1960 Sonny Liston vs Jimmy Young of the 1977 bout against George Foreman.

I favour Sonny Liston, because of his long reach and heavy jab. Nevertheless, Young would be a tough opponent for Liston with his slickness and his speed advantage.

 

I think this looks a lot like Liston-Machen.

 

I think Liston wins this and honestly, that night was not the best Foreman. His heart was not in boxing at that point and by his own admission was not at 100%. The heat that night was another big factor.

 

This could go a variety of ways. I am not opposed to a close decision going to either man. Young was very tough and very hard to hit, so I concur with the idea Liston would defeat Young in the way he defeated Eddie Machen. However, Young imo is the best type of fighter for beating guys like Sonny Liston and Foreman, so I wouldn't count that out either.

 

Most likely Liston, since Young was out of shape when he fought Foreman. Liston wouldn’t have let Young off the hook if he hurt him like Foreman did. 213 lbs was too much weight for Young.

Young from the first Lyle fight or the second Shavers fight on the otherhand would have a chance at taking a decision off Liston, since he was in top condition.

 

lol

 

I would say Liston should be slightly favored but this would be frustrating for both guys. Liston couldn't cut the ring off and had trouble with cagey defensive fighters. On the other hand, Young would have a hard time getting any momentum going with his offense as Liston would be sticking his ramrod jab out at every given opportunity. Liston would also be going to the body and attempting to time Young as opposed to simply swinging wildly like other sluggers did against Young.

The flip side to this is that Young at his best was a great counter puncher and has an impressive record against heavy hitters. He should at least be favored to be able to go the distance.

As for who wins, I'm not sure, but there's a good chance Young could get robbed on the cards depending on the taste of the judges. Some refs think that "effective aggression" takes a round even if you don't land many punches and Young's head movement and spoiling tactics may not be appreciated. It would also depend on how the judges look at connect percentages vs how many punches actually landed. This could end up being a very dubious bout like Hagler vs Leonard. I would still slightly favor Liston having said all that prime for prime but it's hard to give a definitive answer.

 

Curios case in Jimmy Young- if a few calls by the judges had gone his way he would have beaten Norton, Ali and Foreman, Shavers and Lyle some x2 though some were diminished these names would command respect without doubt to his legacy.

You could argue he was the fourth finest HW of the 70s ahead of Norton had fate been on his side just a tad more.

 

New boxing fan I see.

 

I think Jimmy’s negative style actually could have stolen the win against Holmes!

 

Liston decision tho i'm not counting out a stoppage. His jab and more compact punches get the job done. He'd bide his time and stalk behind his jab.