyboy613]

Best Left hook maybe EVER!

[@haileyshannon7548]

I remember watching this on HBO with my father when I was a little girl!

[@TheLoStBoYs89]

sonny liston was a bad ass tbh

[@southp1992]

57:40 The Heaviness of What That Man Said.

[@glencameron6899]

Rip, Sonny¡! I'm Cheering for you now 😍

[@ryanj7517]

24th of 25 children. That is a ton of siblings!!

[@clubberlang589]

Rizzo 660 back in those days you had to work

[@JoeNorton619]

Yet everyone of those know their birthdays except sonny

[@segerblomma]

Great upload! Can anyone help me find the jazz song playing at the end credits?

[@novahittingthegroundrunnin9933]

Excellent 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿

[@giovannimarino7449]

Great doc

[@andyjones7514]

Would his life had been better had he been surrounded by good people when got out of prison? Why didn't that father Stevens help him get with the right people. Such a sad life.

[@frankpaya690]

Everybody wants to talk big like they know what happened and really only Liston knows and he's been dead for 50 years. Circumstantially: Liston proved he could take punishment in the two Cleveland Williams fights and in his fight with Marty Marshall when he fought on to the end of the fight to a decision with a jaw that was shattered in three places. liston had demonstrated that he was never short of courage and toughness before he ever met clay.

[@HH-qz1cg]

You mean Ali

[@itsgleneaton4883]

Him quitting after the sixth round is similar to Duran quitting with Leonard. They were feared by everyone and had a streak of success and then they both quit close to the same round. And to this day nobody knows for sure why they quit.

[@kaycox5555]

So poignant....blessings in heaven, sir.

[@ENIGIZERb]

Needed a full-time PR man.

[@natejones5472]

Seemed like a Great man! May he rest.... 🙏📿🤲

[@Nagy50Magyar]

Absolutely! He particularly seemed great to the dozens, or hundreds of strangers he robbed and beat to a pulp.

[@kantovagrant3194]

@@Nagy50Magyar What do you expect a man to do if nobody is willing give him a job because he's black, so to feed himself he had to be on the streets, either begging for food or stealing it, that's what Sonny Liston had to do when he was a kid just to survive. When he got into prison he ate food so he just kept commiting crimes to get right back in prison to get free meals.

[@slb6932]

I would've liked to have him sit at my dinner table. I wasn't born until 14yrs after he won the title but my dad always talked about him. After that I read as much as I could about the man. Sometimes you just gotta play the cards you are dealt and Charles "Sonny" Liston did that.

[@kantovagrant3194]

He was a great man but a man with faults, if he was under the right tutelage or just in a different reality he could've been a wise champion.

[@hiroshitakubo]

loving those 90s documentaries, dont do them like that anymore, too much fancy fireworks, little to no substance nowadays

[@ichbinvegetarische7471]

23;05 MY FAVOURITE MOMENT IN THIS DOC.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

I know what you mean. Liston's face just lights up.

[@floridanative7105]

Much Respect for Sonny, Poor Dude Was Used & Abused From Cradle to Grave..I Believe his Headstone Says it all " A MAN " Thats a Very Humble statement in my way of thinkin...RIP Night Train CHAMP !!

[@frederickweeksjr.1189]

Most people DON'T realize the amount of trauma he experienced.

[@Raughwe]

My daddy was a Marine and served three tours in you-know-where. He always said that Liston was a very good man. He was obsessive about boxing. I tend to believe he knew the truth. I think ole Sonny got a terrible deal.

[@Nagy50Magyar]

Why did Geraldine call her attorney before calling the coroner?

[@oldtimer7635]

Well, I think it explains a lot. They both were not quite independent, Liston was told what to do, whole his life, and I think same was with his wife. In that situation and state of mind you call someone familiar.

[@frankpaya690]

Perspiration wouldn't clear your eyes like a flush, even the salt from your own sweat, would cause your eyes to burn. They talk here like the only way to ingest heroin would have been intravenously when he could have snorted it or swallowed it. Also not everybody needs to tie off for their veins to appear in order to stick a needle in them and he was quite muscular and his vascular system was strong, so he wouldn't have needed to tie- off first before being spiked . After being dead for nearly a week I don't know if the tissue that's left could be studied for signs of coronary artery disease.

