Liston was a dreadnaught but he was pretty one paced and did tend to chug along a surprising amount of the time - he often did go periods in fights where he didn't even try to steamroll people more often he tended to box steadily and did kinda stand straight up and fought tall which may have made him a bit of a target for Dempsey whiplash left hook? And one thing that strikes me about Liston is, outside of Big Cat Williams, that lack of puncher's that Liston fought, other than Williams, I don't really see any on his resume?? Infact it's strange with Liston I'd say he may be, of all the great heavyweight champions, the one who fought the least big punchers in his career?? Was there a reason for this? Everyone he seemed to have fought seemed to be a standard boxer type with not a huge pop?? Dempsey is likely going in against a more dangerous man than he fought in his career but on the flip side the same has to be said for Liston too - and Dempsey at least has that extra depth of proof
I see Dempsey fighting more like he did Willard than he did Firpo. If he did have a brawl we know he leaves himself open and doing that against Liston is a nightmare. When Liston brawler with Williams we saw him do it smartly, behind a hard jab, retracting and covering when he had to and firing hooks when his opponent was open. Dempsey would have to box from range relying on his superior hand, foot and head speed, trying to frustrate Liston and work an opening. That is his best chance of winning, but I feel by fighting from a distance he allows Liston to set his jab from the offset which would probably mean it is Liston winning the rounds and Dempsey who would be frustrated. For Dempsey to win he would have to be sidestepping the jab of Liston, fire a 2-3 punch combo and then step out again. But that leaves him open to the hook as he closes the gap. It's tough for me to see Dempsey winning but not impossible. He has shown a game plan based on patient boxing and exploiting chances and Liston has shown he can get frustrated so the logic is there in a Dempsey pick. But for me by stalking he puts himself behind the jab and is more likely to frustrate himself. At every range I still see Liston coming out on top.
In his career Dempsey quickly lost his appetite for fighters of color. If John Lester Johnson scared him from mixed race bouts, how would he ever get into a ring with Liston?
The fight is obviously in a mythical time where Dempsey's managers will not draw a color line. I get so sick if reading the blame being put on the fighter when any and all who have been part of the fight game knows good and well fighters don't control politics and the business side. So this is a fighter pitted against another without managers etc...involved on shear ability alone. Dempsey was a tiger in the ring he moved fast, hit hard and attacked until the other guy fell pure animal. He is bigger and stronger than Patterson ever dreamed of being and maybe quicker on his feet. Liston is methodical, slow and not near as vicious in the ring though he could be brutal. Liston did not the have the ferocity of fighters like Foreman, Tyson, Frazier and Dempsey. I take a Dempsey over a Liston in a fight where Liston is outmaneuvered and just beat up by a tazmanian devil with bone breaking power.
As well as getting knocked outs, the crude Dempsey would get a boxing lesson and realise he was right to draw the colour line
Question? Did those same ringsiders see a Louis? Marciano?Liston? Ali? Foreman?Frazier?etc? What little video of Dempsey their is show a wild swinging Bob and weave style fighter who's aggressiveness was his defence. He fought a lot of men who would be considered a middle weight the last 60 or so yrs. I'm not drinking that Cool aid. HeLL We don't know if he was the best Heavy of his own era because of his refusal to fight Jewish and Black fighters much less of any other era. Liston would DESTROY Dempsey .If the fight went past 3-4 rds it would only be because Liston decided too toy with him. Beat him up just because... Dempsey is like Hercules, the farther away we get from his time the more impressive he becomes. But like Hercules he's more myth than reality.
