It doesn't worry me if he believes Marciano would never lose, that's fine. Whatever floats ones boat. It's the way he goes about it.
He over extended alot with his jab with then put him a bit off balance and open to a counter. Other than that I dont see much
Disparages every boxer at Rocky's expense, with the same robotic statements, and refuses to engage in a debate when challenged. The mark of an absolute COWARD.
He shared one thing among others with Mike Tyson: he didn't like fighters who not only weren't scared at all, but...well, brashly unafraid.
His age was always a factor. Sonny Liston worked his body hard his entire life. First on a farm with his family where he worked ten to fourteen hour days even as a seven year old child. Then, after leaving home, he worked construction, enforcement for the mob, he worked for the railways... all physically demanding and all activities when combined with not eating well, with not getting medical help because he couldn’t afford it, took their toll on his joints, his entire body. By some estimates he was in his late thirties when he face Ali. Even Ali joked about it at press conferences, saying that Liston was forty. Had Liston been brought up as a boxer from a young age like Tyson, I think he would have won the title earlier and held it longer.
He wasn’t very agile mobility wise. And perhaps a bit overconfident, making it difficult for him to overcome adversity. When he discovered that Ali was no slouch, he couldn’t dig deep. But really he was a very well rounded fighter.
Sharing two eras at the wrong time: That of 190-pounders in his prime, and that of the Goat when he became too old. Never got the chance to really show his potential. Therefore very hard to discuss @ h2h next to fellows his mass and tempo.
Oh he had a few. A little slow. Issues with cuts and swelling. When pressured, he tended not to respond well. Chin could be good, but over rated. The competition until Ali was lacking, with few punchers, and fewer puncher with durability to tangle with. He's a guy I have the toughest time placing.
Based on U.S. Census records, it is likely that Sonny Liston was born no earlier than 1930. In other words, he probably was in his early thirties during the early 1960s, not that old for a fighter in the heavyweight division. - Chuck Johnston