[@scottfree8368]

MY FAVORITE!!

[@josephsheridan7885]

Ali was a big man.tall and quick.had the reach

[@locky1777]

Any one know the name of the track at 45:36?

[@billygiles3276]

I have no doubt sonny was murdered by some criminals or corrupt cops

[@calbrow100]

Yeah he was def done in. Sonny got into using heroin towards the end of his life and those in his circle knew that, so he was given a hot dose of dope to intentionally kill him. My guess is that Red Rodney, the man Sonny who collected drug debts for gave him the overdose. Many people wanted Sonny dead at the time, the Mob for what he knew regarding fixed fights against Ali and since the FBI was about bust Sonny for drug dealing, Rodney wanted him dead so he wouldn't snitch.

[@Nagy50Magyar]

Proof, please.

[@theshepardthewolfandtheshe5304]

Peter Nagy. Nope no proof. Proof is bad.

[@shirleyconerly2724]

Man they know that they killed that man, for one: if sonny was a fiend, it would've been way more dope found. For #2: if he was a fiend, it definitely would've have shown.

[@frankpaya690]

You're more likely to overdose if you're a casual user, than if you have a habit.

[@joshuaklein2859]

If there was a fix in for the first fight why would SL throw blinding dust at Ali?

[@waderandall4487]

He was shut up for a reason , They made big money by him loosing and they held up the money . And he had to do the same the 2 one to over the bets . He was shut up . They made the money and they were done with him . I warned him .

[@akashnadar1449]

I don't think Sonny intentionally blinded him

[@JoeNorton619]

​@@akashnadar1449there was no fix in the first fight why would the mob throw away the title when they were desperate to keep control of it to someone who has no ties and then make death threats to Ali for years after that fight

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

21:19 I love this guy's voice.

[@Luke-kg7vu]

That was so nice of Floyd Patterson to console Sonny after that fight

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

4:57 I think it's more likely he was born in 1930 as he wasn't listed as part of a 1930 census but was listed as being 10 years old in the subsequent census in 1940.

[@lI_Demonata_Il]

No one knows

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@lI_Demonata_Il I know. That's why I said 'I *THINK* it's *MORE LIKELY* he was born in 1930.'

[@propb6200]

This man was clearly murdered. All this is bullshit😒😠💯

[@meisme20]

Sonny is the best boxer to have ever touched Gods green earth. God bless you sonny.

[@JohnDoe-fp7ob]

Cus D'Amato now there's a man who should have been boxing professionally hell man him sparring with Muhammad Ali, Ali was in his prime and Cus was 67 years old and he died every punch and landed solid ones in the video at 67 and that wasn't just anybody it was against Ali so you know even if he was old man he still take those guys down I never why didn't he ever get into boxing professionally instead of just training that is

[@johngerard3218]

I don't think Liston had "the best left jab" but I think he had the hardest. I think maybe Holmes had the best.

[@waderandall4487]

I worked with Sonny at Small Arms in 1953 or 54 with Sonny. We were very close friends. We were sparing around at work at lunch once , and i did not want to piss him off but i got playing around and swung a right over his left back and i kept a show him i could bust him in his eye , he did not even bat his eye and hit me with a right in my mid section , knocked me running backwards and at about 15 miles a hour I fell on my ass. When i came back he ask why did i fall down ? I told him all i was doing was picking up more speed so i fell on my ass before i hit 50 mph. He was laughing so hard he sat down on the floor. But we were close friends .And he showed me a 20 . dollar bill he and friend just made that night and had not dried. and had probably had 30 of them . I told him to burn them and throw his friend out and stay from him . He would ruin his chances of being in the big money . He did that day after work . he knew i looked after him . Later we both were laid off there and he said he got another manager and went to Vagus . He fought A # 1 contender and he was 10 th at time . He told me he could have knocked him several times , bet did not 4 times and let him go . He wanted to show that he was the number 1 boxer . And that boxer was not ever able to box again was in the hospital . He tole me once he was fighting a champion boxer from England and he was going down , he could not see him so he started to swinging and hit him with a good left and knocked him out. At that time he had his best punch with his left . Late his best was in his right . Sonny did not shoot up . Smoked pot . Drank beer . He did not mind that i was a white man from the country and was the same with me color means nothing , it is the person that counts . When he was to fight Clay i called him and said that i was going to put $ 900.00 on him to win . He said no put it on Clay we talked some and he said he was going to put a ton on clay . Through a side bet and retire . Later when we talked he told me to look at the picture i seen when he was down . He said for me to look at the film before they cut it out , that he opened his right eye and opened it up at Clay and closed it , i did see it I could not tell any one this till he was killed . I even warned him it was wrong to get in with this , He said it was his only chance to get a chance to fight for the world title . This was the reason he beat that one boxer that bad . to prove he was the best . I will remember him all ways . I still Pray for God to forgive him of his sins . May be if enough do this GOD will forgive him .

