Sonny Liston's measurements.

[JustinvR]

I never realized how much of a freak of nature Sonny Liston was.
I knew that he had a long reach and a very powerful jab, but i never realized he had a 84 inch reach. Which means he owned one of the biggest reach in boxing, while "only" being 6'1 tall(which is about 73 inches). So that means his reach was practically a foot bigger than his height. And that is a one big difference, since the normal person has a reach that is equal to their height.

They also said that his fist was 15 inches, and he needed special gloves because normal ones wouldn't fit.

That's just fucking scary to be honest, Guy was built like an orangutan.

 

[kensei]

Wow, his reach was crazy. It's the same as Lennox Lewis and more than either Klitschko.

 

[JustinvR]

Wow, his reach was crazy. It's the same as Lennox Lewis and more than either Klitschko.

Yup, Lewis also has one of the biggest reach in boxing but he is 4 inches taller than Liston.

 

[JayElectra]

His age was also likely wrong on that tale of the tape.

 

[MEGAhorse]

Trainer Kenny Weldon believes it would come down to Rocky Marciano and Sonny Liston for the best slugger in boxing.

A lot of mystery surrounding Liston too. We aren't even sure of his exact birth date.

 

[XThe GreatestX]

guy was truly a freak of nature. great champion

 

[mozfonky]

some kid on here said fist size meant nothing to punching power awhile ago, sonny is always exhibit a for that theory. Long jab yet ali outjabbed him using timing, good defence and variation.

 

[mozfonky]

The dude look like in his late 30s in that tale of the tape that is listing him as 29. He was probably closer to 40, or mid 30s when he fought Ali.

I've seen a pretty good argument that he was close to his listed age, if not exactly that age. Someone dug up some census records. He did look old indeed, man had a horrible, hard life.

 

[Sharkey]

I've seen a pretty good argument that he was close to his listed age, if not exactly that age. Someone dug up some census records. He did look old indeed, man had a horrible, hard life.

The 1930 census came out about a decade ago, but the rest of his family was listed. Included was his father, mother, 3 brothers, and 3 sisters. Based on that he could have been no older than 33 at the time of the first Ali fight.

 

[JayElectra]

some kid on here said fist size meant nothing to punching power awhile ago, sonny is always exhibit a for that theory. Long jab yet ali outjabbed him using timing, good defence and variation.

Marciano, Dempsey and Louis had relatively small hands.

 

[mozfonky]

ya, i saw something to that effect, it was fairly convincing. a 32 year old heavyweight in that era was usually on the down side but seems he wasn't the 40+ year old some people tried to say

 

[mozfonky]

Marciano, Dempsey and Louis had relatively small hands.

jake lamotta had tiny hands, and he didn't have too many kayoes on his ledger. fist size is commonly accepted as part of the full tale of the tape for a reason.

 

[Sharkey]

ya, i saw something to that effect, it was fairly convincing. a 32 year old heavyweight in that era was usually on the down side but seems he wasn't the 40+ year old some people tried to say

I just did a search wondering if the 1940 census was released, Moz, and it apparently was in 2012. A few articles say Liston was listed as being 10 years-old in that 1940 census, so odds are pretty good he was born in 1930. His mother was probably pregnant with him when that 1930 census was taken.

 

[JayElectra]

jake lamotta had tiny hands, and he didn't have too many kayoes on his ledger. fist size is commonly accepted as part of the full tale of the tape for a reason.

I'm sure it's not irrelevant, but it isn't really a reliable indicator of how good a puncher you are. Jack Johnson had appreciably bigger hands than Louis, Marciano, Foreman, and Dempsey. Not that Johnson couldn't punch, but he likely didn't have the power that those other four did.

 

[mozfonky]

where did you find fist measurements? also, how do they measure fists? finally, not in dispute but tales of the tape sometimes seem innaccurate especially regarding height.

 

[ZroC]

Take this shit with a pinch of salt. I'm 6"4 and according to some stats Manny has a longer arm length than me. In fact working off memory if you take Manny's documented arm length seriously and compare that to his wing span then his chest must only be a few inches across.

 

[JayElectra]

I was going off an old post from Boxingscene.

Here is how they're listed by the poster 0Rooster4life0 and they were corroborated by a source back in the day (though he claimed to know them by heart) which is now a dead link. Anyway, this was his list:

John L Sullivan

HEIGHT - 5ft 10 1/2in
WEIGHT - 196lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 48in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

James J Corbett

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 178lb
REACH - 73in
CHEST (NOR) - 38in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 12 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Jack Johnson

HEIGHT - 6ft 1 1/4in
WEIGHT - 192lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 37 1/2in
CHEST (EXP) - 42 3/4in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

Jess Willard

HEIGHT - 6ft 6 1/4in
WEIGHT - 230lbs
REACH - 83in
CHEST (NOR) - 46in
CHEST (EXP) - 49 1/2in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

Jack Dempsey

HEIGHT - 6ft 0 3/4in
WEIGHT - 187lb
REACH - 77in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 46in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Gene Tunney

HEIGHT - 6ft 0 1/2in
WEIGHT - 189 1/2lb
REACH - 77in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 45in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Max Schmeling

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 188lb
REACH - 76in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 47in
FIST - 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Primo Carnera

HEIGHT - 6ft 5 3/4in
WEIGHT - 260 1/2lb
REACH - 85 1/2in
CHEST (NOR) - 48in
CHEST (EXP) - 54in
FIST - 14 3/4in


-------------------------------------------------

Max Baer

HEIGHT - 6ft 2 1/2in
WEIGHT - 209 1/2lb
REACH - 81in
CHEST (NOR) - 44in
CHEST (EXP) - 47 1/2in
FIST - 12in

