prime liston vs prime bowe...

Bowe's defense wasn't great and he had problems with good jabs. I think that's the key. Liston wins.

 

Liston KO 6

 

I think a lot here depends on how well Bowe can take Liston's shots. Bowe has shown a very good chin throughout his career, but at the same time, he didn't really fight many big punchers and Holyfield would've probably TKO'd him had he not gassed; he was THAT hurt. But at the same time, the vast majority of Liston's knockouts come against cruiserweights, which Bowe isn't exactly. He has a very big size advantage (5 inches and 30lbs) as well as the faster hands and the better workrate.

I think he'd beat Liston by decision or late TKO if he's still standing by the 6th round. Riddick Bowe was never stopped and we saw that even past his best, he could take a SHITLOAD of punishment; the same can't be said of Sonny Liston.

 

Chris,

I see no reason why liston can't outpoint bowe. Sonny is very hard to outpoint, and he has shown the ability to fight 12 hard paced rounds.



ps please chris, please address the latest posts against rocky marciano in the langford thread. I am done with them.

 

He certainly can, i just think Bowe is a bit more proven here. Machen is a great boxer, but he doesn't really make you fight hard and is pretty much one-handed. Maybe he could produce a similar workrate in a war, but that is uncertain. I can see Liston winning, however, by simply landing too many clean shots, even if he's being outworked.

I'm done with it for the moment. People dig up unnecessarily high standards because he's undefeated. "Rocky was hurt a couple of times during his career, and he was tagged clean a few times as well, plus he had a close decision early in his career!". No ****, which boxer hasn't?

 

Agreed Chris, this is an interesting fight.

 

The thing that a lot of people forget is that although Sonny wasn't that tall, his arm length was incredible. I'd have to check, but I think he outreaches a lot of taller guys like Bowe, Lewis, Holmes, etc. In additon, he had one of the greatest ( perhaps even THE greatest ), jabs in heavyweight history. We also know for a fact that Bowe was sometimes placed in jeopardy when facing men who could nail him repeatedly with a strait jab.

I think it really boils down to who's better prepared. For me, the best version of Sonny Liston was around from maybe 1959-1960. The guy who lost early in his career to Marty Marshall or later to Clay and Martin was not the best rendering of Sonny. I'm talking about the man who left everyone from Williams to Patterson on ***** street and did so effortlessly. Riddick Bowe would have to be at his absolute best to beat THIS version of Liston. A peak Bowe would definately have my vote to beat the Sonny who lost to Ali, but the one who cleaned out the division on the way to the title, might be a different story. Bowe from maybe Coetzer to the third Holyfield fight would have been a formidable match given his size, athelticism, power and durability..

Who Wins??????????

 

Prime Bowe makes Liston quit in 8. The brief prime Bowe had was better than anything Liston ever beat by a country mile.

 

Bull****
Are you talking about the same Bowe who got outjabbed by everybody who jabbed with him had no defense. Against a big puncher with one of the best jab ever ?.

 

Bowe's chin remains highly questionable. He was knocked out cold on several occassions late in his amateur career. He was destroyed by Lennox Lewis in the Olympics. His career was managed so that he avoided huge punchers ... Golata was a strong guy but not a huge puncher. Who did he KO? That being said I like Bowe a lot and the one that fought Holyfield the first time was a hell of a fighter ...

Liston was a murderous puncher and a very dangerous opponent. I feel he would have stopped Bowe ...

For the record, Lowry did more than hit Marciano once or twice. He had him hanging on for his life three times. No debate about it.

 

LOL, new to boxing ?

Bowe was NEVER STOPPED during his entire career. Period. His chin allowed him his agressive style.........btw Golata could not keep a complete washed up Bowe who looked literally like a ghost down for the count............Gonzales, Hide or Cooper were/are certainly very hard punchers.

Your boy Sonny Quiter would fold like a house of cards, after he realizes that he ain't fighting some blown up glasschinned lthwy but a skilled REAL big man with Futch in his corner who would beat slowwwwwwww Sonny to the punch until he "hurt", lol, his shoulder or gets tagged by another phantom punch.

Your posts is the living proof how hystericly overrated the Ugly Bear is. Big bad Sonny my ass.

As far as your Olympic comment............you have never seen the fight because Lewis certainly did not destroy Bowe unless getting counted out by a overmatched amateaur referee while standing is your definition of "destroyed".

But I can help you out, Lewis was definitetly destroyed by Rahman and McCall.

 

Bowe had a very short prime. I think the main reason was inability to push himself away from the table and stay in top shape. That being said, at his best, Bowe beats Liston. Why?. In my opinion, because he was bigger and the better boxer.

 

Liston wins. Probably via decision. Better defense, a murderous pucher the likes of which Bowe never faced at pro level, one of the best jab at Heavyweight history and the more adabtable fighter at any and every range. He's the better more proven fighter.

 

Sonny had a lot of question marks during his career,the only loss that wasn't controversial was his last.Still,he went unbeaten for ten years,shook off the mightiest bombs of a prime Cleveland Williams twice,and I believe as an amatuer,beat olympic champion Ed Sanders.Physically,he had anamazing reach,and huge fists especially for a man of his height.I don't know enough about Riddick Bowe,to critique him,because after the 70's,I felt all divisions were getting watered down,basically only watched Earnie Shavers until Foreman's comeback.But,Mr.Bowe would have no piece of cake with Sonny Liston.