Sonny Liston in his prime stopping Wayne Bethea in 1 round

Brutal!

 

Now THIS is the badass Sonny Liston I love so much!!! This version never showed up against Clay.

 

The fight was in 1958.

Liston would have destroyed Patterson then the same way.

If Liston was given his title shot in 1958, he would have reigned for 5 years and then Clay would have come along and tiook the title wtih no questions asked.

Shame for Liston history really didn't give Liston a fair shake.

 

I don't know if Sonny had the right mentality to hold on the the belt for 5 years without shooting himself in the foot, but the landscape was so barren at the time that even an unfocused Liston might've been able to keep his title.

 

Crazy leverage on those left hooks.

 

What's immediately noticeable is Liston's turn of foot getting into range ,and going back avoiding punches.His hand speed is also appreciably quicker than that of the lumbering monster who followed Ali around.
He looked like he had the beating of Floyd there in 58.
My no 6/7 heavyweight .

 

Yeah, it's a brutal performance against a decent fighter with a reputation for lasting the distance.
Liston was a beast, no doubt. Maybe this version of Liston would beat Clay, I don't know.

But I don't think Liston was due a title shot as early as 1958. I think his shot was delayed maybe 2 years at most, but he wasn't shelved for 4 years before getting his shot.

SuzieQ will loathe to admit it, but Liston-Bethea wasn't the most devastating earth shaking or significant 1 round KO in the heavyweight ranks that year.

 

Couple thoughts:
-WHAT a strong ****ing guy, at just over 200lbs. He had no issues throwing Bethea around
-Excellent fundementals, never breaks his stance or guard, starts everything from that barge pole jab
-Quality finish and pinpoint power punching

 

This is Liston's best filmed performance, which should never be confused with his best victory.

 

atsch

 

Sonny was especially adept for a Heavyweight at the lead left hook and the hook off the jab/feint.

 

This is possibly worth a thread of its own but is there any evidence/hearsay given Liston's advanced age that he fought before the early 50s perhaps under another name?

 

Beautifully accurate, devastating punching.

 

True, especially for such a big dense guy. He defended well after it too.