There are some Fight One photos of Ali grimacing when hit by the jab and body shots. He said Liston hit very hard (but I don't remember exactly what). Fight Two of course Liston didn't hit a much bigger and confident Ali.
This content is protected It looks like Ali is in a lot of pain, I'm guessing Liston hits hard.:nut Anyways, I think Ali said he was scared of Liston because he hit very hard. I'm not sure if he said he felt this way before or after the 1st fight though.
I know he said Liston was the most intimidating fighter he fought he also said Patterson was the most talented, Frazier was the toughest and Foreman was the most powerful (whether this means punching power or physical strength I don't know.)
Ali always spoke of Liston in respectful terms: In "Dinner with the Champions", he says he was scared to death of Liston (a bit exaggerated), and was thinking what would happen if Liston hit him with those big fists, whether or not he could take the blows. Before Zaire, Ali interestingly says Liston was a better boxer and "hit harder than George". In his book, "Soul of a Butterfly", he says Patterson was his most skillful opponent, Liston the scariest, Foreman the most powerful and Frazier the toughest.
Ali and Angelo Dundee were primarily afraid of Liston's jab - it was a real ramrod and if you got on the end of it you knew you'd been hit.
Great picture, hadn't seen that one before. Liston did get in a few shots. A few left hooks as well. If Ali's chin was as weak as it must have been perceived to be back then, he would've been down.
