Liston gets rocked really hard by Mike early, on several occasions (nearly gets stopped at one point). But the Liston jab keeps Mike from landing enough to win, and ultimately both discourages him and makes him unwisely cautious. Liston starts battering him badly by the seventh round, after eight the fight is stopped.
Lemme put this statement in perspective. It took Lewis 8 rounds of non-stop punishment to stop a shot Tyson who was fat and untrained. Liston bombing out the 88 Tyson early is wishful thinking, and not based on any evidence. People REALLY REALLY REALLY underrate Tyson's chin. If anybody is going out early, it's Sonny.
Talks of Tyson quitting in a LISTON thread??? That's very ironic. Liston quit against Ali TWICE! Tyson never ever went out as pathetically as Liston did in Ali II.
Mike was fighting to survive in Memphis. He braced himself for the a$$whippin. Mike stopped letting his hands go midway through round 2.