Does Sonny Liston divide opinion more than any other heavyweight?

Choklab .. please stand up please stand up please stand up

 

Normalizing the hate by equating it to the love.
Enough of the matrix.

Imagine a forum for painters, where if you aren't one of the best 50 of all time, you're "crap."
And where Monet gets his praise, but only after the non accomplishing "fan/critic" adds that he didn't use enough red.

Only in boxing, where fans look at the fighters like mules.
"This one sucks! This one is okay! This guy is one of the best of all time, but he needs to jab more!"

 

I’m here buddy, what do you want?

I have no idea who the poster is that came here to degrade Liston. Must have been way back in the bowels of time. Long before my time on the scene.

I do remember being accused of something with one guy but it was a misunderstanding that we since sorted out.

 

All good brother .. just joking around man

 

Cool.

 

You admitted you came here to debunk the myth of Sonny Liston. Enough said

 

Sonny himself was a great fighter. Without doubt he was the best heavyweight in the world for a period and without doubt a worthy all time great from 1960 until about 1964. He paid his dues and certainly stands up as a legit icon of heavyweight boxing.

Occasionally There are certain myths that make it into boxing folklore about a number of fighters that some people want to become legitimate.

 

He knocks out johansson in 1959

 

Why would Sonny get a title fight in 1959? Wasn’t he rated number 10 then?

 

Good fighters being called crappy is a pretty popular sentiment that carries weight and momentum here.

Yes, this thing does exist in other sports. But that type of thing is usually the bane of real sports people. They view it as one of the negative aspects to the popularity of the sport. That every Jack Nobody thinks they are experts of the craft. The more in depth aficionados, which is what this forum should consist of, are usually far more nuanced and sensible.

It's a good explanation, but a weak justification.

 

So Liston would have been the perfect "tuneup" for Johansson

 

It does, evidenced by the communities lack of rejecting such notions. Rather, such sentiments get support from significant portions of the community, and normalized discourse occurs around them.

Real sports people, meaning those with an honest and smart understanding of the craft.

There is two sides to every production, the making of it, and the viewing of it.
For instance, your average non-tech consumer has 100 opinions on smart phone design, all surface level. Some may be good at their heart but they come from a place of topical ignorance. The same thing happens in sports.

You would think a forum of history buffs would have the nuance and understanding to get past the TMZ zone of boxing.