Cassius Clay's vulnerability to the left hook.

I picked Liston by ko,my Dad picked Ali, he said Liston hasn't been tested for years and has few recent rounds under his belt,the kid will be too fast for him and take a dec. I doubt anyone predicted a corner retirement!

 

Wow, mad props to your dad for putting his balls on the table with that one.

 

Liston was disinterested against Ali and overlooked his opponent. Ali put on a clinic and pulled off a great win despite being the underdog. Even if Liston was interested, I would still favor Ali as he was just too fast for Liston.

 

Lol, my Dad actually predicted Ali too, for similar reasons. He thought he'd win narrow over the distance because he was really fast, had a good jab, and Sonny would need time to shake off the rust, and those are rounds he'd lose.

I was too young to remember, but he said his friends were giving him **** right up until Liston packed it in.
Personally, I'd have given Liston an edge. Not a 7-1 edge, but maybe a 2-1. He's the champ, a lethal puncher, and Ali showed signs of still being green and learning. My ESB prediction post would probably have said something like, it might be different in a couple of years but right now, the experienced, angry, hard hitting king is gonna keep his crown.

 

As i recall a lot of peoples opinions were further pushed Listons way due to Clays Weigh-in Performance, Many thought that Clay was in fearful Meltdown, Little did they know that it would take a bit more than the usual few bath towels stuffed under Listons Robe, and a baleful Stare to Cave in this Kid, When they came together for Barneys Instructions....the Monster that was Liston....Found Himself Looking Up to Clay....the Complacent Liston was in with a Gifted Athlete...The Pendulum of perception was already starting to swing...

 

You really would have thought an ex con like Liston who had the power the lethal type of power that he did, would have intimidated Clay, but such was not the case. One thing Clay/Ali had in spades was self confidence, which is probably the single best attribute anyone can have in any sport.

 

That pretty much sums it up right there.

The general perception was that Liston was a "bigger, stronger" version of Cooper or Doug Jones, and that he would do what they did but worse. What nearly everyone overlooked was that while being bigger, stronger, he was also slower, more ponderous than those fighters, and fighting a bigger-but-slower opponent actually turned out to be more to Ali's stylistic liking. On top of which, Liston also turned out to have less heart than prior Ali opponents, although that was unknown to everyone going in.

 

Joe Louis would put Ali to sleep with his left hook.