Apologies for using a pro-wrestling term, but was the 6'1" Liston having an 84" reach more carnival hype than accurate? I don’t doubt he probably had a very long reach for his height, but 84"? That’s the same as 6'5" Lennox Lewis, longer than 6'7" Deontay Wilder, and just an inch less than 6'8" Tyson Fury. That’s a SHW reach on a 6'1" frame. From the photos I’ve seen and in his fights, his arms look long, but not nearly as out of proportion as you’d expect if that number were accurate.
I suspect Liston's reach was 80-82 inches. His arms were long. I doubt his reach was only 78 inches. He def had long arms. 84 does sound a bit out of proportion to me as well.
I mean, do we really believe he had that reach? 88" is literally into 7-foot NBA center territory. That goes to my point that some of these older boxers may have had exaggerated proportions listed to create hype like pro-wrestlers did or still do now.
George Foreman was a couple inches taller and had a 78.5" reach, I can see how Liston maybe had a couple inches on Foreman there but I'm not seeing a near 6" half-foot difference.
Yes 80-82 inches is my estimate so 2-4 inches. I wish we had a side by side comparison of them. I know they sparred together.
I think it was a legit measurement. Liston not only had long arms, but very wide shoulders and his hands were enormous. I remember reading that a boxing writer described his fingers as being like bananas.
15 Boxing Champions With the Longest Reach Compared to Their Height | Medium I am trying to find more modern fighters with disproprtionate reaches since their measurements might be more accurate. It states Adonis Stevenson has a reach of 77 inches despite being 5'11 (my height or an average person's height) If Stevenson is a legit 77 inch at 5'11, its possible that Liston was a legitimate 80-82 inches at 6'1.
There may be some flaws in how's it's measured. That might be the underlying issue. Because when it started out it certainly wasn't 84" Multiple reports of it being 82" after patterson it was always 84" as far as I know.. so HOW it was measured is probably the difference. But 82" was an accurate guess. This content is protected
Gastanaga has the longest recorded reach of any top level fighter ever. If he was faking it it was not a trend.
This seems to confirm that the 82" estimation is the more accurate number. Not sure why they felt the need to bump his reach up later, since 82" is already pretty freakish for someone at 6'1".
I'm quite certain one of his actual fights has his reach at 82" also in the specs breakdown (i have no idea which one it's been awhile). Which is another source as I said prior to Patterson time frame. It seems like they made an error & everyone kept reporting the error...over again until it became a staple.
Does one mention confirm anything. I've seen 84" in many articles. I feel that needs to be disproven by more than one citation.
It’s just that, abstractly, 82" seems the more reasonable measurement. It’s still an outlier reach for his height, but not quite as extreme as 84". If Sonny truly had an 84" reach, we’d likely see photos of his hands hanging down near his knees while standing straight. Look up images of Jon Jones, who is 6'4" with an 84" reach. Even at that taller height, his arm length clearly looks out of proportion. By comparison, Liston just doesn’t give off that same visual impression.
I ve long suspected that 84 had to be a mistake. It’s widely reported as his reach but I did however once see a different length I don’t remember where from and think it was 81 or 82. Jack Johnson is like Liston in that they appear to be much taller than they are. Ironically Johnson is list a foot shorter reach at 74. That seems that could be too short. Both champs are just a shade over 6 foot Liston said to be 6 1/2 and Johnson 6 1/4.