Mike Tyson .Vs. Sonny Liston

Liston by KO in round 7. This would be fun to watch while it lasted.

 

Liston by KO 3-4 rds Tyson cant handle someone who will stand and fight him,Liston backs tyson up then lands KO punch,

 

Pick-em for me as well.

Normally, I can make up my mind on outcomes, but not this one.

 

A thing to keep in mind here though is that these two men were about the same size. Going through the fight in my mind I couldn't help but notice that my mental image of Liston had him bigger than Tyson, where in reality Tyson had a slight weight edge.

I'd pick Liston but it's funny how peoples image (including mine) of Liston is that of a giant where he only weighed 210-215

 

My prediction is...Tyson by KO in rounds 2-7, depending on how Sonny's chin holds up.

I honestly don't see why this is a bad styles matchup for Tyson. On the contrary, it's a bad styles matchup for Liston.

Let's get this image of Sonny being a hulking fighter out of the way. Yes, for his time he was, but had he been magically transported to the 80's and 90's when Tyson was active, he'd be on the smallish side for a heavyweight.
Tyson regularly fought guys standing 6'3" or more, and weighing 220-240 pounds. Liston stood 6'1" and weighed around 212-215 in peak condition.
Liston's supposedly great size isn't going to impress Tyson at all.

Yes, Liston did have some giant-sized measurements, but a big fist means next to nothing. His great reach would be something of a factor, but then again everyone Tyson fought had a greater reach than Mike did, so it's kind of redundant.

For me, the key factors in this fight are explosiveness, speed and chin.

What Tyson was so good at was his ability to get his punches off first. He could spring forward and land 2-3 punches before his opponents could react. An overriding theme with Tyson's opponents was their surprise at just how quick he was.
These punches weren't pitty-pat either, but hard, fast punches that often took the fight right out of his opponents before they got going.

"The punches are coming in such a succession that Berbick can't deal with them. They're short, powerful, devastating punches..." - Ray Leonard, commenting on the Tyson v Berbick fight.

Another concern for Liston is Tyson's uncanny ability to find the range right off the bat, and his accuracy. Even Foreman, who often belittled Tyson in some way, was forced to comment on how frighteningly accurate Tyson was.
Tyson was rarley hit flush until he neglected the defensive side of his game, and even then his chin held up well against powerpunchers like Bruno and Ruddock, both of whom tagged him with at least one home run.

So basically, Liston is dealing with a guy his own size, who punched as hard, who was far quicker both in reaction and in handspeed, and who punched in combination. Then there is Tyson's pretty amazing defensive skills (for a fighter with that style) which is backed up by a very solid chin.
That's a formidable package to deal with.

I'd imagine Liston would come out trying to establish the jab, to set up his right hand and left hook. Tyson would start very quickly as he always did, and would be the first to land a hard punch. Liston fought some good punchers, but I don't think he fought anyone that could remotely compare to Tyson as an overall puncher.
How would Liston, who almost always enjoyed a size and power advantage over his opponents, react to this?
We don't know, but I'd imagine he'd be surprised and possibly shocked.

My prediction is that even before Liston establishes some kind of jab, he'd be hit with several power punches. Sure he'd fight back, but Tyson's quicker reactions and superior hand speed would see him landing the majority of the damaging blows.
Even if the odd power punch does find Tyson's chin, I think he'd not be hit with enough of them to turn the tables.
Liston's jab will also land, but the only fighter to dominate Tyson with the jab was Douglas, and there were other factors at work there. Tyson fought some pretty good jabbers in his day, and none could make the jab a dominant weapon against him.
I don't see it being the difference between the men here, either.

Liston was a very good fighter, but he fought a lot of guys weighing less than 200 pounds. In Tyson, he's got to deal with a kind of ferocity and explosivenss he's never seen before.

 

Liston is overrated on this board. He was a poor man's Tyson, intimidation and power worked well for him against the Patterson - level opponents. Liston was a big, strong HW in an era where most HW's would be cruisers by today's standards. Tyson would have such a huge speed advantage, it would totally negate Liston's jab and power. Tyson was mentally stronger as well. When Douglas beat him up round after round, he still kept trying. Liston quit on his stool against Ali without being visibly hurt. Tyson wins hands down.

 

This is a shallow comparison given that Tyson was near prime agewise, and Liston was in his mid 30's.

 

If Sonny's jab troubles Mike, Sonny will probably win.

But I see Mike evading Sonny's jab.

If Sonny goes into retreat, Mike will take him.


If Sonny meets Mike inside, it could go either way.

 

Liston via stoppage 7-9.

 

I'm shocked so few people are picking Tyson. This is anything but a mismatch or foregone conclusion. I don't see this as an unusually bad matchup for Tyson, his huge advantage in speed and snap gives him a great chance.

 

You should almost be glad that no one bothers to take you up on this. Read up on Liston.

 

Liston: Not intimidated + great jab + chin + power + great inside/outside fighter with terrific defence. I think he wins (in a barnstormer).

Tyson will land and will have his share of moments, but I think there will be an all out slugfest at somestage and Liston will come out on top. I just think he'd react better at getting hit than Tyson will, plus he's got the significant thing Foreman didn't have: great techinique and defensive skill.

 

I'm probably leaning towards Tyson here, but it's a hard one. In this one there's possibly even more factors than usual.

One important factor is how Liston would use his jab. If he jabs at Tyson's head I just see Tyson slipping it in the early stages and countering. Liston have to jab at Tyson's chest. That would really put things on it's head. If he can stop Tyson in his tracks and get him out of rythm with a heavy jab to the chest, his superior versatility and array of tools comes into play in a different manner.

 

I've just looked at this old thread and realised i picked Liston, i'm cganging that ****.