When you’ve scared Mike Tyson, then you know you’re doing something right.
Tyson rose to prominence because of his incredible knockout power, and this saw the 59-year-old become the first heavyweight boxer to hold the WBC, WBA and IBF heavyweight titles simultaneously.
Earning the nickname ‘Iron Mike’, Tyson won a total of 50 of his 59 professional bouts, 44 of which were by knockout. He’s clearly a man who knows ferociousness.
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And the legendary boxer was asked by NBA icon Shaquille O'Neal on his podcast ‘The Big Podcast With Shaq’ who he thinks is the scariest man in boxing.
Tyson names the scariest ever fighter
Somewhat terrifyingly, Tyson didn’t name himself, despite striking fear into opponents whenever he stepped into the ring, and instead opted for Sonny Liston.
“Listen, Sonny Liston is the scariest fighter that ever lived,” Tyson revealed to Shaq.
“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.”
Who was Sonny Liston?
Liston, who was born in 1932, was nicknamed “Big Bear” and fought from 1953 up until his unfortunate death in 1970.
The Arkansas-born heavyweight won 50 of his 54 fights, 39 of which were by knockout, and became he undisputed heavyweight champions when he knocked out Floyd Patterson in the first round in 1962.
He plied his trade during his time in prison for armed robbery having been arrested more than 100 times before establishing himself on the professional circuit.
Liston lost just four fights in his career, two of which were to the legendary Muhammed Ali, including a 1965 first round knockout, albeit controversially, that produced one of the most famous sports photos of all time.
The Ring magazine lists Liston as the 10th greatest heavyweight of all time and he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991.
Tyson, though, has every right to be considered the scariest boxer of all time having enjoyed a 37-fight unbeaten streak following his professional debut in 1985, a record that ended at the hands of James ‘Buster’ Douglas.
While Tyson retired with a 50-6 record in 2005, he reversed the decision last year when he fought Jake Paul in what broke the record for the highest gate receipt for a fight outside of Las Vegas.
Paul won the bout in November in inflict a seventh defeat upon Tyson.
Topics: Mike Tyson, Boxing, Shaquille ONeal, NBA, Heavyweight Boxing
Ben McAleer