What’s the story behind Sonny Liston.
I saw frazier, foreman and Ali on a talk show in ‘89.
Ali was on the way out, speech-wise. It was sad.
Still witty, just couldn’t get many words out
Yeahy i saw that itnerview too- good stuff-
Liston grew up in extreme poverty- rough childhood- was tied in with hte mob and became an enforcer- - did some prison time- but his career went into the dump wen he got involved in crime. He wasn;t given the recognition as a fighter that he deserved- and wasn’;t viewed very kindly by the public- He was mistreated badly by his handlers- and they bilked him of his earnings basically- he became poor again- and basically died in obscurity -
I think if he had been given the recognition he deserved as a fighter, and had more honest handlers- and been accepted by the public he mighta had a pretty good life andm ore successful career- but circumstances just always seemed to be against him- and his life just kinda went full circle- poverty and abuse to riches to poverty and abuse again as his handlers took advantage of him and stole his money- It was just a sad case all around- Sad to see someone work hteir way out of extreme poverty- then be taken advantage of used and destroyed really by jerks-
Here’s an article on his life-
https://punditarena.com/boxing/mmccarthy/sad-life-sonny-liston/