Sonny Liston - "Behind The Fights" (Documentary, 2003)

Damn, they certainly ripped into Patterson in this one. Nobody is perfect, but to suggest Patterson was anything less than a stand up guy is over the top.

The more I read about and study Liston, the more intelligent and tortured he seems to have been. The priests tried to teach him to read, but it was no go. Considering his work ethic in his prime, I don't believe he was a quitter. I suspect he may have been dyslexic. Most psychologists would say that he suffered severe lifelong emotional trauma. He opposed segregation and demanded his fights not be broadcast in segregated theaters, and regularly visited the poor and underprivileged kids without the PR machine to display it to the world like so many fake athletes do. When Cleveland Williams was shot, Liston broke camp multiple times to visit him in hospital, and ultimately was very well liked by his close friends. He wasn't evil - he just wasn't a phony like 99% percent of celebrities.

I love Sonny
I love You
You have the most beautiful smile of all time I’m sorry that the world was evil to You
F white Mafias

Ali hit liston with an arm punch no twist in there so little power. The second fight was definitely a fix. Liston even rolled over 😂

Still top 5 of all time. Shame he fought Ali in his 40s after underestimating Ali.

Sonny was so handsome when he smiled !

Oh bullshit all the groveling, just because it's Muhammad Ali and he was a radical Muslim, Ali knew he hadn't hit Liston hard & that's why he was screaming at him to get -up. Clay, Ali-whatever you want to call him was never known for being a one-punch knockout fighter, the way Liston or Marciano or Louis or Foreman were.
Leotis Martin had been a sparring partner of liston's and so would have known any weaknesses liston had and was probably the only one ever to actually KO Sonny Liston however Martin although winning the fight, lost overall because he suffered a detached retina in that fight against Sonny Liston and never fought again.

And Liston was 75 years old when he met leotis Martin!
They don't know how old he was, that's been the mystery, likely he was born about 1928 and was around 4 years older than his listed birthdate of 1932.

This is fake news Why didnt the Mob take over Rocky And joe lois

Sonny the gifted one, met a more gifted one!!!! (Come on guy, poor sonny my foot.)

Sonny was better off than a lot.

Listons left jab missed by a good 12 inches? Same as 1965 fight...?..when he fell in the second fight his arms guide him to the canvas...🎭🎭🎭 Not a knock down...it's fixed

Sad soul Sonny, sadly never give a chance by the public, what an awful early life fell into crime, couldn’t get himself out, used and financially abuse by those who should of been looking out for him

Very good commentary

GOAT

Sonny had 7 kids correct?

Used to love these documentaries

Heartbreaking! Imagine if he was well trained at age 16! By D’Amato or Dundee!
No doubt in the top 10 of all time.

I didn't know Sonny Liston ever smiled.

tragic actually liston seems to be victim of a system that was a setup in itself

Why is this old fart talking so rudely about Patterson? Saying he wasn't skilful, called him phoney and twisted what JFK and Patterson talked about completely to the opposite? JFK didn't want Floyd to fight Liston ffs

documentaries like this shows you nothing is true in sports.. All media talk and dealings behind doors

After the patterson liston fight at around 15.09, among the crowd in the ring, there is a man on the left hand side who looks a lot like Muhammad Ali.

I can listen to Burt Sugar talk about boxing all day.

The more I learn about him the more I like Sonny Liston . We didnt know back then what they are saying now. And we were so stunned that Ali (Clay) beat him.

Boxinh

Mr Sugar forgot to light his cigar

Yo Howard Cosell look like bellalagose...that played Dracula.......

Yo lmfao ..Burt said he caught him👍👍👍👍 burt get dem thumbs....son.

I felt that we aint want him. Cause we had Floyd Patterson yah ..mean not Nah meanz....rolling wit white folks when we was all PRO Black " then Ali came along 5hen had dat slot Now...say word !!!!!!!

RIP Sonny 🌄

I never heard Howard Cosel talk so fast before

1st Ali fight. I cannot think of any reason why Liston could not have come out in the 7th round against Ali.
2nd Ali fight. Ali "Get up bum. Noone will believe this".
Boxing is bent. Liston just took the money.

Sonny on the inside was a good hearted man, the public made em hard on the outside because once someone says something about you negative that's what they will always want you to believe n he had to ware that , he wasn't strong n intelligent enough to shake it off, n he broke bad on the public the law which targeted him wherever he went, he had to fight up hill even as champion inside n outside the ring, never had a chance,,

I don’t understand the antagonism towards Patterson, clearly he ought to have been in a, at the time nonexistent cruiser-weight division. Even so, he fought well against some pretty good heavyweights during his career, beating by far most of them.

What y’all didn’t know was he was owned by the mob and they helped him win many a fight by putting the mix on his gloves, but in Ali’s case Sonny had trouble hitting him in the face so they brought water to his corner and it temporarily blinded Ali.

Jack Newfield is a genuine asshole, referring to Liston as some kinda animal.

There was a man who had a conscience, wanted to owe nobody anything and looked after his family, Sonny C. Liston.

I think he was most misunderstood and deep inside he was a good human being.

Somebody help me, what was the phony petty side of Patterson that Newfield was speaking about?

Floyd did much better against Ali

It was rumored that Liston bet on Ali in both fights through 3rd parties. That's probably why the Mob came after him.

Racist american cops made his life miserable. I laughed my assz off when i heared about tge cop he took the gun and hat from, and the one he threw in the garbage can 😅 The poor guy couldnt walk the street normally. As an european im ashamed for these "white" people. Even the germans admired jesse owens. You give respect where its due...

A prime Liston would be a prime Tyson
A prime Ali would beat a prime Tyson

Ali was just too fast and his reflexes were unbelievably amazing.

Sad to see Liston’s demeanour in the post fight interview after he was KO’ed by Martin. He realises he’s finished, that he doesn’t have it anymore. And without boxing how’s he going to feed his family? You live by the sword, you die by the sword but it’s sad to see the end of a great fighter and athlete.