i have a personal theory about Sonny Liston.

Sonny was a genuinely tough, scary and terrifying guy, who was one of the greatest intimidators in boxing history .... And I include Joe Louis and Mike Tyson in that assessment. He had fights won before he even stepped into the ring.

I think Muhammad Ali inadvertently found the kryptonite to defuse Sonny.

Liston was frightened of nobody, but (in prison) he would avoid mentally ill inmates as "you can't tell what they might do" ...... I suspect that Sonny ended up truly believing that Ali was crazy, and thus completely unpredictable.

Ironically, whilst Ali has since admitted that the only opponent who really scared him was Sonny Liston, I suspect that Liston was also, and even more, afraid of Ali.

Just a theory