How would Foreman have developed as a fighter if Liston had survived and kept an interest in working with him?
I don't think Sonny in the 70's would have been part of the training of Foreman, he was in the later 60's and George said he patterned himself after Liston. By the time George had fought Chuvalo, Frazier and Norton his training under Saddler was about as good as he was going to get, later however Gil Clancey totally messed his style and skills up.
You see like most young men with a hero he fell in love with the legend not the man. Perhaps as he came to mature and saw Sonny for who he became he would have not been a "Sinner or a saint" and had just grown to be George Foreman- then there is the fact he looked up to gang bangers and thugs most of his youth anyways... A good one would be if Patterson looked out for George and drew out his latent kindness and maybe even directed him to Cus for better or worse.
Floyd wouldn’t come within 10 miles of George just knowing Foreman and Sonny were friends and afraid Sonny might show up.
Excuse me? lol Floyd literally tried being Listons friend and went to visit him in the dress rooms after he was humiliated by Ali he even wanted a third fight.
Floyd was so scared of Sonny that he literally brought a disguise to their second fight that he put on afterward in hopes that no one would recognize him.
That was shame he was afraid to lose and be humiliated. He wasn’t wearing it because he didn’t want Liston to recognise him lmao
So nice he once let a kid fan follow him around all day and sent him home fed in a limbo because he didn’t have a pen handy to sign the boys photo that and he was rushing too much to answer questions. P4P friendliest boxer ever
"I could get hit hard and often in the ring, and the bruises and lumps heal, I can deal with this no problem, but if someone says something unkind or hurtful about me, be it about my boxing style or personality, it hurts me inside, it gets to me, and I dwell on such comments for ages after" -FP
Reel talk. Sonny loved developing speed. The jab was deceptively fast especially with the length. But the reason he wasn't that quick and didn't know what the limiter was? Sins my friend. When he found out he got on perfection. Got with Love (Jinn aka Suhail). But really and truly it was sadness for someone who should always have been beautifully happy.
