Holmes himself remarked upon this being an especially difficult fight for him. Given the power in Liston's right hand, Larry's sucker punch, and the fact that Liston out-reaches Larry by some three inches and has a slightly harder jab, you can see why. Holmes's best punch is in danger of being taken away and his weakness is in direct line with one of Liston's most fearsome punches, I like Liston over 15 rounds.
Liston would be one of the few fighters that Holmes wouldn't be able to do this too.He's outreached and Liston had a great jab. I rate Holmes extremely highly but stylistically i think Liston is a big danger here.
When I said "control" I did not mean Holmes would "dominate" Liston with his jab. I just see Holmes doing a good job of maintaining space with his jab. Holmes had a 3" height advantage, and overall reach is decpetive. I doubt if Liston's arms were as long as Larry's.
I personally see Liston taking this one. Liston harder then Larry, has a longer reach, and he has more of an arsenal. his jab is also superior. keep in mins holmes can't move like Ali, he wouldn't have stuck and move and danced like ali. eventually Larry would get destroyed. they were longer. Liston had adnormally Long reach and fists for his height. if he were born in modern times, he would be even bigger and around 239 LB with the protein plans and the new technology.
I could see why you would think the man with the three inch reach advantage would lose if he had a shorter reach. Of course, it's not so. This content is protected This content is protected