Sonny Liston vs Lennox Lewis

Liston takes it to lewis body for 8-9 rds then goes up top for a KO.

 

great match-up both of them being a top 10 atg in my opinion. i see this one going to sonny. not an easy one ofcourse but overall sonny being the slight better technician.
and sonny also being the better slugger when it comes down to that. both of them being great ring-generals. they had the same reach i believe. so 7 or 8 out of 10 going to sonny

 

Lewis mid round KO/TKO boring I know

 

I take Lewis by stoppage. Sonny never faced a guy with the size/strength/skill combination of Lewis. A prime, prepared Lewis was very good at figuring out his foes and applying his awesome power at the right times.

That said, Lewis has the deserved reputation of a guy who was not always motivated or properly prepared, making Liston a very, very live underdog. If Rahman could do it, Liston certainly could.

 

Liston did take flush shots from Cleveland Williams who was a very hard puncher and was 6"3 only 2 inches shorter than Lewis,

and Liston walked right threw Williams like he was nothing and he was a very dangerous fighter

{I know Lewis was a greater fighter than Williams, but this does answer you questioning Liston ability to take a punche from a hard punching big heavyweight}

I pick Liston to win this one

people forget what a great fighter and technician Liston was

 

But Lewis certainly could be found by jabs, Mercer (who wasn't bigger, just heavier, than Liston), Bruno, and Mavrovic all found him. I'm positive none of them had a reach longer than Liston's, and none of them were the fighters that Liston was. None of them were the jabbers that Liston was either. Nevermind his vulnerability to right hands.

 

lewis has excellent handspeed & timing. he is capable of crushing uppercuts without loading up. remember the uppercut that rocked vitali? yes, *that* one. these awesome traits, lewis' size, and mentality combined with his average boxing skills is what made him a top 10 ATG IMO.

liston was the better boxer with a better jab. many tout liston's chin but i would be very concerned about a lewis overhand right hurting liston. lewis' punch is very powerful, very fast, and comes suddenly. i can't see liston survive too many of those.

if lewis gets careless like he did with rahman or tua - he won't get away with it. liston is going to need to box and occasionally show his power to keep lewis reserved and wary of throwing a big punch. liston was a very good boxer who would be outpointing lewis and keeping lewis too busy to load up a big shot. i'm picking liston on points. lewis, regardless of his height or size, is not going to bully liston. despite the firepower on both sides, this is going to be a boxing match going on the cards. lewis isn't outboxing liston.

 

Liston can stop him, but i think i'm leaning towards Lewis.

 

I think Lennox wins this matchup most times.

 

Me too. Hard fight to pick.

 

on what ground? is lewis a better boxer? does he have a better jab? a style suited to beat liston? elaborate.

 

I'd have to re-watch it, but my impression was more that Machen slowed down a bit and was perhaps over-extending himself energy-wise in trying to anticipate the "big bear".

He did plenty of work on the front foot during their first bout as well. Williams fought differently as well.

These are adaptations, but nothing that would clearly put him higher than Lewis in this category, wouldn't you say?

Lewis can box a perfect match off the backfoot for 12 rounds (Tua) or blow his man out of there (Golota). Liston doesn't have that many tools. He plods forward.

Of the iron chinned Lewis opponents i mentioned, no one got blown out by a lightheavyweight in the 3rd round. Certainly i can't imagine the likes of Tua, McCall, Holyfield, etc, to suffer that fate. Not to mention that he lasted shorter than almost anyone, against Liston, nor ever proved he DID have a good chin before being shot. I don't think he belongs... at all.

Clark is rather durable, but again, i wouldn't put him on that list. I don't think Norton wasn't that big a hitter, either.

 

I go to the Bruno fight and see the fits Lennox had against Frank. Now imagine him against a faster, harder hitting version with stamina and a great chin ?

 

:deal

 

I'm not sure that Liston was either faster or much harder of a hitter. Liston was a bit ponderous and Bruno hit very, very hard. Liston was a better fighter, for sure, but it was other attributes/intangibles that made it so.