Sonny Liston - great or shite?

I love the legend of Sonny Liston - the phantom punch, the fix, etc - but I really can't see what all the fuss is about when I watch his fights. He is clumsy as hell, always off balance, and looks bad even in the victories leading up to the fights with Clay/Ali. I think Clay/Ali would have beaten him 100 out of 100 times, and Foreman, Frasier, Shavers, and Tyson would have had little trouble taking him out. What say you? Is it all hype stemming from his beatdown of little Floyd Patterson?

Comments (20)

moneytheman

Never been impressed its nothing to be impressed by way to slow sloopy easy to read looked as if he was learning to box

4y ago

butterfly1964

slow and clumsy. liston was highly over rated and he would take a dive for about thirty five cents if you asked him to. liston didn't care that much about boxing by the time clay fought him. in his prime he was a monster.

20y ago

butterfly1964

thats because Patterson fought with him toe to toe, lol....Patterson don't have no chin, and weighed a hell of alot less than Liston. but my point is patterson is one of the fastest hw's of all time. doesn't matter if he has a weak chin or not, if liston put him away in one round, liston had to have had good hanspeed.

20y ago

blockhead

What i dont understand about liston isa some people say he was slow and clumsy and others say he was quick and powerful . Which was it ? . slow and clumsy. liston was highly over rated and he would take a dive for about thirty five cents if you asked him to.

20y ago

leff

i think that's because of ali's massive back. i think muhammad's back carries alot of weight, that is why ali weighs more than he looks. nah, i dont know, i think his back looks smaller than both listonb and foreman.

20y ago

butterfly1964

alis victories over liston mean as much as tyson's over larry holmes both were well past their best and both didnt train for the fight , liston beat nobody of note afterwards holmes beat contenders mercer and mcall and gave the great prime holyfield a tough fight . If anything tysons victory over holmes means more as holmes proved he had a lot more left . the hw's in the 80s pale in comparison to the hw's in the 60s.

20y ago

butterfly1964

thinking about it i realize i allways thought clay looked small for his weight, mean he weight bout the same as foreman and didnt look nearly as beef. i think that's because of ali's massive back. i think muhammad's back carries alot of weight, that is why ali weighs more than he looks.

20y ago

Jarlaxle

If the heavies in the 70s were as weak as the heavies in other decades Liston would be considered the greatest heavy ever. What he did to Patterson was just unearthly.

20y ago

leff

thinking about it i realize i allways thought clay looked small for his weight, mean he weight bout the same as foreman and didnt look nearly as beef.

20y ago

hollister

he wasn't that much bigger than cassius clay. muhammad ali was a giant of a man himself. he was about 6'-3 1/2" weighed about 212 3/4lbs. and had an 83" reach in his prime. I know Ali was taller, as Liston was about 6'1 I think. But look at their arms, legs, waist, etc. in both fights. In the first fight Ali was announced as 210 lbs. and Liston was announced as 218 lbs. But to me, it looks like he's more than just 8 lbs. heavier than Ali that's all

20y ago

catskills23

20y ago

butterfly1964

Liston is one of the slowest punchers ive ever seen, the guy dosen't even throw combinations...he throws one punch at a time. He couldn't even beat a blind Ali, lol. I give him dues though, the guy could really punch and was one of the best heavyweights of the 60's. liston's handspeed was pretty damn good fool. if he was a slow puncher, then how come he ko'd patterson twice in one round?

20y ago

butterfly1964

all i gotta say is shit and overhyped :) then what does that make your boy mike tyson? :D

20y ago

butterfly1964

if foreman had liston reach,speed and skill he would still be champion :D it's possible.

20y ago

Mike_Tyson77

I mentioned something about Soony Listen the other day. The response I got was, "Can't no beat Sonny Liston!". Even when you beat a guy like Sonny Liston, you never really beat him. Sonny Liston and Mike Tyson can't be beat!

20y ago

leff

all i gotta say is shit and overhyped :) he would whop tmike (im sorry)

20y ago

Verstyle

all i gotta say is shit and overhyped :)

20y ago

leff

yeah, if foreman had liston's skills and handspeed, he would have a chance in beating prime muhammad ali! if foreman had liston reach,speed and skill he would still be champion :D

20y ago

butterfly1964

he is kinda like a skilled foreman yeah, if foreman had liston's skills and handspeed, he would have a chance in beating prime muhammad ali!

20y ago

catskills23

he is kinda like a skilled foreman in his youth were his hands much quicker than foremans ? . What great heavyweight would you say a young liston's handspeed was most comparable with ? .

20y ago