Sonny Liston vs Ray Mercer

[uncle ben]

The Liston who stopped Williams in 2 vs the Mercer who put Morrison out cold or went life and death with Lewis. Who wins this one?

[GhostofDempsey]

Liston. He had a superior jab and would have opened up Mercer for some vicious right hands until lights out in mid rounds. Mercer would would get suckered into a brawl with Liston and come out on the losing end.

[clemenza]

The Liston who stopped Williams in 2 vs the Mercer who put Morrison out cold or went life and death with Lewis. Who wins this one?

Uncle Benny don’t forget the Ray Mercer that went 10 Hellacious rounds with Holyfield, I was at that one in Atlantic City. You tube it guys
It was a back and forth good matchup with neither man backing up and standing there ground. I was at the Lewis fight at the Garden at Garden it was the under card of the Holyfield vs Czyz fight .
To this day I think Mercer beat Lennox.
With all that said I think it’s a toss up fight . Both guys tended to take fights Off.
Distracted fighters both of them.
I saw Ray at his best in 3 fights live, and I saw him not even show up vs Jesse Ferguson.
Gun to my head I pick Ray .
But who knows.
I asked Chuck Wepner one time at a mutual friends Gym out of all the guys you faught , and Chuck took on everyone , He said to me, listen nobody Hit like Sonny Liston. The Bayonne brawler said I could feel bones breaking in face when sonny punched him Flush. And thats that

[billeau2]

Uncle Benny don’t forget the Ray Mercer that went 10 Hellacious rounds with Holyfield, I was at that one in Atlantic City. You tube it guys
It was a back and forth good matchup with neither man backing up and standing there ground. I was at the Lewis fight at the Garden at Garden it was the under card of the Holyfield vs Czyz fight .
To this day I think Mercer beat Lennox.
With all that said I think it’s a toss up fight . Both guys tended to take fights Off.
Distracted fighters both of them.
I saw Ray at his best in 3 fights live, and I saw him not even show up vs Jesse Ferguson.
Gun to my head I pick Ray .
But who knows.
I asked Chuck Wepner one time at a mutual friends Gym out of all the guys you faught , and Chuck took on everyone , He said to me, listen nobody Hit like Sonny Liston. The Bayonne brawler said I could feel bones breaking in face when sonny punched him Flush. And thats that

As usual you make a great point. Smart money? I look at Ghost of Dempsey's post... Then I get to thinking about some of the problems Liston, a great fighter, had with the occasional guy who has skills, was not intimidated and whom people forgot to tell to "lay down!" A guy like Marty Marshall, for example... Ray Mercer fits that bill to a T. Mercer would not be intimidated, would take punishment well, and would otherwise be a real nuisance to the Liston.

I never quite understood Mercer. I agree that he beat Lewis, and to me this was the one gift that every champ deserves, for Lewis. But Mercer could be a tough one for Liston.

[uncle ben]

As usual you make a great point. Smart money? I look at Ghost of Dempsey's post... Then I get to thinking about some of the problems Liston, a great fighter, had with the occasional guy who has skills, was not intimidated and whom people forgot to tell to "lay down!" A guy like Marty Marshall, for example... Ray Mercer fits that bill to a T. Mercer would not be intimidated, would take punishment well, and would otherwise be a real nuisance to the Liston.

I never quite understood Mercer. I agree that he beat Lewis, and to me this was the one gift that every champ deserves, for Lewis. But Mercer could be a tough one for Liston.

Yeah I think he'd be a tough fight and he could hit hard enough to hurt Liston and he has a much better chin than Cleveland Williams. Also, at 225 pounds, he'd be the heavier man compared to the 212 pound Liston. I think Liston could out box him and I'd pick Liston to win, but Mercer would be tough. If we'd have seen Liston vs Chuvalo, it could have told us how this would likely go.

[QueensburyRules]

Yeah I think he'd be a tough fight and he could hit hard enough to hurt Liston and he has a much better chin than Cleveland Williams. Also, at 225 pounds, he'd be the heavier man compared to the 212 pound Liston. I think Liston could out box him and I'd pick Liston to win, but Mercer would be tough. If we'd have seen Liston vs Chuvalo, it could have told us how this would likely go.

