YouTube Gold: Muhammad Ali And Sonny Liston

The clash between these two went beyond the ring

Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali are forever intertwined. They first fought in 1964 and Ali, then still known as Cassius Clay, was a considerable underdog.

It’s impossible for most people today to understand us how intimidating Liston was. He had enormous fists for one thing, and he is still widely regarded as the hardest hitting boxer in history.

Ali fought in the 1960 Olympics and won gold and soon turned professional. He was so different from anyone else in the 1960’s: bold, brash and full of braggadocio,

But Liston was terrifying to most people. In this video, Chuck Wepner, who certainly knew how to take a punch and who later had a fight with Ali that inspired the movie Rocky, said Liston punched like nobody else.

What few understood about Ali at the time though was that a) he could take a punch like few fighters ever and b) he was a master of psychological warfare.

A lot of people witnessed Ali’s pre-fight histrionics and thought he was losing it. What he was doing was what he was always doing - knocking his opponent off balance psychologically.

Ali won the first fight despite some dubious tactics from the Liston camp and then won the second, after fight which Liston is widely suspected of throwing.

From 2024, with Ali’s legend firmly established, it’s very difficult to understand the dynamics of this fight. If you watch the video though you’ll see a brilliant talent who not only survives the greatest hitter of all time but ultimately dominates him with speed, agility and incredible toughness. And he needed all three to not only beat Liston but to replace his legend with his own.