Arum: Ali's camp believes Liston is a "Coward and Quitter"

There were rumours that Ali’s Muslim friends were involved but I think Liston quit in both fights in reality. Past his best also liston

 

Liston was not a coward. We don't know what the true circumstances surrounding both fights were ... We don't know Liston's true age .... How healthy he was ... If there was any outside influence that may have changed the outcome of the fight ...

Ali defeated Liston twice . He quit both times . And let's be fair ... Ali made Liston look slow ... The old adage holds true; styles make fights and Ali is a stylistic nightmare for Sonny Liston

 

Sonny Liston had boasted to my co worker Pete B , when he was arrested by Pete in 1969 that he threw the two fights against Muhammad Ali, who knows? We will probably never know the true story of Sonny's two consecutive losses to Ali, or his demise, just pure speculation.

 

George Foreman trained with Liston early in his career. I wonder if anyone has asked Foreman if the subject of the Ali fights ever came up during this time.

 

Something is absolutely wrong with the Sonny Liston story. . The age, the losses, the death.....He was a terrifying fighter. Coward? No. No. No. At heir peaks Tyson and Foreman did not intimidate fighters and humans like Liston. I have read alot on him. Still no author has explained both Ali fights. Perhaps the first one I get. Missing alot damaged the shoulder. The second fight as I have stated ---no way. What a complex man that wanted to be celebrated. Read about him ........Plane ride back to Philly and no one in general to receive him. Mob influence.... I wish I knew more. Someone can.....thanks

 

Who gives a **** what Arum or Ali's camp says ..when people cant start picking apart a fighter until he's at the age of 35 ... That tells you one thing .. How ****ing GREAT he really was

 

Sonny Liston was a very scary tough guy. He beat up two card cheats in my hometown in 1969 right before his surprising loss against Leotis Martin in Dec 1969.

 

See I don't think he was 32- think he was much older.
Think when he got the title he expected things to open up for him- being the heavyweight champion and such.
I mean he had toiled for years just to get a shot.
And when he won the title- most main stream media didn't want him which must have been disheartening.
So I'm thinking the mob who worked with Liston has this heavyweight champion who isn't charismatic but also isn't really liked/loved by the public so what are they to do with him?

 

Liston did it naturally ... He was like that

Tyson was created to be that way by D'Mato and Foreman was copying Liston

God created Liston that way

 

Saving face that's more likely reason for him saying that.

 

Liston was not 32 during the first Ali fight. He was 34 at the bare minimum as the 1940 census puts him at ten years old at the time. Please name me THREE heavyweights who were still in their prime at 34. Or even one pre-70s. Also, he was rusty, having fought less than 5 minutes in three years. He also had a recorded shoulder injury going into the bout, and was drinking heavily at the time. He was not anywhere close to his best and that's obvious to anyone with an ounce of objectivity.

 

Howd you do against him Richard? You give him a good go ?

 

This. I don't know where the age of 32 came up. I've never read anywhere he was that young. As swag said, the likelihood is 34, minimum. Had he gotten his shot earlier, he would have kept the title even longer, of this I am convinced.

Though I'm positive Ali would have had a MUCH harder time with the Patterson-obliterating Liston, I honestly do think MA would have knocked the heck out of Liston at 34+ anyway. Ali was just too good.