Surprised myself by voting for Sonny by dec here.Better boxer ,nothing in it for power,but a fight that could go either way ,with alternative endings imo.
Probably my favourite fantasy fight ever. I really like (so probably overrate) both these guys. I'll go with 55% Liston winning. Incidentally, aside from Ali, I think this duo smash most - but not all - fighters in history to bits. Yeah!
Interestimg to read the opinions of Terrell and Wepner. If George couldn't back Sonny up, he probably doesn't beat him. Liston was a better boxer imo and might have had a better engine. Sonny late rounds stoppage.
He did. Problem is, we'd have to be sure which Mike showed up. When inspired, he could be devastating, but that was pretty hard to predict....even in the course of a fight.
Both incredibly hard hitters, but Liston edges it for me cause he was the superior all round boxer. Foreman was a bit stronger and was good at cutting the ring, but Liston had a much better jab, better defense and he knew how to pace himself a lot better.
Liston was around 40 when he fought Ali, he injured his shoulder in the first fight and he wasn't properly prepared cause he underestimated Ali. He chose to take a dive in the second. Therefore the outcome of those fights is irrelevant. Liston is the superior boxer and would win.
Foreman said he was terrified before the Frazier fight and said that he was glad that he never fought Shavers, Foreman, later on in his career/life, often spoke humble of his opponents, as for the fight, I think Foreman pushes Liston back whilst keeping it at range and jabs with him, not to out jab him, but when you jab with someone to set up the power shots and to bait the opponent, I see Foreman jabbing with Liston for a few round and then eventually jabbing and smashing a big right after that jab when Liston throws and hurts him and finishes him off
I think your right. I could see Liston staying focused and jabbing and Foreman would tire, and get brutalized and stopped after the 5th. Foreman might win in an all-out firefight early. He was bigger, stronger, and had a little more heart than Sonny. Ultimate war of beasts!
I think it's because they're too evenly matched in so many different areas and have similar weapons and weaknesses. There are more than a dozen ways this could end and that's why its hard to confidently state how a single encounter would go. I think it's similar to Holmes vs Ali or Wladmir vs Lennox. You'd be a fool to bet more than a dollar on a winner since there are so many possibilities.
