Mike Tyson was intimidating, Sonny Liston left men physically shaking with fear and Roberto Duran loved inflicting punishment
From Britain’s ‘Destroyer’ to a trio of American heavyweights, these are the 10 most intimidating fighters who strike fear into rivals by sheer presence alone.
Boxers can certainly be all-time greats without making opponents tremble with terror. They can even be dangerous punchers without having the menacing aura of a horror-movie villain.
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Deontay Wilder is a fearsome puncher, but as a person comes across as a likeable oddball. Even more so Manny Pacquiao, who would grin happily at opponents, before blitzing them in the ring.
There’s not always a logic to why a boxer has that brooding, intimidating presence whereas others do not. As talkSPORT’s no.10 is living proof…
10. John Fury
Logically it should be Tyson Fury, the world’s best heavyweight, who’s scarier than his old man. Especially as ‘Gypsy John’ actually had a distinctly non-frightening 8-4-1 pro record.
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But while Tyson usually comes across as a lovable lug, his dad is absolutely terrifying. Whether it’s his size, intensity, gravelly voice, short fuse or the fact he was once jailed for maiming another man at a car auction: John Fury is scary.
Even if you’re someone who’s a bit bored by his constant proclamations of his multiple sons’ greatness, would you dare tell him that to his face? You would not.
9. Gervonta Davis
Not as malevolent as others on this list, but ‘Tank’ Davis boasts a fearsome quality. Maybe it’s the ice-cold self-belief, the fact he’s fresh out of prison, the 4,000 tattoos or the simple fact he’s a deadly puncher with 27 KO wins in 29 fights.
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The Floyd Mayweather protégé is a totally different type of fighter to his former manager, but ‘Tank’ definitely has Floyd’s stubborn, individualistic streak. His devastating uppercut KO of Leo Santa Cruz in 2020 sent a menacing statement to the boxing world.
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8. James Toney
‘Lights Out’ Toney was the glowering, bad-tempered, former dealer and street fighter from the streets of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite the imposing nickname, Toney was a skilled boxer as much as he was a one-punch finisher.
But there’s no doubt that the multi-weight world champion had a mean streak a mile wide and could start an argument in an empty room. Known for insulting opponents mid-spar, mid-fight or basically any opportunity he could get. Just stay away from the Octagon, James.
7. Ann Wolfe
Katie Taylor, Claressa Shields and Amanda Serrano can debate who's the best pound-for-pound female boxer but Ann Wolfe was unarguably the most intimidating woman to don gloves.
The stone-faced Texan was a rare knockout specialist in the female code, scoring 16 KOs in 24 pro wins. The most violent was a 68-second knockout that left her opponent, Vonda Ward, with head and neck injuries.
Wolfe used to spar with men – often heavyweights – and, unsurprisingly, was ducked by a host of top fighters. Laila Ali had no desire to risk her unbeaten record against Wolfe. We can hardly blame her.
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6. Nigel Benn
An ex-soldier who became a two-weight world champion, London’s ‘Dark Destroyer’ brought a brutal intensity to his work.
Even Chris Eubank Sr – nobody’s idea of a coward – admits part of the reason he refused to make eye contact with Benn before their 1990 war wasn’t just mind games. It was also to hide how fearful he was of a foe he called 'strong enough to kill me – and I think he desired to'.
Benn racked up 22 KOs in his first 22 fights, while his tragic bout with Gerald McClellan might be the most brutal seen in a British ring. But Nige was equally mean and moody outside the ropes.
5. Roberto Duran
Mike Tyson’s favourite fighter, the snarling, ferocious Panamanian did not care whether he hit you below the belt, with his head, so long as he was inflicting punishment.
‘Hands of Stone’ did a number on ‘Sugar’ Ray Leonard before their first fight in 1980, insulting his wife, and punching his brother, Roger. “Your brother only has a few more days as champion,” Duran told him. “I am going to kill him. He's going to end up dead.”
Duran won that scrap against an enraged Leonard but it marked the end of his peak. At his best at lightweight, however, there was no more fearsome 130lb man on the planet.
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4. Marvelous Marvin Hagler
Making the shaved-head look cool way before Grant Mitchell, Jason Statham or The Rock, Marvin Hagler was not a fighter who had to scream and shout to be intimidating. He just had an unmistakable aura of someone not to be messed with.
That reached its peak before the middleweight champ fought Tommy Hearns in 1985. Irked that most of the boxing media picked his rival, Hagler took to wearing a baseball cap with ‘WAR’ emblazoned on it – and duly delivered in the ring.
Never dropped, let alone stopped, Hagler bristled with intensity. Even Ray Leonard, who controversially outpointed him in Hagler’s final bout, wore a look of nervous horror as he walked to the ring.
3. George Foreman
A tale of two careers for Big George. In his unlikely, hugely successful, late-career comeback he was a chubby, cheery, joking, grill-selling machine.
But the younger Foreman was a scowling destroyer. Backed by devastating punch power and a powerful physique, Foreman could wilt opponents with a look almost as quickly as he could with his hammer of a right hand.
Disposing of champions as great as Joe Frazier and Ken Norton in two rounds each only added to his image. Until Muhammad Ali finally punctured it on a famous night in Zaire.
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2. Mike Tyson
Fighters fearing defeat, suffering pre-fight nerves – all of this is normal. But Mike Tyson had boxers genuinely scared of the pain he was going to inflict upon them as they made their way to the ring.
Unbeaten two-weight world champion Michael Spinks did not fancy leaving his changing room to face Tyson, while Frank Bruno looked like a hyperactive priest as he crossed himself continually on the way to the ring before their 1996 rematch.
With his icy stare, hot temper, black boots and trunks, and quotes about trying to drive ‘nose bones through brains’ Tyson was the most feared and ferocious fighter of his generation.
1. Sonny Liston
Foreman and Tyson have admitted taking inspiration from the same brooding, bruising heavyweight. Charles ‘Sonny’ Liston was a mob enforcer who first learned how to box in prison for armed robbery, having been arrested more than hundred times.
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A skilled boxer with devastating power, he upgraded from mob henchman to contender and eventually champion, crushing Floyd Patterson in one round. Poker-faced, surly and unloved as champ, Liston at least knew that he was feared.
Early opponents were seen physically shaking with fear before they entered the ring. “Sonny Liston made me look like a boy scout,” Mike Tyson once said. We can all salute that.
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