Joe Louis, the defending champ,faces Liston from 1960 . How tough is this fight for the young champ, fighting a man with Sonny's advantages? This right here is easily one of the hardest fights, that Joe would have encountered in his reign .
It's a real fight, and Joe does not escape unscathed, possibly hurt and decked at some point, but at the end of the day, he was faster, with pinpoint accurate blows, had better balance and footwork, and I think Sonny runs into a right he doesn't even see coming, and it is good night shortly thereafter. To me, Liston was a bit of a bully type, and Louis would be his kryptonite.
Id be on the edge of my seat the whole time, watching these two. Liston could be caught by over rights, and we know how powerful Joe's were, so he'd have to plan for that. But Liston also has power, massive reach, and he proved against Cleveland Williams that he can soak up hard shots. I think this is a terrible fight for Joe, but it's Joe Louis!!, so who knows?
This is 55/45 in favor of Joe Louis, in my opinion. If it ends early (Rounds 1–5), then the edge goes to Liston (due to size and jab) If it goes deep (Rounds 6–15), edge to Louis (due to accuracy, stamina, finishing ability) Joe Louis wins by late TKO or close UD (rounds 10–14) But with danger early from Liston’s jab and power. Louis’s ring IQ, accuracy, and composure under fire would let him survive the early storm and break Liston down late.
This is a terribly dangerous fight for Louis, can Louis come into range and land his combinations in the face of Sonny's power? Liston's jab will tell the tale of this fight, if he lands and controls distance Louis gets knocked out, if he can slip and land and avoid Sonny's hooks this may go a long way with Joe getting the win. Who would I bet on? In my opinion prime for prime Liston is the underdog so I'd bet on him.
Actually, Liston's best chance would be in the first fight, because Louis always improved in rematches. Whatever adjustments he needed to make in order to win by knockout, he would make them, as he always did. He usually stopped guys in rematches, or sooner than he did in the first fight if he stopped them previously.
GREAT analysis-exactly as I see it. Joe would have to somehow get under that jab and fire off his combinations without leaving himself open. That's a tough task!!
There is no heavyweight better at slipping the jab than Louis. I think Sonny will have to stop jabbing and look to feint and then land his hook, it's his fastest and most damaging punch. The problem is Louis was very good at counter hooking and catching the hooks with his rear glove while pivoting to move with the incoming lefts and taking away the steam from the blow. It's a bad night for Liston who would match up more favorably to slower and more hittable punchers like Baer, Foreman and Bowe. Louis is too slick in comparison.
I read an article on this match-up, it predicted it to be an even fight for the 1st half, a battle of jabs and then Sonny Liston drops Louis and the round ends with Louis hurt. But afterwards, Louis regains control of the fight and after flooring Liston a couple times in the 12th round, the 3rd knockdown is the knockout. Louis wins a 12th round KO. I can buy this version of events.
I agree. Maybe even a 10 count. Sonny gets a lot of grief here for various reasons, lots of them legit, but the SOB could hit and at his peak he was a more skilled boxer than he gets credit for.
This. I see the first fight being a bad loss for Joe, but Joe would turn it back on him after that. I see the third fight being basically a blowout of Sonny.