prime for prime sonny liston vs evander holyfield??

Got to disagree here. He probably would of faired a little better but Cooper was no world beater, I love the guy and he's one of my favorite fighters to watch but he certainly wouldn't of achieved a large amount of success in the 60's.

The 60's is an under rated era, just from the Liston era of 58-64 you have Liston, Patterson, Ingo, Big Cat Williams, Eddie Machen, Zora Folley. These guys were all very good and would of been safe picks to beat Smokin' Bert Cooper. Cooper when on was dangerous and probably would of put in some good performances against the elite like he did in the 90s and would pull off some upsets. But it's safe to say he doesn't make the top 6 of Liston's era, and he certainly doesn't come close to beating a Prime Liston like he was against Holyfield.

 

People mention heart and say that all Holyfield has to do is "stand up" to Liston. That leads me to believe that they are just looking at what happen in his fights with Ali. This is not true, Cleveland Williams stood up to Sonny and even bloodied his nose up. Sonny fought on even harder and stopped Williams. I feel that Evander will brawl because of his heart and Sonny will hurt him. Sonny can fight back pretty hard.

 

The bully mystic is only effective if the opponent has the skills to pull it off ... Evander has one of the all time great chins. He has size, speed , movement, reach, a great jab to go with is terrific heart. He would decision Liston.

 

When I said that he'd fair well, I was hardly implying that the man would be " the champ. " I do however think that he could have very conceivably beaten a few rated contenders, and if he could dropped both Moorer and Holyfield, then he could certainly do the same to guys like Ingo, Patterson, and Terrell.

 

There is big no size advantage for either fighter. Liston has a granite chin, almost as good or maybe better than Holyfield's. Holyfield has the edge in speed but Liston can make up the difference with his tactfulness. Evander's movement is a moot point because he is going to brawl with Liston when he can't outbox him. Liston has a far greater reach advantage and a far superior jab. Liston is better than Holyfield in almost every department.

 

atsch

 

Liston was down against Ali which was supposedly a dive. In the Martin fight, he was old. It's not a bad case. I didn't say it was better, I implied that it might have been better.

 

Liston's chin was not tested like Evander's. All I hear is Cleveland Williams who folded after a few rounds.

Liston had huge trouble with movement as Ali proved. Machen as well. Holyfield was much faster and had much better stamina. Liston fought no one like Holyfield while Holyfield proved himself against much tougher competition than Sonny. Holyfield knew how to keep his cool and pick his spots as he proved against Tyson and Bowe.

 

Holyfield fought fighters that were better than Sonny? Is that what you are saying? If so, then you are very very wrong my friend. I would say Machen was a bit Holyfield-esque but he fought a smart fight against Liston. Something I think Holyfield would be incapable of doing; he would brawl with Liston inevitably because of his heart. In the Bowe fights, he was outjabbing Bowe and outboxing him, he decided to brawl and that's where he lost 2 of the 3 fights. Tyson was a headhunter in 1996 and couldn't fight effectively past 6 or 7 rounds; he was no prime Liston. Albeit Holyfield was no spring chicken there either but Tyson was no prime Sonny Liston either.

 

as highly as i rate liston h2h i believe evander might take this one....not just because he wouldnt be intimidated because even if liston didnt have that going for him he still would have been a dominant hw with his jab and great power. i am going more off of the size, evander fought much bigger guys than liston and did well and stylistically i can see him wearing him down and probably stopping him late.

 

Okay, so Lennox Lewis wasn't a better fighter than Sonny Liston? A prime Bowe wasn't at least comparable and nor was a 1996 Tyson?

 

Holy by decision or late round TKO........... Holy was too quick and mobile for Liston...... Holy wins a lopsided 10 rounder on points, or stops a tired Liston late in a 15 round fight.......... Liston's only real chance is to smoke Holy early, and Holy has never been smoked early before...... Holy is better...... Peace......

MR.BILL:hey

 

You see, Liston was a complete fighter with little holes in his game. Bowe had terrible defense and had a mediocre jab but great in-fighting skills and a high punch resistance. Lennox Lewis is a fair comparison but his durability is questinable as well as his ring IQ. Tyson of 1996 clearly doesn't stack up. If you think so, then you are underrating Liston.

 

i think u are underrating lewis a bit

 

Where? I said it was a fair comparison. His durability is questionable as he was knocked out twice by lesser fighters and was almost out against Bruno. In some fights he didn't fight smart, take the Mavrovic fight for example.