sonny listons training routine for the patterson fight.....

I remember reading this aswell in that book ''Night train'' about Liston.

To tell you the truth I was a bit shocked, doesn't exactly seem you'd get ultra-fit by doing all that. Ofcourse if he was really power-walking those seven miles then that'll help but still it seems a bit lacklustre to me. I haven't got the Night-train book to hand but I remember it mentioning some sparring and 'standing on his head to strengthen his neck'.

Also the details for that 'typical day' training came from some newspaper, so I imagine they may of caught Liston while he was either winding down or gearing up for what was the biggest fight of his life.

That training just doesn't seem enough, and I'd be surprised to find out that's all he did.

 

Sounds like the weirdest training program I ever heard of, but lets face it, Liston spent most of his time in casinos and whorehouses when he was supposed to be training for Muhammad Ali. A lot of these punchers fall in love with their firepower and start to imagine themselves to be invincible.

 

Fighting pro for 17 years (50-4) I'm sure he was doing something right.

Have you seen the 1965 fight against Ali? I personally think he was paid to lose that one.

 

wtf. im really shocked at the fact that al hsi boxing was only 4 rounds of shadow boxing. and als that he only ate 2x a day

 

I'm sure he had to adjust his program during the 15 round world championships.

 

No wonder he got his ass beat by Ali twice.

 

Thats a standard breakfast for some. I really dont believe any fighter would expect to get as far as he did with that type of training regime. 4 rounds of shadowboxing is nothing for 15 round fighters.

 

wouldnt it take like 4 hours to do just the walking?

 

true i have seen him jumproping in a book he seems pretty good.

 

Haha, what **** nutrition. And don't come to me with that "well he was still world champ!!1!" Like I've said before, lots of athletes are successful DESPITE their habits, not BECAUSE of them.

 

September 19, 1962 - Daily News writer Gene Ward makes a trip to Liston's training camp in Aurora, Illinois. "He started out with more sparring partners, but two of 'em quit and one of 'em got his ribs stove in." says Jack Nilon, Sonny's adviser. One of those sparmates, Jimmy McCarter, concurs "He hit Fenado Cox on the arm the other day and knocked him flat. Wherever he hits you it hurts." Spectators are charged 99 cents to watch Liston work out, and they're not disappointed. He opens with four rounds of shadow boxing with 175 pounder Allan Thomas. Next came three rounds on the heavy bag, three rounds on the speed bag, and his signature training method, his rope skipping to the strains of Jimmy Brown and the Flames' "Night Train". The record plays for 3 minutes and 35 seconds. Liston goes through six playings. To finish up, Liston gets a medicine ball hurled at his stomach a number of times, and performs 64 situps on a specially designed board. An onlooker remarked "How will Patterson go about hurting this man?" Liston next meets the press, and he's his usual pleasant self when asked if Patterson will be the toughest opponent he's faced. "Can I tell if this winter's gonna be cold? No. And I can't tell if Patterson's gonna be tough. I might get rid of him quick. He might get rid of me quick."

got this on Cyberboxingzone

 

Thanks for digging that up. I too have seen him work the heavybag, which was an awesome sight, and also the medicine ball workout, and the speedbag, so I knew there was more to his workouts than that.

 

How did he die at 38?

In 1962 that was a year which he was gearing up for a 15 round fight.