[@royjabiv]

Wade, please contact me at: [e-mail]

[@mrmojorisin8527]

@@royjabiv Did he ever contact you?

[@giuseppegumina5576]

Sonny Liston Number One. The Best ❤

[@tweezee]

Do any of you believe Sonny threw the Ali fights? Its hard to say for me. I mean Ali was an amazing fighter but its like Liston didn't even try.

[@rockyfish3115]

Definitely frew the 2nd

[@shirleyconerly2724]

No I don't, ali was too quick. Liston wasn't ready💯🎯

[@doctor8830]

Shirley Conerly My friend you are living in you’re own world

[@m.a.d5640]

I believe he threw the fight, yes it's true Clay was too quick but he was never a hard puncher. Clay even said he hit him but not enough for it to be a hard punch.

[@Leo-vi7tt]

M. Alfredo maybe he didn’t wanted to be out classed by Clay that’s why he took a dive

[@adamhicks8754]

I find Sonny somewhat charming ..."what do a man have to do ?"

[@vinnyvincent2862]

WIFE : As soon as I realised He Wasn't Breathing I Called My Lawyer ? . Their Are Similarities Here With Bruce Lee's Death ! When His Mistress ( Betty Ting Pei ) Couldn't Wake Him and realised He May Not Be Breathing , She Called Her Boss/Friend Raymond Chow ? .Thus Further Delaying Any Medical Help ! . R.I.P. ALL 🙏

[@ClassPresidentAlejandro1999]

When did this aire?

[@djeanpierre]

1995

[@seekthelighttruth3207]

Dropped the case and no longer looked into it. Smh yeah okay Vegas police. Shit was definitely fishy. Shot out to Sonny for being one of the top HW of all time.

[@painTaylormma]

RIP CHAMP 🙏🥊

[@keithharrison9797]

Reached from the mud to the sky, but when he got there the public couldn't handle it. Sonny Liston, boxing super legend.

[@joshuahall1581]

You summed it up perfectly. When Ali came along he gave the public the champion they deserved by taking a dive. A strong defiant black man who didn't care about there opinion rather than a man who spent his life attaining acceptance he would never attain.

[@keithharrison9797]

But why could not Sonny Liston be that champion??? His superb punching power proved his point of Greatest championship abilities

[@keithharrison9797]

Also the public hated him, the Greatest people in the world are the ones who are most hated by the world. Black folks are hated by the world, cause we were chosen over all the world

[@joshuahall1581]

@@keithharrison9797 Well that's simple. Sonny wanted admiration. He wanted to be an inspiration to people like his idol Joe Louis did for him, and when he didn't get that same admiration back, the mob decided that due to Sonny ruining the popularity of boxing with his track record if he continues to win, the mob can no longer profit from boxing as a whole in which Sonny Liston wasn't the mobs only skin in the game, literally nearly every middleweight and welterweight boxer was controlled via the mob from the 20s all the way to the 1980s in which the government started doing a major crackdown on the sport once figures like Frankie Carbo, legendary prohibition mob gunman and legendary manager of fighters like Sugar Ray Robinson, Kid Gavalin, etc... etc... but for the mass majority of people didn't like Sonny due to newspaper articles and viewed him as a criminal.

[@keithharrison9797]

@@joshuahall1581 Well obviously the mob thought he could beat Ali since Liston was threatened with the kidnap of his wife and child. Lose the fight or you'll never see them again he was told.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

20:46 The referee directs Liston towards the nearest neutral corner...

[@cedricliggins7528]

And yet he was already in a neutral corner. Strange

[@doctor8830]

Intro song anyone?

[@jarifmanx]

Camara Kambon. Don't know the song title though, sorry. Hope that helps a little.