-------------------------------------------------
Jimmy Braddock

HEIGHT - 6ft 2 1/2in
WEIGHT - 193 3/4lb
REACH - 75in
CHEST (NOR) - 41in
CHEST (EXP) - 44in
FIST - 11 1/2in

-------------------------------------------------

Joe Louis

HEIGHT - 6ft 1 1/2in
WEIGHT - 197 1/4lb
REACH - 76in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 45in
FIST - 11 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Ezzard Charles

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 181 3/4lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 39in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Jersey Joe Walcott

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 194lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 40in
CHEST (EXP) - 43in
FIST 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Rocky Marciano

HEIGHT - 5ft 10 1/4in
WEIGHT - 184lb
REACH - 68in
CHEST (NOR) - 39in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Floyd Patterson

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 182 3/4lb
REACH - 71in
CHEST (NOR) - 41in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 12 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Sonny Liston

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 214lb
REACH - 84in
CHEST (NOR) - 44in
CHEST (EXP) - 46 1/2in
FIST 15in

-------------------------------------------------

Muhammad Ali

HEIGHT - 6ft 3in
WEIGHT - 210 1/2lb
REACH - 84in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 45 1/2in
FIST 12 1/2in

-------------------------------------------------

Joe Frazier

HEIGHT - 5ft 11 1/2in
WEIGHT - 205lb
REACH - 73 1/2in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 44in
FIST - 13in

-------------------------------------------------

George Foreman

HEIGHT - 6ft 3in
WEIGHT - 217 1/2lb
REACH - 82in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 44 1/2in
FIST - 12in

 

[ZroC]

Hell actually Wlad's arm length is around 26 inches while Manny's is 24. You don't have to be a genius to see there's something fishy about that. And this is modern times we're talking about, back then who the hell knows what they were doing? Didn't they used to try say Foreman was closer to 6"5?

 

[mozfonky]

Take this shit with a pinch of salt. I'm 6"4 and according to some stats Manny has a longer arm length than me. In fact working off memory if you take Manny's documented arm length seriously and compare that to his wing span then his chest must only be a few inches across.

manny's arms aren't especially long though are they? do you have them dinasaur arms?

 

[mozfonky]

I was going off an old post from Boxingscene.

Here is how they're listed by the poster 0Rooster4life0 and they were corroborated by a source back in the day (though he claimed to know them by heart) which is now a dead link. Anyway, this was his list:

John L Sullivan

HEIGHT - 5ft 10 1/2in
WEIGHT - 196lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 48in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

James J Corbett

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 178lb
REACH - 73in
CHEST (NOR) - 38in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 12 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Jack Johnson

HEIGHT - 6ft 1 1/4in
WEIGHT - 192lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 37 1/2in
CHEST (EXP) - 42 3/4in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

Jess Willard

HEIGHT - 6ft 6 1/4in
WEIGHT - 230lbs
REACH - 83in
CHEST (NOR) - 46in
CHEST (EXP) - 49 1/2in
FIST - 14in

-------------------------------------------------

Jack Dempsey

HEIGHT - 6ft 0 3/4in
WEIGHT - 187lb
REACH - 77in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 46in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Gene Tunney

HEIGHT - 6ft 0 1/2in
WEIGHT - 189 1/2lb
REACH - 77in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 45in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Max Schmeling

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 188lb
REACH - 76in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 47in
FIST - 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Primo Carnera

HEIGHT - 6ft 5 3/4in
WEIGHT - 260 1/2lb
REACH - 85 1/2in
CHEST (NOR) - 48in
CHEST (EXP) - 54in
FIST - 14 3/4in


-------------------------------------------------

Max Baer

HEIGHT - 6ft 2 1/2in
WEIGHT - 209 1/2lb
REACH - 81in
CHEST (NOR) - 44in
CHEST (EXP) - 47 1/2in
FIST - 12in

-------------------------------------------------
Jimmy Braddock

HEIGHT - 6ft 2 1/2in
WEIGHT - 193 3/4lb
REACH - 75in
CHEST (NOR) - 41in
CHEST (EXP) - 44in
FIST - 11 1/2in

-------------------------------------------------

Joe Louis

HEIGHT - 6ft 1 1/2in
WEIGHT - 197 1/4lb
REACH - 76in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 45in
FIST - 11 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Ezzard Charles

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 181 3/4lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 39in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Jersey Joe Walcott

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 194lb
REACH - 74in
CHEST (NOR) - 40in
CHEST (EXP) - 43in
FIST 12in

-------------------------------------------------

Rocky Marciano

HEIGHT - 5ft 10 1/4in
WEIGHT - 184lb
REACH - 68in
CHEST (NOR) - 39in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 11 1/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Floyd Patterson

HEIGHT - 6ft 0in
WEIGHT - 182 3/4lb
REACH - 71in
CHEST (NOR) - 41in
CHEST (EXP) - 42in
FIST - 12 3/4in

-------------------------------------------------

Sonny Liston

HEIGHT - 6ft 1in
WEIGHT - 214lb
REACH - 84in
CHEST (NOR) - 44in
CHEST (EXP) - 46 1/2in
FIST 15in

-------------------------------------------------

Muhammad Ali

HEIGHT - 6ft 3in
WEIGHT - 210 1/2lb
REACH - 84in
CHEST (NOR) - 43in
CHEST (EXP) - 45 1/2in
FIST 12 1/2in

-------------------------------------------------

Joe Frazier

HEIGHT - 5ft 11 1/2in
WEIGHT - 205lb
REACH - 73 1/2in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 44in
FIST - 13in

-------------------------------------------------

George Foreman

HEIGHT - 6ft 3in
WEIGHT - 217 1/2lb
REACH - 82in
CHEST (NOR) - 42in
CHEST (EXP) - 44 1/2in
FIST - 12in

ok thanks