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LISTON IS THE MAIN ATTRACTION IN LANARKSHIRE

Tuesday 5 March 2002

Since his arrival in Scotland on Friday, Sonny Liston has been the centre of attention.

The 21 year-old St. Louis, Missouri resident has displayed some awesome form during his training sessions, showing the type of punching power that has led many to refer to him as "The Missouri Monster".

The #2 seed in the Heavyweight Boxing Federation's World Championship tournament, Liston has been accomodating with the Scottish media, in stark contrast to his frustrations with American scribes during the past month. Their intrusions became so irritating that Liston left his St. Louis camp and was actually declared missing for almost two weeks.

Taking a break from his preparation for this Saturday's night bout against Chicago's Phil Scott, Liston sat down for a chat with the Glasgow Herald's Patrick Buchanan.

***

BUCHANAN: Firstly, Sonny, I'd like to welcome you to Lanarkshire and thank you for giving me this opportunity to chat with you.

LISTON: Well, thank you very much. We really feel welcome here. My trainer Red and I, it's just 'lot more comfortable here than back home, I guess.

BUCHANAN: There was a lot made of your recent "disappearance" back in America. Could you elaborate a little on how that came about?

LISTON: (sighing) There was just a lot of pressure bein' put on me. You see, what I just said before, about being comfortable here in Scotland. You fellas, you're all watching me train, but you don't interfere. That's a total contrast to back home, where it was just nuts. It made it very hard for me to train, to train effectively, I should say. There were so many requests for interviews, guys tryin' to interview me while I was sparring, even. It just got to be too much, so I split for a little while.

BUCHANAN: Did that help you with your training?

LISTON: Oh, yeah. Without a doubt. I was staying with a friend, someone I've known since I was young. They were really helpful. Helped me get some peace and quiet, helped me to concentrate on my goals for this upcoming bout.

BUCHANAN: I'd like to ask you about that fight, actually. Your opponent Phil Scott fought a hell of a fight on debut. A lot of people have said that he was robbed of a victory against Michael Dokes. They've said that you'll have to be careful, because he is one gutsy competitior.

LISTON: (nodding) I've watched that Dokes-Scott bout maybe half-a-dozen times. If I'd been scoring it, I'd have given it to Scott by two points. He's a competitor, for sure. But, you look through this whole tournament, through the 1D tournament aswell and even the feeder leagues. Everyone here is just busting their butt to compete, to succeed. There's no way I'm going to take this guy lightly.

BUCHANAN: There are a number of fighters in the federation who have garnered a lot of publicity, fighters who have become celebrities. Guys like Jack Johnson, Elmer Ray. Now, you have also become famous because of your status in the HBF. People are just fascinated by the staggering punching power you possess. But you have steered clear of the celebrity lifestyle. What do you think of these other fighters?

LISTON: (pauses for a time before answering) I got no problem with them. But that definitely ain't my thing, you know? I ain't got the desire to be like that, to be in the spotlight all the time. I'm not a movie star, I'm a fighter. This is what the life I've lived has brought me to.

BUCHANAN: It's interesting that you should say that, because I've heard that if you hadn't served time in prison, you might never have discovered boxing.

LISTON: (nodding) That's absolutely true.

BUCHANAN: Do you mind if I ask you a question about your younger years?

LISTON: No, not at all. You know, some of the things that happened, I ain't proud of. But they happened.

BUCHANAN: What kind of influence did your father have when you were growing up?

LISTON: (laughing) A negative one. Seriously, the only thing that man ever gave me was a whipping. That's the nicest thing I can say about him. He was a harsh man, not affectionate at all. We had a large family, but it seemed to me like he'd have been happier without us. He took out his anger on us.

BUCHANAN: Do you think that his treatment of you was at all responsible for your problems with the law?

LISTON: (shakes head "no") No. I don't wanna give that man the satisfaction of having anything to do with the path I went down. I made those choices myself. No one was responsible for it but me. But like you said before, it led me into boxing. So, it has turned out to be a ... how do you say it? A blessing in disguise.

BUCHANAN: Your trainer Willie Reddish recently said that you aren't in boxing for the money. Is that true?

LISTON: (laughing) No, it ain't true. I don't know where Willie got that from. I want to make money from this opportunity, just like everyone else. You know, I still have a good relationship with my mother. If I'm successful in boxing, I can provide for her for the rest of her life. That would be nice. But, you know, just besides the money aspect, I do have a desire to be the best. Some people in sports just look at it as a business. Now, obviously, part of it is. But I want more out of this than just money. I don't think there is another sport in the world that can test a man like boxing.

BUCHANAN: Well, Sonny, thank you so much for talking with me today. I really hope you are successful on saturday night, and for the rest of your career. I think everyone in Lanarkshire would agree with me on that.

LISTON: Well, thank you very much, Mr. Buchanan. I'm looking forward to the fight, and I really hope that the HBF can schedule another visit here in the future. Thanks.