Mike Tyson names the ‘scariest’ fighter in boxing history – he didn’t pick himself

Mike Tyson has named Sonny Liston as the scariest fighter to enter the ring as a professional boxer.

Tyson rapidly rose to fame because of his devastating knockout power, so he can certainly recognise ferociousness when he sees it.

In his heyday, Tyson was a knockout artist who often overwhelmed opponents with a relentless barrage of punches.

The legendary heavyweight was asked to reveal who he thinks is the scariest man in boxing, on Shaquille O'Neal's 'The Big Podcast with Shaq'.

Surprisingly it wasn't himself, despite being regarded to be the most feared fighter for potential opponents.

He said: “Listen, Sonny Liston is the scariest fighter that ever lived.

"Sonny Liston would come to a town, say he’s in St. Louis and he comes to Chicago, the cops would be [like] ‘Listen, you can’t come’, he knocked out around four cops, broke their jaw, took their gun, they were beating him with the night stick over his head…

"There’s no fighter like Sonny Liston, Sonny Liston’s a monster.”

Liston made his debut in 1953 in a bloody bout against Don Smith, which saw the latter sporting badly lacerated right eye.

He would eventually claim the world heavyweight title in 1962 after knocking out Floyd Patterson in just one round.

Liston rose from having mob ties to a real contender in the ring as a formidable boxer with immense power that struck fear into his opponents.

Why was Sonny Liston so scary?

Liston first learned how to box when he was in prison for armed robbery, having been arrested more than hundred times.

This gave him a menacing aura of someone who wasn’t just a boxer, but someone you didn’t want to mess with outside of the ring either.

His punching power was one thing, but Liston was also known for his ability to get into the heads of his opponents.

Muhammad Ali was one of only three men to ever hand Liston a defeat across his 50-4 career record.

Ali beat him in back-to-back bouts and despite the losses, the idea of Liston as a scary force was cemented in the public mind.

Why would Mike Tyson be dubbed the 'scariest'?

Following his professional debut in 1985, Tyson had a 37-fight undefeated streak until he faced James 'Buster' Douglas and lost via knockout.

He even made history as the youngest heavyweight champion ever, a record that still stands almost 40 years later.

Having shared the ring with the likes of Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis, Tyson is well versed with boxing greats.

The heavyweight star retired in 2005 with a professional record of 50-6, but reversed his decision 19 years later to fight Jake Paul.

Despite his standing as an all-time great, Tyson looked every bit of his age when he lost to Paul in November 2024.