Sept 7, 1960 Decision 12 rds vs Machen March 8, 1961 KO 3 rds vs King Dec 4, 1961 KO 1 rd vs Westphal Sept 25, 1962 KO 1 rd vs Patterson July 22, 1963 KO 1 rd vs Patterson Feb 25, 1964 TKO 7 rd loss vs Clay In 3-1/2 years you fight 6 pro rounds, and now you are going to fight a fast, unafraid, mobile Hvyweight, better than Machen. The handwriting was on the wall, but nobody could see it.
I never actually thought of it that way. But i still think that sparring should of covered any holes in Listons arsenal, so i wouldn't count that as much of an excuse
I think a title defense versus Machen would have been a very good idea for Sonny. Eddie was on a good streak during Liston's reign, and was only beaten via controversial decision to Harold Johnson between his loss to Sonny in September 1960, and Patterson in July 1964. Liston should have won such a return conclusively, but Machen was a viable challenger who could provide a badly needed competitive extension sequel. Eddie would almost certainly have pushed Sonny the championship distance. (Machen said Cleveland Williams was harder for him than Liston after their draw, due to the Big Cat's superior speed. That ten rounder was just before Sonny dethroned Patterson. In 1964, Floyd's speed indeed allowed him to dominate Eddie in a way Liston could not.) While I don't believe Liston ever could have beaten a prime Ali, a recent championship distance with Machen could have gone a long way towards helping him adapt when he couldn't get the mouthy young upstart out quickly in Miami.
Howdy Longhorn. My own opinion? Probably because the handwriting that showed Clay struggling mightily with Doug Jones and getting bounced off the canvas by Henry Cooper in his two fights leading up to the Liston bout were in a much larger and bolder font.
Maybe its because he found it hard to get people to fight him? It took a long time to get Patterson in the ring with him because so many people were against the fight the first time.
This is a good point. Liston did not get anywhere near enough rounds in after 1961. His people should have sought longer fights to keep liston sharp. Ingo, chuvalo, old Moore even Doug Jones would have kept him closer to that edge. Sonnys rep is built on 59-61 where he was active and beat up most of the top ten whilst Ingo and Patterson rematched each other. Liston was like 2-2 in 4 years because he only fought westphal and king prior to the Patterson blow outs.
Sparring and exhibitions are not nearly as beneficial as real fights. Nothing will prepare you for a fight better than getting professional rounds in.
