Sonny Liston has an underrated Resume

Liston decimated the hwt top ten prior to beating Patterson and for this he should get very high marks. However losing the championship by quitting and the result of the rematch greatly tarnishes his all time rating. I for one believe the first bout with Ali to be legit and obviously so. Ali beat him up.....young fighters reflexes vs the older slower champion. Second bout I also feel was legit. Ali knocked down and out several others with similar blows. Many knowledgeable at ringside saw a Ko blow.....Torres, Patterson, Damato among others. If you watch Liston legs twitch as he rolls onto his back and he stutter steps after the fight is stopped and the ring fills with people. Finally Listons trainer stated years later that after the bout alone in his dressing room Liston asked for smelling salts. He stated that Sonny never asked for smelling salts before.

 

People need to understand that Ali was not like the rest. He moved like water and was unpredictable. He was fixated on Sonny Liston and was going into the fights in his best shape. Of course something shocking was going to happen in his two fights with Liston you bunch of dumb plebs! Greatness was achieved. Plain and simple.

 

Boxfan. Few respond to your posts because you really have a poor understanding of boxing. Suggest you listen more so you can learn.

 

Even if you believe the knock down punch was legit, consider this:
Liston was robbed. He was not counted out as required by the rules of boxing.
Walcott never started a count because Ali would not go to a neutral corner.
There was no KO.
Neither Liston nor his camp ever complained about this. They never contested it.
Does this seem normal? Doesn't it have a smell to it?
It does.

 

It is very possible there was a complaint. A Ko however makes many complaints irrelevant. The bout was thoroughly investigated and the result was never over turned. The investigation yielded no evidence of a fixed fight.

 

You truly know nothing about boxing. I'm the king on this forum now so you better listen to me if you want to gain knowledge on boxing history and understand the FOB's greatness. Otherwise, continue to have 0% knowledge on boxing history and not understand Ali's greatness. Plain and simple. I'm the only on here that has knowledge on boxing history and understands the FOB's greatness. So you can all shut your trap, including you perry.

 

Bill the blob you know zilch.

 

Actually Liston DID complain....,

AP....
Liston complained afterward that he was waiting to hear Walcott’s count. He never heard it. "I could have gotten up but I never heard a count."

 

No, it wasn't thoroughly investigated.
The governor of Maine asked the FBI to investigate the fight.
FBI agents interviewed a few people and reported they had reached no conclusion regarding a fix. They refused to do a full field investigation or go any further with it.
The rules of boxing in effect for this fight required the downed fighter be given an opportunity to both hear and see the count.
We both know there was no count. There was no valid KO.

 

and Liston was exactly right.
There was no formal or official complaint although Liston had every reason to make one.

 

You stated Liston never complained. He did complain. Your statement was incorrect.

 

This is over stated. Harris, Folley and Machen is no more rated fighters than Ali or Marciano beat to become champion. All champions beat fringe guys on the way up.

Liston was a strong contender however, I am not taking that away from him but I think he was made to look more outstanding by the fact that the legitimate Ingo- Patterson serries took three years to resolve. Sonny stayed bussier during this time and was outstanding during the period whilst the Patterson-ingo serries needed to be resolved.

The fact remains that only Folley, Machen and Harris were worth any value. It's not a decimation of the entire ranks.

 

Can I ask you this Boxfan? If the punch was legit,why did Ali immediately stand over Liston gesturing for him to get up shouting "Get up ya bum?"
The reason Ali didn't go to a neutral corner was he was too busy slagging Liston and seemed stunned by what was going on! He was all over the place! I'll even concede that possibly and only possibly that Liston was momentarily stunned by the punch as he was moving forwards low into Ali,but keep him down for over 10 seconds? Do me a favour. Just look at Sonny's acting while on the floor,it was pathetic!
Ali's my favourite fighter by the way!

 

Sonny took a clear beating in their first fight. As short as the second fight was Sonny looked a step out of his league. ALI had improved. After the flash knockdown Sonny appeared to lose all appetite for another beating like he got in Miami but to be fair to him, why should he get up when Ali was out of control and there had been no count?

 

I agree about the first fight,in fact I don't think Ali gets the credit he deserves for that performance,it's always about Sonny's shortcomings.
I wouldn't know wether the fix was in for the second fight,I just think Sonny probably decided to lay down.