"Thirty One" - Sonny Liston "Still..Thirty One?" "Yea.." "Are you ever going to be thirty two?" "No, I'm like Jack Benny"
I remember reading in a book some about 10 years ago that some guys was claiming that a 17 year old Sonny Liston was used as a sparring partner by Two Ton Tony Galento preparing for Joe Louis which would've made him like 41 or 42 against Cassius Clay - has anyone else heard that one before??? It's bugged me ever since I read it - butI can't remember which book it was?? may have been called "Dark Trade" I think?? the one with the painting of Holyfield's face on the front - but then again it might not have been - can't remember
Sonny Liston was 75 years old when they fought! [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2onqlccvrRg[/ame] [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R0ro_Rq26I[/ame]
Very interesting Would kind of go against the Galento interview prior to Ali Liston 1. Someone posted it here. Galento explains that he predicts Ali to win, and everyone in the restaurant including the reporter kind of looked at him strange. He explained that he believed Liston was 10 years older than he actually said he was. He went on to say that he had never been wrong about another fighters age off a guess based on just looking at them. He was adamant in having this ability, and claimed that Sonny was 40 before the Ali fight. IMO, I truly believe Sonny was a lot older than he said he was. He always looked older than he said he was. I cant even say that for Foreman. But who knows
I would say it kinda goes along with what Galento said (never seen the intereview although would be intrigued to)?? Maybe Galento really did know Liston's real age for that very reason?? Maybe he'd been asked by Liston's people to keep quiet about it though?? Maybe he was insinuating without making an outright statement?? But then again how would I know at all - I haven't even seen the interview - for all I know he may have made the statement outright in the interview?? I personally beleive Liston to have been at least 40 when he fought Clay but then again may be wrong. PS REZ YOU MAKE THE BEST VIDEOS IN THE WORLD - ANYMORE IN THE PIPELINE??
Really? Can you tell me what you have found his age to be? And Rockysplitnose, yea I was thinking that. It is very possible that could have been the case. And thanks man! And yes, I have a 14 minute career tribute coming out today He's been the topic of many of my threads recently
By the way, I gotta upload the short clip of that interview one time. You should see the swagger in which Liston replies to that question great stuff
Sorry for the dealy, reznick. We'll all know his age to within months but not until a few years when the 1940 Census comes out. Son Charles does not appear in Tobin Liston's household in 1930. That more or less confirms that Sonny and Ma were more accurate than pundits who had him older than he claimed.
And there is a "Sunny Lisbon" mentioned in the 1880 US census, which would make him at least 84 when he fought Ali.