[@ronmailloux9370]

Liston was avoided for many years...not just by Patterson ....Marciano and his group knew about him too.....thats one reason Rocky retired in 56......A fight between Patterson and old archi moore for the the champion belt in 1956 .....ignoring LISTON.....yeah its plane liston was TOO GOOD FOR HIS OWN GOOD.

[@clubberlang589]

Liston was not a ranked heavyweight not until late 50’s. But I don’t disagree with your comment. His time in and out of prison was partly due to this. But if he retained a level of discipline he would’ve fought Marciano

[@kantovagrant3194]

@@clubberlang589 Liston won the Golden Gloves in 1953, so he was definitely around during Marciano's time.

[@kantovagrant3194]

@@clubberlang589 Marciano didn't retire until 58, so Marciano definitely ducked Liston, hell a majority of top heavyweights ducked Liston in which he couldn't even get a ranked fight until maybe 57'58 and facing all of the ducked fighters.

[@ericbaker9688]

I feel the same way about the credibility of his wife..waaaay too much funny stuff. 1. ok I get visiting your folks for the Holiday's, we all have done that at one time. But why be away from your spouse for that long period of time that you been married to for well over a decade. 🤔 who wouldn't want to get away huh! It can be a joke or it can be serious. 2. they both knew hundreds of people. Family friends etc. Why on God's green earth are you not going to phone a friend or relative and tell them "hey go check on my husband" " he's not answering the phone after three or four days" 🤔😮 let alone two weeks that passed! 😮 3. what role did she play? Because if you give Hollywood any credit then in the Liston movie played by Ving Rhames his wife had every right to be hurt and full of anger and hate. Thats if you give any credibility to that. But some how it ties into the strange accounts of the unexplained. 🤔 3. why not call the police right away. Who calls a Lawyer! Now think about that. What does a lawyer do? What is his/her role? To defend or represent right! At such a time why would there be a need for one and your husband is dead. Guilt? Protection? Help on what to do? Advise? Apparently you can't help your husband so how could a lawyer assist you In a time the police and ambulances/ coroner is needed before anyone else. 🤔 4. She knew what she smelled as soon as she hit that front door! Who in their right mind would leave food or trash out for days to stink up the place! So why would she make that statement! Simple she knew what happened to Sonny and was apart of it. That would be the most logical thing to say what she said as if she were coached. 5. Who ordered the scene to be so well controlled? You have the Boogeyman of boxing hated by most around that time and no photographer no photo's no news? There was something to hide and the risk of going back to reveiew things would hurt? No nothing not even on Google images. 🤔 she definitely knew more than she lead on IMO. I think Sonny was dead b4 she left and they lied to throw people off with that newspaper and milk crap. Just to add credibility to a hatched scene created..and her phoning the Lawyer was her way of keeping her out of the mix and not telling it all. She is just as guilty as the ones who helped her or did it by themselves..thats my theory..

[@thomasharrison3126]

Good points!

[@test9853]

wow i watched it myself and i just couldnt help the fact nd feeling dat someone wuz hiding something or trying to cover something up..there’s too many questions left unanswered..anytime i feel like there’s a needle involved in anyone’s death i automatically suspect foul play..bc you can fabricate someone’s death EASY jst like deyy did Sonny’s saying he overdosed when he had a fear of needles..i watched this and I think im closer to Sonny Liston den even his own wife but someone did the Man dirty..Point Blank

[@josephperreault2063]

I want to thank this channel for such a great champion when I was a baby I’d watch him knock out a lot of people dad and gramps loved boxing or anything to do with fighting

[@vistarecords4930]

