Muhammad Ali Didn’t Hesitate To Name His Most Terrifying Opponent: “I Was Scared To Death”
Ali is widely regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time, ending his two-decade long career with a record of 56 wins and just 5 defeats.
Some of the biggest fights of his career include three showdowns with Joe Frazier, with the first meeting labelled the Fight of the Century, and their famous third fight known as the Thrilla in Manila.
Ali was also involved in arguably the biggest boxing event of all time when he took on George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle.
Despite going up against those two huge names, it is another man that Ali has labelled as the scariest opponent that he ever faced.
“Sonny Liston was before I fought him considered one of the greatest fighters in history. He had a punch that knocked out Floyd Patterson in just about one round twice. He had one fist as big as both as mine. Everybody was scared of him. [I was] scared to death.”
Ali first challenged for the world heavyweight title when he met Liston in February 1964, with Liston fresh off the back of those two aforementioned first round knockout wins against Floyd Patterson.
Ali caused a huge upset when he picked up the win by sixth round retirement in their first clash, before winning with a first round knockout in their rematch the following year.
Liston ended his career with a record of 50 wins and just 4 defeats, and sadly died at the age of just 40 in 1970.
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