- -Best to best is all Sonny.

[uncle ben]

Liston. He had a superior jab and would have opened up Mercer for some vicious right hands until lights out in mid rounds. Mercer would would get suckered into a brawl with Liston and come out on the losing end.

I think Mercer could last the distance or be stopped on his feet late. The man had a concrete chin.

[The Old LefHook]

Mercer durable enough to test Sonny's heart.

[Rusty Tromboni]

Liston. He had a superior jab and would have opened up Mercer for some vicious right hands until lights out in mid rounds. Mercer would would get suckered into a brawl with Liston and come out on the losing end.

Don't forget the hook!

Watching him drop Leotis Martin was crazy. It's a shame we couldn't get more of Martin. He showed real heart getting back up and winningthat fight.

But I disagree about a fit Mercer being stopped. He would get beat up, but I think Sonny has to work hard for a U.D.

I just don't see him stopping MErcer.

Uncle Benny don’t forget the Ray Mercer that went 10 Hellacious rounds with Holyfield, I was at that one in Atlantic City. You tube it guys
It was a back and forth good matchup with neither man backing up and standing there ground. I was at the Lewis fight at the Garden at Garden it was the under card of the Holyfield vs Czyz fight .
To this day I think Mercer beat Lennox.
With all that said I think it’s a toss up fight . Both guys tended to take fights Off.
Distracted fighters both of them.
I saw Ray at his best in 3 fights live, and I saw him not even show up vs Jesse Ferguson.
Gun to my head I pick Ray .
But who knows.
I asked Chuck Wepner one time at a mutual friends Gym out of all the guys you faught , and Chuck took on everyone , He said to me, listen nobody Hit like Sonny Liston. The Bayonne brawler said I could feel bones breaking in face when sonny punched him Flush. And thats that

Good call on that fight.

I do think that Liston was a lot like Holyfield - if Holyfield had power.

The speed, the sound Boxing technique (Sonny couldn't really cut off the ring, though), the pressure/killer instinct.

As usual you make a great point. Smart money? I look at Ghost of Dempsey's post... Then I get to thinking about some of the problems Liston, a great fighter, had with the occasional guy who has skills, was not intimidated and whom people forgot to tell to "lay down!" A guy like Marty Marshall, for example... Ray Mercer fits that bill to a T. Mercer would not be intimidated, would take punishment well, and would otherwise be a real nuisance to the Liston.

I never quite understood Mercer. I agree that he beat Lewis, and to me this was the one gift that every champ deserves, for Lewis. But Mercer could be a tough one for Liston.

I think the difference is that Lewis was like Norton, when the other guy wanted to fight, Lewis and Nortson suddenly didn't. Lewis is better than Mercer, but he lost that fight because Mercer wanted it more.

That won't be the case with Liston. While Mercer is leagues superior to the grossly overrated Cleveland Williams, I am not sure he's that much better than Machen.

Yeah I think he'd be a tough fight and he could hit hard enough to hurt Liston and he has a much better chin than Cleveland Williams. Also, at 225 pounds, he'd be the heavier man compared to the 212 pound Liston. I think Liston could out box him and I'd pick Liston to win, but Mercer would be tough. If we'd have seen Liston vs Chuvalo, it could have told us how this would likely go.

Great point.

I do think Mercer was a better Boxer than Chuvalo. He wouldn't be able to run away like Machen, but he can definitely do more than impersonate a heavy bag (as Williams did).

Mercer durable enough to test Sonny's heart.

Well said. Liston should be the favorite. But a lot of times it seems his offensive abilities are exaggerated. Mercer is definitely not Floyd Patterson. In fact, in many (though not necessarily the mot important ones when facing Sonny Liston), he's better than the version of Cassius Clay that Liston fought.

[OctoberRed]

Mercer durable enough to test Sonny's heart.

Agreed. Mercer was as durable as they come.