Sonny didn't take a dive/throw the fight the first time against (then) Cassius Clay. Clay/Ali was just too fast and too skilled for Liston to handle. The mind games played by Ali got to Liston - people who knew him have said as much. Even so, Liston thought he'd go right through Ali, so he didn't train much for the fight. When he got in there, and Ali was too much for him to handle they put that substance on his gloves to blind Ali. But the people in Ali's corner flushed his eyes out with water and by the middle of the following round his eyes had cleared and he started taking Liston apart. That was the point at which Liston knew he couldn't win, so he quit. Ali was legitimately beating him, badly, so that win is legitimate for Ali. The second fight is screwy. YES, Ali hit him with a good right - you can see Liston's head snap back and sideways from the impact. The knockdown was totally legit as Liston was off balance when Ali hit him. HOWEVER, I'm pretty sure Liston could have gotten up. You see him get up and flop back down. That flop looks like bad acting. Liston did get up after a 10 count, and Jersey Joe Walcott lost control of the fight, coming back and saying it was over. So, the knockdown was 100% legit (hard punch while Liston was off balance), but the knockOUT was likely a dive. I have no doubt that Ali would have dominated him again. Liston, by this point about 35 years old, just didn't have the speed to deal with Ali. Watch Ali's fights in the months after this one - he dominated his opponents. Ali had amazing speed and skill, and was vicious in the ring. Liston was one of the all time greats, but Ali was THE GREATEST. It's a shame that their two fights were marred by Liston just quitting in the first one because he knew he was going to lose, and Liston letting the count get to ten when he could have gotten up in the second. WHY Liston took the dive in the second Ali fight will likely never be known for sure. Whoever had him take that dive honestly believed that Liston could win the rematch, but that was a mistaken belief. It's a shame that it wasn't a clean fight because it could have been a classic.

[@Uuyrijies1123]

Sure, call Ali “The Greatest” or whatever, but I still would have liked Ali to befriend Liston, or to at least compliment him and that he was a misunderstood man. The same way Ali treated Foreman, but it’s too late to do it now eh?

[@theshepardthewolfandtheshe5304]

No one blames Liston for not wanting to continue the rematch after being rocked early in the first round by Ali’s counter right over listons jab. The match was already going the same way as the first match. Liston was getting old and probably dealing with injuries. A young Ali was on fire that night. Both great boxing legends. Much respect.

[@blueterminal7495]

@@Uuyrijies1123 He did befriend Liston, gave him a title shot and a rematch in 1967 (Just before he was stripped out of the title) and even attended his last match in June 1970 against Chuck Wepner, was at ringside and also in his locker room for a little while. Also attended Liston's funeral in 1971. Ali said in this autobiography that Sonny Liston was the best and a very skilled heavyweight who ever lived, other than himself, and Sonny was the only man he was ever terrified of, but he was proud he never showed it.

[@thejamnasium6447]

my favorite fighter ever

[@theculturedthug6609]

He looks sad in everything.

[@kantovagrant3194]

He barely had a shot at life, of course he's sad! He was whipped as a mule like a slave pulling hey carts in which his father didn't even care enough about his existence to even put him in school past the first grade! He watched his brothers die by being whipped to death by his own father for money in which he used for alcohol, in which his mother ran away sighting the abuse she had from Sonny's father Tobe abandoning Sonny on the plantation when he was 8 to be abused by his father for 5 years until he worked up the courage to run away on a 100 mile trek to St. Louis from Arkansas. Then after Sonny was abandoned a second time by his mother dropping out of school in the first grade. Since he couldn't even read at a sufficient level he couldn't even get basic jobs that they where offering to Negros back in the day for scraps. Then he was locked up in prison after resorting to robbing an stealing to survive. Then when he finally found his calling in prison to be a boxer, he made good income and was finally respected by people, he lost to Ali and was now known worldwide for being the "bum that lost to Ali" Despite Liston beating guys like Foreman, Leotis Martin and Amos Lincoln all at the same time in a 3 on 1 match without even breaking a sweat.

[@bjorkbackaNorre]

patterson was a helluva guy

[@nickbeef4824]

If all the great heavyweights came together in their prime to fight each other they would be looking around and ask is Sonny hear?

[@justinnardine8564]

Tough as nails

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

If Liston was murdered then there's a potential suspect who never seems to get mentioned... Is anyone going to say it?

[@larrisamitchell9780]

Who ali

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@larrisamitchell9780 His wife. She went away over the Christmas and New Year period without her husband *(strange),* came back, found Liston's dead body and called her lawyer before calling the police *(VERY strange).* I'm not saying she was responsible but I'm surprised that she never gets mentioned as a potential suspect.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@jamescherry89 Did what? Murdered Liston?

[@moparhemi1777]

Mark Knopfler made me come here, I’m not regretting it.

