Sonny Liston vs Ingemar Johansson

Of course Liston should win but I feel one in ten-or maybe even five-Ingo sparks him. He was as good a single puncher as ever fought and had real ring smarts-it's just his career is a way too short to evaluate him easily-think Tunney, Ike, M.Spinks which make them great for these threads 'cos so much is speculation.

 

Johansson has a good puncher's chance.

 

Excellent post.

 

I agree with this but how often was Sonny hit and hurt before the Martin fight? He had 34 fights spread over the first nine years. The summerlin, Williams, Marshall and Whitehurst fights were competative. Ali gave him quite a beating in the first fight but there was no history of concussions in the ring for Sonny before the Martin fight.

The older a fighter gets he becomes more observant but the timing and edge declines. Durability is linked with fatigue and does erode with punishment.

It stands to reason fighters take a better punch in their youth but maybe that is just as well because the good ones are harder to hit the older they get.

Now I know Sonny lived a hard life, he could not possibly take a punch so well as he could by the time Martin hit him (especially when he was as tired as he was in that fight) but most fighters with Careers as long proberbly got hit and hurt a lot more than Sonny Liston did.

 

How about factoring into the equation that Liston was well both or forty at the time of the Leotis Martin fight and living a very hard fight .. just taking the bouts for the money .. as far as Ingo goes, Sonny crushes him in a round or two, tops.

 

What does that mean ? If it was there to one odds would you bet your life sayings on Ingo ?

 

Rex Layne and Don ****ell beat them both easy ..

 

It means I'd certainly expect Liston to win but wouldn't be completely surprised if Johansson knocked him out.

No, I wouldn't bet my life savings on anything.

 

I covered that. Liston was still beating the pants off good fringe fighters like Clark and S**** Iron Johnson. I recon most fighters who fought as long took a lot more punishment than Sonny. After all so Many good fighters were easy meat for Sonny.

Very possible if everything goes Sonnys way. If a prime Ingo lost a lot of confidence, became uncharacteristically panicky and fought a horrible fight he'd get creamed. I quite agree.

 

just so yall know i wasn't serious with that Leotis Martin ****. you got trolled. liston obviously takes him out.

 

Well, styles for one. I too pick Liston in this one (I'll start another thread in a moment) but consider:
Jimmy Young gives Ali, Foreman, Norton, Lyle, etc. hell, they can't stop him but if Floyd came to fight (without the passive nice-guy demeanor) he could reach and stop Jimmie. It's all about styles. Young would never hurt Patterson in ANY serious way.

 

Yes a great win. It's one of my favourites. Clark was riding high then he beat Machen and Leotis Martin going into that. I think Clark was good enough to get a decent rating in the mid 1970s too.