Real good take on the fight. But at the end of the day, the style that Evander does not do as well against is the jabbers. And Liston has the best left hook off a jab of maybe all the heavies. Joe Louis is there but who else really had a great lefthook off a great jab? I think that left hook is a major problem for Commander Vander. If Sonny had a mediocre lefthook or a swipe like Holmes or Ali had, I think that leaves enough of an opening for Evander to capitalize on & allow him to go to work on Liston. But a deadly lefthook off that great jab is just something I do not like for Evander's defense for 3 minutes a round. Butr Holyfield has the superior corner. No comparison and that is a huge disadvantage for Liston. And nobody had to tell Evander about pre-fight preparations for opponents & he'd be ready for this guy. That being said, I think the tactical/corner advantage for Evander just lets him hang in there longer and absorb punishment longer as opposed to winning him the fight. But he sure isn't going out easy and it would be a terrific and physically demanding fight.
Holyfield is actually superior on the inside. Of course, it could be dangerous to get into that range, but Holyfield is great at getting in and shifting out and over with angles. Probably as good as any HW at it. For those talking about Liston's superior jab and heavier punches than Bowe have to mention that Bowe is far more fluid and is faster than Liston. Not just of hand but also of foot. Holyfield is more likely to fight more the Bowe II route due to Liston's reputation as a puncher. How does Liston's workrate compare to Bowe's? I think Liston isn't unsusceptible to being out-worked. If Holy can get in and out without taking too much damage. A coin flip of a fight, really.
I bet everything on Malignaggi to stop Amir Khan :-( Since then I've just put my 75 on the selection with the best odds hoping I'll strike lucky.
If he fights as he did in the bowe rematch, he beats Liston. If he fights as he did in the first, Liston beats him.
Manbearpig - Do you not reckon WARRIOR Holyfeild might make "SPINELESS" Sonny "lummox" Liston QUIT on his QUITING-STOOL?? :think:think This really is a Giant-Killer VS Spineless-BULLY fight. ALSO - how would Holyfield act in Retalitation when Spineless Sonny the brutish bully And notorious ******* puts illegal Solvents on his gloves to try to blind him?? :hey Liston ALWAYS did this when he faced adversity.
This is truly a pick 'em fight. For me, at least... It would be interesting to see how Evander copes with Liston's jab and underrated boxing overall, and I'd also like to see how Liston copes with a guy who isn't running for his life and actually brings the fight to him, putting pressure he never dealt with. When thinking about Liston and how he deals with being smothered with big punches, I think of the Williams fights, where he's getting the **** beat out of him, and Cleveland was clobbering him with all kinds of shots, meanwhile, Liston is slipping, ducking, blocking, and waiting for his turn, totally in control of himself. He then explodes on Williams, issuing a beating resulting in the knockout. Obviously, Holyfield is a better fighter overall, but those punches could have earned him a victory over a lot of heavies that are regarded higher than him. The thing is, I think Holyfield isn't hard to hit, so Liston would be making contact. Its a given that Holyfield would find Liston consistently. If I had to pick, my first inclination is a Holyfield win by decision- too busy, too much pressure and volume, and I believe Holy lands more than he takes.... I could see Liston winning by later round knockout by an accumulation of heavy shots though.
Oh do teach me about these late round knockouts Liston got in his career, in fact why don't we compare them to Holy's...
I was more thinking of Holy's later-round KO loss, mr. snippy... :nono And just because a guy never did it doesn't mean he couldn't. There are tons of examples of that concept.