Who was the scarier fighter out of the three at their peaks, Sonny Liston, G.Foreman or Mike Tyson?

In their own era respectively, its pretty close. Foreman after Frazier, Tyson after Spinks, Holmes or Tubbs and Sonny Liston after Patterson.

If you ask a professional HW today, who of those three prime fighters he´d choose to fight if he had to, I believe most of them would pick Sonny Liston as the least dangerous. Simply because its obvious he got a big weight advantage over the CW Pattersons, Machens or Folleys of the era, while Foreman would still be physical imposing and Mike Tyson was in between, but a quick terror.

 

Frazier definitely won the stare down imo.... unfortunately it would be the only part of the fight he’d win that night ...

 

#1 Sonny Liston looked the part, had the history inside and outside of the ring to back it up. George Foreman # 1would be much #2, based on his destruction of J.Frazier and Norton, two top ten fighters in their primes, or slightly past it. #3 M.Tyson, and # 4 Old G.Foreman.

 

Liston.

 

That's the meanest I've ever seen Joe...I'm not sure he ever looked at Ali like that.

Of course, George kind of started the ball rolling with his Liston imitation.

Amazing, completely unexpected slaughter. No one seemed to expect anything like what happened in the fight. I think I mentioned elsewhere, it was the first fight I ever saw, and both my father and seemingly the majority of everyone else was touting Frazier as the next Joe Louis.

 

Liston

 

I think simply in terms of his nature, Sonny was the most scary, most intemidating guy + the whole Mafia reputation stuff.
But momentum wise...Foreman before the Ali Fight!!! When he wrecked Frazier and Norton so viciously. Never again had a boxer spread such fear. People were seriously afraid for Ali's life.

 

Surprised no one else had mentioned numerous men just dropping with out even being hit by Tyson because of fear. That says something

 

I think Tyson generated way more interest as a killer in the minds of the general public. He fought more top contenders in a shorter period of time than either Foreman or Liston. He reigned supreme for a longer period than either of them and defeated nine top contenders during his first title reign, way more than either George or Sonny. I was a witness as a fan to all three of these guys, and I don't think that either George or Sonny compare as being scarier than Tyson. Even after Douglas defeated Mike, the aura lingered on. The spectacle of Bruce Seldon caving in the first round without being hit will always be with me. Geez! I'm surprised that the question even comes up. Are you guys who support Liston and Foreman on this thread really serious? C'mon!! Just compare their records, watch some videos and do some research. I'm not predicting how Mike would do against either of them. I'm talking about the perception at the time they fought. Liston and Foreman defended their titles so infrequently that they weren't at the forefront of public attention like Tyson. Tyson's persona as a killer puncher among boxing fans in the late 1980s was on a par with that of Joe Louis in the 1930s.

 

I think the difference is Tyson's aura was part great marketing/matchmaking and part how he actually performed in the ring.

Liston was in the black and white tv era and there was no internet or major tv broadcasts to put together highlight reels of his knockouts, nor were there huge PPV events or tapes/commercials of Liston pounding the heavy bag or knocking out don king's carefully selected tomato cans to boost his image.

Somewhat similar for Foreman. Tv had only just begun to become colorized and boxing ppv events had only just begun to take hold thanks to guys who paved the way like Ali. With Foreman his era was brief but the fear factor came from how the guy just utterly crushed two of Ali's biggest rivals and at 32 with his leg speed significantly slower, people were genuinely fearing for Ali's life. People really thought Ali would die and were begging him not to fight.

The biggest difference between Foreman and Liston vs Tyson, is that the first two were actual bad dudes you didn't want to meet in a dark alley. Liston would rough people up for the mob and would break legs or fight cops. He actually went to prison and had underworld connections. Foreman was a mugger who terrorized people in the 5th ward and a feared street fighter who came out of nowhere winning gold and racking up a ridiculous 92% KO ratio.

Either one of them could have had that same aura of fear with clever marketing team setting up bums for them to destroy and an eccentric promoter putting on big ppv events on color tv.

Yes, for a brief moment Tyson did capture the public's attention with his jaw dropping power and "iron" person commanding both respect and fear with his menacing style. He was arguably more terrifying for a brief moment after destroying the deer in headlights Michael spinks in 90 seconds or when he demolished the big stocky Trevor Berbick making him look like a human yo yo bouncing off the canvas. But people did notice the crack just beneath the surface. Tyson was hyping himself up and didn't even believe it deep down. Cus d amato basically brain washed him and had a permanent hold on him psychologically. Teddy Atlas had to give the guy pep talks before matches and he would even cry. He was a sensitive guy who would play with pigeons and was an emotional wreck whenever he opened up about his past.

 

Gotta be Liston. He was violent in the ring and pretty much everywhere else. He wasnt staring like that to make you think he is mean. Liston had the same expression on Tuesday. Prison also gave him a little more of a nothing to lose aura.

For me a guy that doesn't say alot speaks louder than guy making outrageous boasting like Tyson.

 

Having been in prison as my second job, the guys who are constantly running their mouth in an over the top bombastic manner are the ones who don't last long or who get humbled very quickly. Many guys just scoff when they see that grade school stuff.

The quiet brooding guy who gives you a mean look if you step to him is usually the one you have to worry about.

 

Liston maybe the answer, but if that is the case, us Brits of a certain generation know Reg Gutteridge freaked him out when he came to blighty.

 

Sonny did a commercial with Andy Warhol. Brainaf Airlines. Very funny

 

The loud one is trying to keep you away. Never forgot the time I was walking down this dark alley in Sacramento. It just got dark and as I was passing through I heard a sound. It was the scariest sound u ever heard. It was a dog, I never saw him. He didn't bark. There was no hint of a bark. It was a low, rumbling growl that only I could hear.
Kinda like he was gonna kill me and there was no warning. That's kind of how Liston must of been.