Do you think Sonny Liston was overrated?

[RubenSonny]

Liston would show up in my top 30 somewhere close to 30! He did alot things very well and I doubt he really enjoyed boxing to begin with. He was a troubled man who got mixed in with people who used him and he couldn't escape his life! Sonny was a good boxer with alot of ability we just didn't see it that often and I'm not sure he was allowed to show it either.
Liston was disguarded and if you look closely at his life its all tragedy! Ray.

Sorry there isn't 20 heavyweights greater than Liston, I really don't think there are even 10 heavyweights greater than him. I'd like you to list at least 20 heavyweights greater than him because saying he is in the top 30 somewhere just sounds ridiculous to me.

no.

he just happened to run into the greatest heavyweight of all time in ali.

one thing that i don't get is, how frazier and him never got to get it on even after having a pretty good run post ali.

He was blackballed after the second Ali fight.

[Vadrigar.]

9-10, anything higher is overrating him.

[StarshipTrooper]

I have him #6 all-time. Just after Larry Holmes and just ahead of Evander Holyfield.

Poet

[Obama]

If you think about it he was not champ for very long and didn't have the most impressive record. He perhaps had two very commanding performances against Floyd Patterson. And when he had a chance to really prove himself against Ali he failed miserably twice. Do you think he belongs in the top ten heavyweight ATG list? Just wondering...

.....

He beat all the guys Patterson was ducking for years.

Prime Eddie Machen (who Patterson eventually fought after he had declined enough)
Prime Zora Folley
Prime Cleveland Williams (twice because the 1st fight was just that damn good)

And he pretty much fought every other worthwhile contender out there apart from dual division campaigner Harold Johnson. And he was scheduled to fight Johnson back in 1956 but Johnson pulled out due to injury.

To be honest Liston has one of the best heavyweight resumes, ever. I rate him closer to #5 than to #10.

[Panamaniac]

...Liston has the misfortune of having run into Ali (past his best, no less) and has become more famous for losing to Ali than his destruction of Patterson...

I think Liston would still be more famous for his two annihilations of Patterson, had it not been for his shocking collapse at the hands of Ali in the second fight. Although the first loss was a huge upset, that alone would not have replaced his claim to fame. But when you're the fallen fighter in the sports classic photo below, your fate is sealed.

[rightsideup]

Sonny was a feared fighter and no less that fight manager cus d amato would not let Floyd fight him. He looked great in some of his wins and at the time of and before the the patterson fights people were rating him very highly. He was a intidating fighter. I think at his best he deserves to be in conversation about being a dominate fighter.

[The Surgeon]

Liston could be top 10, but not higher than Marciano

I think he'd smash Rocky to bits, if he didnt KO him Rocky would have his face hanging off by the end. But i see a KO win for Liston in this one

[IronDanHamza]

No, not at all.

If anything, he's underrated.

[Mintcar923]

Sonny Liston's most impressive wins came before his championship. He cleaned it out (as best he could, some of the names avoided him. Famously, Henry Cooper for example) in dominant fashion and THEN became champion. That's because Patterson, personally, wanted to fight him. Cus D'Amato wanted no part of Liston but Patterson put his foot down.

Liston has the misfortune of having run into Ali (past his best, no less) and has become more famous for losing to Ali than his destruction of Patterson.




What past prime fighters would YOU pick over the Ali of that fight?

In fact, which fighters would you pick to be competitive with him at that stage of their career? You could score Clay-Liston I a draw at the time of the stoppage. That isn't failing miserably. This is Ali we're talking about

So many people say Liston was over-the-hill when he fought Ali. But, does that not downplay Muhammad a bit being that was his most impressive prime win?! Besides, if Sonny was really past it why did all the experts expect him to win the first fight easily...

[TysonBomb]

If anything he's underrated today

His jab was tremendous and had KO power

If he never encountered Ali then he would've been a GOAT candidate