Strategic masterpiece?

I think the best place would be inside, Liston wasn’t overly good at that range. I’d get my guy to fight out of a crouch in spots, shading off to the right to create a lot of distance between the right hand of Liston and let’s call him “Bob” I’d have Bob dip his head outside Liston’s left shoulder on the outside, If Liston throws a right pull back and counter, he can’t throw a hook at my guy from this posture, it’s just my guy and the jab… I’d have Bob make a focused effort to counter the jab with his own, simultaneously circling to the right - Sonny was a pretty one track, straight ahead fighter so if we were cornered just run the track to the the left laterally, bulls can’t charge in a circle… if he tries to cut you off dip outside SL’s right to your left and use the weight on your lead foot to pivot out back to centre ring - coming in behind the jab (thrown properly to protect your chin) would be the key to getting to work, you’d want to touch down with it first and get in, give him something to think about on the way there… while you’re jabbing he can’t hit you with a right hand over the top - the left hook to the head might come, but you can dip under that from a jab pretty easily, you’d probably be able to get in that way - your biggest threat would be the rights to the body on Bobs’s way to his range. I don’t remember Liston using them to counter jabs. it’d be a cagey, workman type effort, fought in spurts like handling slippery dynamite. it’d take someone fighting a lot like Ezz Charles inside, stick a head on the shoulder go to work a little bit and then lock it up so he can’t put the bull on you. I think if you kept it very professional and cagey you could win 9-6 over 15 but it’d be less close then the scorecards reflect as Bob’s be taking his time… but also more dangerous thn the card says. SL is a HW with a punch, a guy who can take you out like that is always a threat the whole fight he’s not stupid and he only needs a few good moments to make up the difference - smother, spoil and wear him down.

 

Assuming they themselves are diligent enough to eat what their nutritionists recommend (and that they do it 24/7/365 rather than when just in training.)

 

So "Bob" is a steel-chinned (like Holyfield) 190ish pound guy, 5'11" who fights like Jerry Quarry.

If he's a rough avatar for Quarry in all of his other aspects, it's not the worst choice in the world for matching against Liston. Big, very powerful opponents didn't really do much to Quarry; he was 3-0 (2 KOs) against Lyle, Shavers, and Foster.