Sonny Liston vs Mike Tyson: Battle of the monsters

Why ask this in the General forum? Most of those people are too ******ed to recognise that Liston had the psychological mind-set to bully Mike, had the technical skills to box him, and the power to punish him. All these people generally think about is "LOLOL '88 Tyson had teh power + speed KO1!!!1"

 

Liston, actually.

 

Liston was the original intimidator. Liston by KO.

 

I think Liston is generally overrated these days - just look at the increase in his all-time rankings over the past 30 years. Apparently, he's been whipping serious ass from beyond the grave because nobody at the time or in the 70's or 80's thought near as high of him as people do now. That said, a fight with the bobbing and weaving Tyson does lend him the stylistic advantage on paper with that jab and uppercut.

Of course, Tyson was clearly faster than Sonny and no amount of people calling Liston's athleticism "underrated" will change that. From that aspect, Tyson did have the physical tools to slip Sonny's jab and make him pay with his counters.

Really tough fight for me to call. Personally it's one of those which is impossible to good a solid read on because it boils down to whether or not Liston could land the jab. We've seen enough evidence of Sonny landing it to make that case, but the case could also be made that Tyson could slip it given his speed and head movement. I change my mind on who takes this one depending on what day I think of it, and today, I'll lean more towards Liston. Next week, it'll probably be Tyson.

 

Tyson for sure....way to fast and explosive. I dont even think it would last long because I dont see either taking a back foot in this. Tyson KO inside 3 rounds. And I do actually rate Liston...but the likes of Cleveland Williams and Floyd Patterson (china chins galore!) isnt going to mean much against Tysons solid chin and devastating power. And dont forget a young prime Tyson had a nice jab of his own. Only later on did he seem to lose that and the head movement. Tyson all the way IMO.

 

Prime Tyson better hands, feet, head movement, way better overall

 

Tyson that fought Holyfield was past prime. Had that fight happend a few years earlier I reckon it'd be a different story. Remember Tyson fought Holyfield in 96 and 97...8-10 years past his prime.

 

Well i picked Liston last time i did this one, but Tyson the time before. I'm never conclusive with an outcome tbh, but i think Tyson actually has a better chance in this one than against Bowe personally, which is as bad a match up i can think of for Tyson. As much as Liston punches, he does box, and Tyson can handle boxers imo, his countering from head movement with combos is immense. But Liston has that authoritive (is it authoritative?) jab that Douglas used and it means he has a huge chance of demoralising Tyson also.

One thing, i'm a lifelong Tyson fan, and used to be an advocate of the 88 Tyson bandwagon, and that he was passed it/out of shape etc against Douglas. But nar, i'm not having that **** anymore, credit to the man who wins the fights. It's like when Duran is 'off' sometimes but not on the others, **** that. Dejesus did tremendously well to beat him (the difference is Duran avenged in style but that's for another day).

Anyway, i think both men can actually demoralise each other, and not that Liston is some stoneman, i edge towards Liston slightly.

 

Tyson was bigger???? Since when? Liston was nearly 40 when Ali stopped him. He was also a shell of himself and a coke head by then. Ali would have koed Tyson Buster Douglas style. I would bet the bank on Liston prime to prime. Tyson fought in a soft era. Liston did not.

 

Please, in his era, Liston was the most feared man on the planet. Massive fist and fast and strong with a rock hard chin. Father Time and bad habits were Liston's undoing. He was a monster and thought unbeatable at the time.

 

With a phenomenal 2-2 record in title fights and one defense to match. Liston cleared out a weak era of heavyweights before he got his crack at the title, looked great on the way up, and like too many other champions, couldn't hold on once he got it.

The only difference is other fighters get punished for subpar title reigns, whereas Liston today is largely given a free pass and is consistently ranked higher than fighters with better championship records and more defenses.

Am I saying he's not a great fighter? Absolutely not, because I've already posted that half the time I favor him over a peak Tyson. Am I saying that people today give him too much credit for what he actually accomplished? You bet.