Ranking Liston

depends.

his ranking wouldn't really change that much for me at all, but if he had a solid dob and say was 39 when he retired that would make a difference to me.

as it is he's just on the fringes of my top 10. wish he'd have fought ingo.

 

no not to me personally. because (eventhough ali's speed would always be to much for sonny) imo sonny was past prime when facign ali.
h2h i rank him very highly.
in terms of achievements a little less highly ofcourse.
but imo sonny belongs in the top 10 of all time HW.

i think would a prime liston face all the other great hw fighters there have been in a serie of 3 fights he would come out as a winner most of the times.
only people i see sonny loosing to more then winnign are ali, holmes, louis and against a prime riddick bowe it would be a 50/50 scenario
all others i see sonny winnign more then loosing

 

Not too high, he did not do enough. His big claim, or that of his fans, is he cleaned out division on way up. He actually didn't. Getting ass kicked by Marty Marshall does no help either.

 

Top10 now Top5 without

 

post 1974/75 ali would loose. to much speed lost by then

 

Liston didn't watch film his only blueprint was to hit them

 

In fairness, Liston could have beaten a prime Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Jack Johnson, Jersey Joe Walcott and Ezzard Charles and you'd still be able to say he'd never beaten anyone who hadn't been KO'd before.

 

This.

 

Whos your top15?

FBI have said they have proof that Ali/Liston2 was a fix.

 

Yea it's one in the documentary I've a few books I think most of them are done by research because no knew fk all about Liston.


35:53 in of "The Mysterious Life and Death of Sonny Liston.

 

Not too high, I never thought much of Liston as a great HW, not saying he is not one, but I think he gets overrated due to the fact of his life, I mean he has this aura of mistery and was a bad ass outside of ring....
He quitting against Ali (twice, he quit, let´s be honest) hurts him also, in my view....and his wins over PAtterson are very good but not great since he had a big size and stylistic advantage.

 

had he retired before Ali he would just have left an unfinished legacy. (Kind of how Ike had to walk away after his fight against Byrd).
He would have had a lot of questions surrounding him, he would have been a great "Woulda, coulda, shoulda, if'a" in fantasy match ups. Legacy wise he would still be the same (around the top 15).

 

I have him sandwiched between Tyson and Frazier at 7 - 8 - 9, but the three are almost interchangeable.