How would Sonny Liston have done in the 1990s? Would boxers be able to handle him?

He would have probably won a version of the belt at some point.

 

Heavyweight Champion of the world

 

He'd lose to the very best ieLewis and Holy field .He'd destroy moorer ,Bruno ,Morrison .He'd stop an old Foreman in 10. He'd have a good bust up with Bowe which he may or may not win .He'd wreck the 90 s Tyson as Holyfield did .And he'd have a surprisingly hard fight against Ray Mercer !

 

I feel like he would have done very well. For one, he had a ridiculous reach and one of the best jabs in boxing history. At 6'1 and around 220 he would be considered a smaller heavyweight in this era but his reach is on par with men that are 6'5 or larger. George Forman has said that he was the only fighter he has ever been in with that equaled his strength. Apparently they sparred a few times back in the day.

 

I looked up his reach after my last post. 84" is crazy for a 6'1 man.

Liston had the dimensions of a “super-heavyweight.” His 84” reach is tied for third longest in boxing history with Lennox Lewis. His fists are the largest of any heavyweight champion, 15” the size of ham hocks. Liston had a powerful shotgun jab to go along with his long reach, and he also possessed debilitating punching power with his powerful left hook and devastating uppercuts. Sonny had a strong chin, failing to last the distance only in the controversial Ali fights and towards the end of his career against Leotis Martin. His overall record of 50-4, 39 knockouts is quite good. He was a solid technician in the ring and one of the few heavyweight greats who fought well inside and outside. That cannot be said of too many fighters.Liston was highly avoided and should have been champ by 1960, if not for Ali he likely would have reigned as champion throughout the 1960's as there was no one to beat him until a peak Frazier.

 

I'd only give Lewis an even chance or better.

 

A prime, in shape, motivated Liston who isnt on heroin or alcohol is a threat to any man who ever stepped foot in the boxing ring. He'd be a top 5 contender if not a belt holder in any era.

 

He'd have been at the top of the heap. Maybe a war with Holyfield, Bowe and Mercer. Morrison and Moorer would have been his Williams and Folley of the 90's. He probably would've met defeat at the hands of Lewis. A 90-91 Tyson vs Liston could've went either way and been an entertaining match up

 

Contender, belt holder on the right day.

He wouldn't have the longevity he enjoyed in his own era given the size and punching power differential of the average heavyweight of the era. People always look at these through the lens of a series of one-off fights instead of an actual career context; fighting 3 dozen fights against fighters 30+ pounds bigger than his average opposition would put more mileage on him, quicker.

I'm also not sold he keeps his motivation right if/when he picks a belt up. He had more Riddick Bowe/Tommy Morrison streak in how he handled it after becoming champ that leads me to think he wouldn't have stayed on top long had he reached the summit.

That said, worse fighters than Sonny picked a belt up in that era, so it's only fair to give him that benefit of the doubt.

 

Lewis is the only man I'd give a chance of beating Sonny, and if Sonny hits Lennox solid it's over. No way, no way can Evander get in a fire fight with Liston and Sonny's jab would control Evander. Tyson would not hear the bell for round 5

 

Holyfield and Tyson had loads of handspeed over Liston. And both had top tier HW chins. Also, Liston never met a 217 pound power puncher as fast and as durable as a 1991 Mike Tyson.I'd say that Tyson can take more of Liston's bombs than he could take of Tyson's bombs. A washed up Tyson ate shots from Lennox Lewis. A prime Golota went out in 1 round.

 

I think Liston would be champ...would prob come down to him and Lewis. I see Holyfield Liston going down like Zorra Liston. Goes the distance but Liston edges a win.