prime for prime sonny liston vs evander holyfield??

Sonny would destroy Holyfield.

his jab would definitely decorate Holyfield's face.

 

Liston wins on paper. Unfortunately life doesn't fold out necessarily the way it should. I could very well see a Holyfield vs Tyson situation, except Holy having even more success due to Liston's freaking reach with Holy inside. I'm going with Holyfield on a decision. This is definitely a tough fantasy fight, though. One of the very toughest ones.

 

cheers mates. this was done in the ring magazines best fight you've never seen and they gave it to liston. i'll take liston from the first patterson fight, maybe the lloyd marshall, with the piston jab and brilliant left hook. i'll take holyfield from the cooper/first bowe fight. liston had weaknesses to great movers, always did. his weakness was people who stood up to him. holyfield was not a great mover but was someone who stood toe to toe with his opponents. so the question is liston's jab vs holyfields left hook? liston's endurance was very sound around the williams fights and holyfields was stellar around the cooper fight but i'll give liston the edge. liston measures holyfield with the jab, establishing the distance as bowe did in the first fight. by the 6th holyfield has closed the distance and worked the hook on the inside. liston withstands the onslaught and by the 9th is landing his own. the fight is close in the 10th and holyfield is pulling away with higher workrate. however, in the 11th liston lands a peach of a combo and stuns holyfield; evander quickly recovers and tries to brawl with liston, recovering the round and making it a draw. it's all even going into the 12th and liston pumps the jab while holy works his way inside...only in the final minute does he make any ground and by then it's too late. Liston by MD

 

Although, I still give the edge to Holyfield in this match, you provided a very good analysis, and established a realistic outcome. :good

 

evander is nigh on unstoppable in his prime. and in 5 rnds?!?

 

I really can't see Evander Holyfield in his prime losing within 5 rounds to anyone Frankly. If my calculations are correct, Holyfield was probably at his optimal peak around 1990 at the age of 28. I'm not even certain that Riddick Bowe would have beaten him then, and certainly no one is stopping him before the midway point. Even well into old age, Holyfield survived the artillary of Lennox Lewis, Mike Tyson, Michael Moorer and several others. He was also well accustomed to battling bigger and Younger foes - something that Liston wouldn't have been. Sonny's jab might have established a lead on points early, but Evander was good at adapting, and as the fight went on, I could see him coming on strong later.

I have no problem with anyone who picks Liston, but I'm sticking with Holyfield, and win or lose, he sure as hell isn't being taken out in 5....

 

I think this is a well balanced post. Too many have veered off. Both guys have a good shout in this one. There is no boxer in history I would pick to blow out a peak and focussed Holyfield. Perhaps Holy's tendency to brawl make me lean towards Liston, but make no mistake, this would be a barnstormer. Would love to see it.

 

Agreed,

This is one of those matches where you basically have to flip a coin and pick one. But for those who think that either man is just going to blast out the other, I seriously have to question the depth of their knowledge on BOTH men's careers.

Another observation worth making is that some believe Holyfield's tendency to brawl with formidable opponents would be his undoing in this fight. Honestly, how many wars has Liston truly engaged in with someone who could stand up to him. Holyfield has been in many... Jack Dempsey once said that the first man who stands up to Liston will beat him... Was he not correct? Frankly, I think that if these two were to battle it out at close range, its Evander who will feel more at home.....

 

I was thinking the exact same thing, reading the posts. Why is a shootout a bad thing for Holyfield? Sorry folks, but punching power isn't deciding this fight. Holyfield's chin withstood some big punchers...Lewis, Tyson, Moorer, Mercer (Mercer is a bit overrated in that sense, but he could hit) to name a few, and so I can't fathom why he cannot afford to fight aggressively, provided he's not reckless. Okay, Bowe stopped him but that's one time, and that wasn't chin related.

I think if one thing is for certain, it's that if Liston does end up rocking or even flooring Holyfield, Evander will come right back at him and fire his own leather. Bank on that. So I don't think this is going to be a quick fight...most likely it goes well into the latter rounds and possibly a decision.

To that end, I like the guy with the better endurance and probably durability...Holyfield. I think that if both guys have to face an acid test in this fight - and they will - then the guy more proven in this regard will deal with it better. Again, for me that's Holyfield.

I'm going for Holy by decision in a very exciting fight.

 

I think Liston fared quite well when it came to brawling and was effective on the inside despite his long reach. In my opinion it would not be the best of ideas for Holyfield to slug it out with Sonny.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWbpM99wD2M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO6gqaQ5uC4

Liston stopping the durable Wayne Bethea in the first round:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZkFNdPkdI

Holyfield had a tested chin but I don't think he was invincible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CD8dKFFIE_A

 

:thumbsupgreat post. i see it going mostly the same way. the only differing point is that liston's jab will earn him rounds in the first half, making holyfield's late rally fall just short

 

With all due respect, I don't think that Cleveland Williams or Wayne Bethea are anywhere in the same league as Evander Holyfield. As for the Cooper fight, a little bit of trouble in a match against a last minute opponent is not enough to draw a generalization. Incidentally, Bert was capable of cracking too, and Holyfield took his very best. Cooper is a man who I think might have faired well during the 1960's.

 

I think an interesting side question is...If this fight could be scheduled for early next year, prime against prime, what would the Las Vegas betting odds be?

 

I wouldn't say that Cleveland Williams is anywhere close to Holyfield in greatness but in a head-to-head sense he is a tough match-up for most people.

Bethea was the toughest guy around the time and was only stopped once in his career by Liston who punched his teeth out in the very first round.

I brought up the Cooper fight because Holyfield was not only in a "little bit of trouble", he was ready to go and a better fighter may have finished him off.

Holyfield in my view always fought better when being more cautious, as seen against Foreman, Bowe (the second time around) and Tyson.

 

this is very true. those performances didn't make for the most exciting fights but when he wanted to, he could really box and bang and he displayed solid skills in all those fights