[@garethmorris299]

Great song from mark knopfler sums up Sonny’s life

[@DeadLifts4Dayz]

Start from 6:43

[@cedricliggins7528]

Patterson/Damato avoided quite a few worthy fighters beside Liston: Zora Folley, Eddie Machen, Cleveland Williams, Nino Valdes, Doug Jones to name a few.

[@yudhajitvishwakarman0825]

24th of 25 children,did his father ever went to wrk??

[@blueterminal7495]

His father made the children work, and Sonny had to do all the plowing in his cotton farm after the mule died when Sonny was about 9-10 years old. Didn't do anything himself

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

23:01 I *F__KING* love this!!

[@scarfo441]

When he said Floyd was as scared as Tyson vs spinks..I knew instantly what he was talking bout..

[@jessearias2863]

Hof, heavyweight title, legand 😊 RIP night train .

[@clubberlang589]

I believe Sonny Liston was going to expose the losses to Ali and he was shutdown or silent

[@josephsheridan7885]

The second fight or was that the first.liston is in ring warming up and from the crowd comes a bottle or baseball and hits liston on head breaking the scalp falling blows out a knee and re injured his left arm.liston had to try to fight or he does not get paid.we found the guy who throws the object.got him out side called him on it he pulls out a gun what are you going to do about it.well ended up breaking his head over a fire hydrant that took his head off .

[@ATATURKdusmanlarininAMK_NJ]

Bro idk all that but u better stop smoking that shit that shit f ur 🧠 up i can see it

[@theshepardthewolfandtheshe5304]

It was the mob.

[@rodgerhatchell2837]

Something just don't seem right,sonny was really tough.Thr truth always comes out.

[@taecocky]

I agree 100%

[@kantovagrant3194]

Liston died. We don't know how, when, or what did it. But that's all we know, and that's the truth.

[@larrisamitchell9780]

This is how they used black men up and still do.. this man was childlike. He went places he was never supposed to. To say this man is anything other than a Champion is typical of what is misunderstood. I'm sure the Mafia knows what happened and the mortician went along as paid to do.

[@bretthumphrey6821]

I cant believe there was know investigating after his death wtf

[@user-yf6zu6dw2u]

Sonny liston is one of the greatest champions ever the ali fights were fixed by the mafia and that is who killed him Rip

[@meisme20]

Real

[@DeadLifts4Dayz]

6:43

[@bobbest1611]

33:00 why would the mob give up the championship? 8 to 1 odds= $$$$$$. but a fix was questionable. and the second fight is a no brainer--Ali never won the first round in any of his fights. he danced around to judge his opponents speed.

[@frankpaya690]

Obviously Muhammad Ali knew he hadn't hit liston that hard and that's why he was screaming at him to get up and saying nobody will believe this.

[@doctor8830]

14:26

[@zoro2072]

Hé was killed

[@JoeNorton619]

20:35 lol as for some reason 😂😂😂😂

[@powerplay4real174]

Phenomenal man and Heroically dangerous Boxer ⚔️ 🥊 and man that America should have had plenty more of but with more education and self discipline. Slavery and Jim Crow caused a bad ending to his life.

[@keefwins04]

Imagine being a black man of Sonny Listons stature back then except nobody had your back. The civil rights people shied away from him and the only people who did anything for him besides his wife were people who just used him up anyways. That’s why when these idiots whine for Tyson that Don King robbed him out of millions of dollars. Christ that happens to damn near every fighter. They’ve been doing that since christ was a kid. Put it this way, i’ll guarantee poor people pulled for sonny. Not black or white people. Poor people. And i in know way mean that to be derogatory.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

42:01 No there isn't.

[@FriedTurian]

Patterson was a good man , he knew he had no chance against Liston , but fought him anyways & gave him a shot at the title he knew he would lose & liston wanted to go legit & have respect but i guess he wasn't pretty & political enough for the masses , & those 2 fights with Ali he threw it because he had to , Ali was a Narcissistic Loudmouth , liston at leased had humility we all deserve a second chance the world never gave liston that chance , just a shame the world never gave him a break instead of falling in love with the other Narcissistic loudmouth , but thats life i suppose , sucks big time.

[@brt-jn7kg]

How come every time they make a movie or a show about a black man there has to be one or two people of his own race that has to blame everything on the fact that he was black and the rest of the world's White? Sonny Liston was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and one of the greatest to ever box. That doesn't have a damn thing to do with about his race it was because he was the best. The end