Did Sonny Liston have an idol as a boxer?

It was Joe Louis and I don't think he really made an effort to hide it or keep it a secret.

 

I think he idolised Joe Louis.

I remember reading somewhere about Sonny having to do a photo session with a photographer in Las Vegas. Sonny reluctantly left the craps table, let the photographer take just one photo and then marched straight back to the tables. Louis was in Vegas and the photographer who knew him told him how Sonny behaved (photo sessions consist of 100’s of photographs being taken not just one). With that Joe marched up to the craps table twisted Sonny’s ear and told him to get back and let the photographer do his job. Sonny complied immediately such was the regard he had for Joe. Pretty sure not many men alive during that time could do that to Liston.

 

Joe Louis was too good for this world sometimes.

 

Louis

 

Sounds super suspect.

 

I don’t think there was an African American alive in the 1940s that didn’t idolize Joe Louis......even Jackie Robinson looked up to him

 

He was one of the first black sports heroes ever ...back in the time of segregation...

 

Whatever.

I read it somewhere years ago. Believe what you want.

https://www.google.com.au/amp/s/www...o-unlucky-man-sonny-liston-william-nack-si-60

 

Joe Louis was the epitome of class. He carried himself in a very dignified manner. The dynamic , destructive , destroyer in the ring was completely different from his persona out of a boxing ring.
He was what America of that era wanted to see from a black man.
America diffenantly didn't want to see another J.Johnson ( Why he didn't end up lynched is only through the Grace of God)
Joe Louis was the right black man , at the right time, and behaved in the right manner for both white and black America.

 

Louis. Liston trained the youngster and taught him everything he knew. In fact, Liston was Louis's inspiration to put on the gloves!

 

Thanks for the link. When I say it's suspect it doesn't mean I totally disbelieve it., nor you.
I take your word that you read it somewhere.
But Joe was a mild-mannered guy. Perhaps he went up to Liston and had a word, maybe persuaded him, but to literally twist another fighters ear (Liston no less) in full view of everyone just sounds strange to me.
That would be totally out of character for Joe. I also can't see Liston taking kindly to such a thing, no matter who it is.

 

I wonder if it’s just a misinterpretation — someone might have said Joe ‘bent his ear’ (which means talked to him) and it got mangled to ‘twisted his ear’ as in literally walking up and grabbing him by the ear and leading him through the casino, which seems, at the very least, to be highly unlikely.

But I wouldn’t doubt Joe approaching him and saying ‘Sonny, you acted rudely to a friend of mine who was just trying to do his job, you need to make this right’ and Liston being very contrite out of respect for Joe.