Sonny Liston vs Sam Langford

good battle I would not sell Sam short but Sonny's a powerful obstacle

 

very hard to say.

I believe Langford's victory over Jeanette is better than any victory Liston has. Same again with Wills.

Then again Liston is a H2H nightmare and would have been the bigger man in the ring. Langford has a far superior resume, but he loses this IMO

 

Jeanette, Wills > Patterson

 

Yes, I mean it took him all of two atempts.

 

Can't see a way for Langford to win this match-up.

 

Langford was a helluva fighter but, Liston wins by late TKO in this one.

 

Have you really looked at footage of Jeanette? He's small and looks like a ham and egger... though perhaps he was brilliant in other fights. Really, though, I have a hard time rationalizing greatness out of that footage. I feel much more secure saying that Williams and Patterson were better wins.

 

Out of two odly enough.

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Langford's best was behind him at the start of the series, and he was an empty shell in the second half.

If Jersey Joe Walcott had fought Joe Louis 10 times he could probably have ended up something like 7-3 in the series, but it would not mean that Louis only won the first tow fights because he got 10 tries at it.

 

Maybe depends on the rule set. Langford-Jeannette X in Paris was over 20 rounds, and we saw how Sam thrice pounded down the durable Jeannette in round 13, a round Sonny never heard the bell for. Langford was perfectly capable of moving away and surviving like Machen, Whitehurst 2X, Marty Marshall 2X, Joiner, and Martin before Leotis lowered the boom. Langford KO 14 and KO 19 Wills shows what kind of late round fire Sam had even when 31 and pushing 34 respectively.

I believe Langford would deploy his mobility and bide his time. Utilizing his superior speed and defensive skills to evade Liston's jabs, along with innate resilience and toughness when the bigger man did manage to connect, he'd wait for that moment a huffing and puffing Sonny suddenly deflated from the protracted exertion of futilely trying to catch an opponent who'd be reminding the audience of why he was nicknamed as he was. The more Liston tried to punch and fight, the more he'd get stuck, gradually wearing down with the effort. Today, that nickname of Sam's is only thought of as an insulting racial epithet, a meaning hijacked according to modern sensibilities. But witnesses to the wits and wiles of the man from over a century ago applied this specific moniker to Langford when a multitude of others which implied ethnicity alone were available for application. Sonny would discover precisely why.

 

Langford's best was behind him at the start of the series, and he was an empty shell in the second half.

If Jersey Joe Walcott had fought Joe Louis 10 times he could probably have ended up something like 7-3 in the series, but it would not mean that Louis only won the first tow fights because he got 10 tries at it.[/quote]




you are right because the 1st fight many felt Walcott won and the 2nd Walcott was even before he got fancy with Joe and got caught in a buzz-saw by the best power combo guy ever but both fights were highly competitive between the 2