Sonny Listons fists

[Hard Boiled HK]

I don't think that chart is entirely accurate. It list Ali having a reach of 82 inches. However, if you watch some of his fights, they either say or show on the picture that his reach is 80 inches. Unless someone has an explaination for this.

Also, this is what I don't understand. I thought your reach is suppose to equal your height. Ali is 75 inches in height, and yet his reach is at least 5 inches more? Is the 1 to 1 ratio between height and reach outdated or am I missing something here?

[Southpaw Stinger]

Also, this is what I don't understand. I thought your reach is suppose to equal your height. Ali is 75 inches in height, and yet his reach is at least 5 inches more? Is the 1 to 1 ratio between height and reach outdated or am I missing something here?

Thats outdated. Listons reach was 84 and he was just over 6'. Valuev has a shorter reach than Liston and he is 7'!

[SABBATH]

I don't think that chart is entirely accurate. It list Ali having a reach of 82 inches. However, if you watch some of his fights, they either say or show on the picture that his reach is 80 inches. Unless someone has an explaination for this.

Also, this is what I don't understand. I thought your reach is suppose to equal your height. Ali is 75 inches in height, and yet his reach is at least 5 inches more? Is the 1 to 1 ratio between height and reach outdated or am I missing something here?

Reach measurements can be off a couple of inches depending on how far the fighter is stretching his wingspan, slackness in the tape, or not quite measuring finger tip to tip.

Nobody's skeletal frame is exactly symmetrical. Look at the fifference between Liston and Tyson. Two inches in height but 13 inches in reach. We'd all be buying suits off the rack and putting tailors out of business if we were all created completely symmetrical.

The measurement that surprised me was Foreman at 217 lbs having smaller upper arms than Leon Spinks. That seem off. Maybe Spinks was flexing or they didn't measure Foreman at the thickest part of his upper arm.

[Pork Chop]

Gotta love how foreman went from:

Ht Wt Rch Chest Wst Bi Nk Wrst Calf Ank Thi Fst Fore
6-3 217¾ 82 42 44½ 34 15 17 7½ 17 9½ 25 12 13½

to

6-4 250 79 48 50 39½ 20 20 12 20 13 28 13½ 14¾

He grew an inch but lost 3 in reach, gained 4.5 inches on wrist, 3.5 on ankle, and an inch and a half on fist.
Crazy


Met bowe in person last year and remember him being one of the largest human beings I've ever met [EDIT: which is funny coz of trained with & sparred plenty of people 6'4"- only an inch shorter]. The idea that our biceps are around the same girth is almost comedic to me; even if that's a relaxed bicep measurement.

According to that, Dempsey had bigger biceps than tyson.

[butterfly1964]

Gotta love how foreman went from:

Ht Wt Rch Chest Wst Bi Nk Wrst Calf Ank Thi Fst Fore
6-3 217¾ 82 42 44½ 34 15 17 7½ 17 9½ 25 12 13½

to

6-4 250 79 48 50 39½ 20 20 12 20 13 28 13½ 14¾

He grew an inch but lost 3 in reach, gained 4.5 inches on wrist, 3.5 on ankle, and an inch and a half on fist.
Crazy


Met bowe in person last year and remember him being one of the largest human beings I've ever met [EDIT: which is funny coz of trained with & sparred plenty of people 6'4"- only an inch shorter]. The idea that our biceps are around the same girth is almost comedic to me; even if that's a relaxed bicep measurement.

According to that, Dempsey had bigger biceps than tyson.

No way!

[QueensburyRules]

I read in Bert Sugars book 'The 100 greatest fighters ever' that Sonny Listons fists were bigger than Carnera's and Willard's.Holy ****!I knew he had huge hands,but damn!Combine that with his unnatural reach,and this man was a machine.Anyways,im sure a lot of you already knew this.Just thought I would throw it out there.

- -Sonny a definite freak of nature as images suggest.

[HOUDINI563]

Dempsey had highly developed shoulders. Front and side of his shoulders were ripped.

[The Old LefHook]

Sonny's fists were the size of picnic hams. His biceps were steamboat rounds.

[BKM-]

Liston's fist next to an average man.


Ali's

I don't know about those old charts though. Foreman and Lewis clearly had massive hands and they were freaks of nature. According to those they have average sized HW boxer fists.

They are all made for this sport physically though. It's not a coincidence that nearly all of the greats have large fists, long reach and thicker bones/skulls.

[QueensburyRules]

- -LBJ went 6-4, 240, hardly average Joe.

My fist would match Ali who was nowhere near Sonny size.