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Scary as is intimidating, frightening, the persona, the demeanor, the style, the anger, the emotion or lack of it.
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Scary is a funny word to assess . . .
From the opponents POV I suspect all three; from society's POV it's a no brainer: Liston!
Being more respectful of the OP question . . .
Still Liston!
When Tyson was on his rampage, the Tyson who scared Spinks to death had already lost a little of his mystique when both Tony Tucker and Bone Crusher Smith extended him the entire 12 rounds. Even by the Spinks fight people were already saying that if you could get by the first three rounds MAYBE Tyson was beatable. Tuned out to be true.
Foreman never really got his chance to become scary. His destruction of Frazier left us all in awe but we still weren't sure what we were looking at. He followed that up by destroying Norton and the mystique began . . . but then along came Ali would wouldn't play along . . . We all kept saying things like Ali is going to get hurt; they shouldn't let this fight happen, ETC. But Ali just doesn't scare and he wouldn't let the mystique build. Then if course he busted the bubble.
I was too young to to really experience Liston first hand but his public persona was that of a 'beast' and I vaguely remember how the 'nice white people' who surrounded my life feared him. People would say things like: 'he shouldn't be allowed to be champion.' I never really understood that, but these were the same people who said Namath shouldn't be allowed to play football becuse he wore white shoes (seriously) or that Pete Maravich shouldn't be allowed to play in the NBA because he dribbled the ball between his legs. (Maravich was playing 'school yard ball' [sometimes called 'black ball'] when Black NBA players didn't dare play that way. Of course the entire game is played that way today.) So I am really not sure just how scary Liston was to other fighters but he made white society shlt itself. -
Sonny Liston, I believe. Actually I felt sorry for Liston. He never really got an even break. People hated him when he was champ. Yes, he was a criminal but he grew up in horrible circumstances. He never found the acceptance he so desperately wanted.Comment
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Liston. Liston was average to big for a heavy... but he had long strong arms, a dispeptic snear, and was one of the best finishers... so his opponents knew if they faltered there would be hell to pay.
Tyson was more like a man child... people forget that Tyson got his man strength in process... Liston was like a mature, force of nature by comparison.
Always adored Night Train. Had a kind and gentle side... just wanted people to like him. Sonny... as you gaze down hopefully you see some of the efforts in place to show you some love lol.
I would put Duran and Liston as two of the most intimidating guys in the ring.Comment
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What is so sad it is that white people helped sonny. He actually had respect for them because his family was so brutal and people like the priest in jail stood by him. I'm not going to lie... Watching Liston with a white child beside him (somewhat Iconic picture) could bring tears to my eyes. The guy was ferocious but he had a gentle side and he was very intelligent despite being illiterate. SO he was socially very aware of his he was perceived. That is sad to me...Comment
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Liston had the most mystique about him. He was an ex-con in a time when fans didn't embrace or tolerate athletes on the wrong side of the law. The media really demonized him back then, made him into this boogeyman image that stuck with him. In real life he was actually a quiet and humble man. Just wanted to be left alone and wanted a fair shake at being a legitimate champion. He was no saint, but he wasn't the monster he was made out to be by any stretch. That said, Patterson lost those two fights before he entered the ring. Much the way Spinks lost to Tyson before the opening bell.
There was a story about Liston when he first won the HW title. He was happy for the first time in his life. He thought when he arrived home with the title there would be hoards of fans greeting him at the airport. When he arrived, there was no one. No fans, no press, no one cared. As the title of the book so accurately described, he was the champion that nobody wanted.Comment
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I have seen the footage with the little girl you can see the soft joy in his eyes.
He really had no chance to win over white society; it is why I threw in the absurd anecdotes about Namath's white shoes and Maravich's ball handling; there was such an overwhelming conservative prevailing temperament in sports that he was never going to get a fair shake.
You know . . . it was a time when Black men weren't smart enough to play QB, or even middle linebacker for that matter (until Dave Robinson in Green Bay.)
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When Ray Arcel first saw Carlos Monzon, years before we all caught on to who he was, Arcel said something like: "there's something wrong with that boy, he is the only fighter I've seen who actually likes to fight."
Even Roberto Duran fought because he had too, Monzon liked to hurt people, Arcel saw that all the way back in 1972 and it bothered him. That has to be scary to be around.Comment
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