If Sonny Liston fought in the 1990's ....

Lewis would have outpointed him.
Tua KO'd him.
Holyfield would have a 'W' over him somehow , maybe some 2:1 in a trilogy. Ali stopped him twice (though at least one doubtful) so holyfield had not smaller chances.
McCall would have gone the distance or even stop him.
with tyson , bowe i don't know.

 

Liston was great in his ear but gets overrated H2H in fantasy matchups. He was a good boxer puncher but he wouldn't physically bully around or intimidate Holyfield, Lewis, Bowe, McCall. His losses to Ali were quite telling about his mental makeup when it came to really facing adversity.

 

There were some good fighters in the 1990s, but I think it was a relatively weak era for heavyweights.
The 1980s was better for heavyweights, there were still several good young American heavyweights in the 80s - the 90s saw that dying out, and of the non-American heavyweights only Lennox Lewis stood out. Having said that, the heavyweight fights and fighters of 10-20 years ago were a much better quality than we have now. A respectable bunch.

Liston in the 1990s ? Well, he's probably destined to lose in an upset in almost any era, but at his best or close to it he'd be capable of beating just about everyone who fought in the 1990s. I think a prime Holyfield might have the best chance against an on-form Liston, with a disciplined fight strategy, all his strength, durability and determination, and his superb counter-punching - but I wouldn't bet on him.

Oliver McCall might be able to get work as Liston's sparring partner, but the idea that he'd ever come close to beating him or even competing much in a real fight is preposterous. I know the 90s heavyweights are being overrated when McCall is being held up as anything special.

 

Think he'd have beaten them all except for Holyfield.

 

He beats Holyfield, Bowe, Tyson, Tua, Golota, Ruddock etc. 50/50 against Lewis.

 

Trouble with Holyfield and Lewis but I would not count him out.

 

I suppose it depends on who the best opponents he was matched up with were and WHEN he fought them. The early to mid 90's would have been a tough time for him to capture the crown. Bowe, Holyfield and Lewis were for the most part in their primes. The contender list was pretty dense as well. From about 1994 -1997, you had fragments of the title floating around with men like Frank Bruno, Oliver McCall and Bruce Seldon holding them. I have no doubts that he would have made short work of these fighters. Moorer would be a sitting duck for Liston as well. The Tyson who fought Ruddock and Stewart in 1991 might pose a big threat, but a 1995-1996 version probably wouldn't be as much of a problem..

Overall, I think he does well, but I don't see him as establishing himself as the dominant sort of force that he did in the early 60's. The talent pool was simply too deep.

 

A prime Liston would have done really well in the 90's. He would have beaten a past his best Tyson,Bowe and Holyfield. Lennox Lewis is the only one that I can imagine him losing to,and even that match has it's imponderables. Such as,what would happen if Liston connects with Lennox's chin.

 

Key thing is who would fold when Liston puts "the evil eye" on them at the weigh-in.

Then at the fight he would start to severely beat them about the head and shoulders.

 

He'd have struggled a lot, but at least have picked up a belt in the fragmented mid 90's time or perhaps undisputed if things turns out well.

First of all, he would be anything but the "big, bad bear"; at 6'0 212lbs, he'd give up size to just about every opponent. Second, the 90's had much better fighters than his own era. Of his best opponents: Machen was a one-handed, slick cruiserweight and Patterson a weak chinned, swarming cruiser, Williams was a strong man with speed and power, but often came up short and never really proved himself.. in fact, he only beat one ranked contender during his entire career.

Lewis, Holyfield, 90's Tyson and Bowe are easily levels above them and would annihilate them. The second tier guys like Tua, Ruddock, Ibeabuchi, Bruno, Moorer, Morrison, Tucker and Briggs are at least on the same level as the first tier bunch that Liston beat, in a head-to-head sense.


Lastly, let's not forget that he lost to and got knocked down by a mediocre lightheavyweight in Marshall. He hadn't reached his peak quite yet, but at the same time, people will say that he was 34-36 years of age when he faced Ali, which would've made him 24-26 years old in that loss; in other words, his physical peak. Can't have it both ways.