[CLIP] Cus D'Amato reacts to Ali-Liston 2 during Post-Fight Interviews "Not Listons Fault!"

Random stuff. Martin was indeed a very good puncher.

“Martin was a really solid, all-around fighter who could box and punch. He was a tough guy who was basically unlucky,” Collins said.

“I watched Leotis box in the gym all the time, and he could punch, man,” Rob Murray, longtime Philadelphia fight figure and Eddie Chambers’ manager and trainer, told RingTV.com. “He was big and strong and a murderous puncher. He could flat out punch and then stay right there in the pocket and punch with you,” Murray said. “Leotis Martin was the truth.”

A strong, hard puncher with a big right hand and great durability, Leotis Martin spent most of his career treading water as one of those fascinating ‘nearly but not quite’ fighters

Durham was a stern taskmaster in the gym who insisted on what he wanted.At some point he had a very good heavyweight named Leotis Martin, a ferocious puncher who sometimes took time off during a fight.

Leotis Martin was probably one of the most unheralded and underrated heavyweights fighters ever. Rumor has it that Joe Frazier's people did not want any parts of this dynamite puncher.

 

I think Dago is right. Leotis Martin scored a good knockout but he is remembered as a fair, solid contender type rather than a monstrous puncher.

Larry Holmes flattened a lot of guys but never gets remembered as a monstrous puncher either.

As he says Guys like Foreman, Marciano are remembered as little else than monstrous punchers.

Martin was a good puncher but I wouldn’t expect his punching to outshine everythinghe was about.

 

Oh pulease. Holmes had just decent power and scored his stoppages thru accumulation and being a class above. He was good enough to stop fighters much bigger punchers, but lesser fighters, failed to.

 

No Larry one timed Alfredo Evangelista and he decked guys like Bey, Cooney, mike Weaver, marvis Frazier, Ossie Occasio, Lorenzo Zannon, Scott ledoux, Leon Spinks and scott Frank in title fights so that’s more guys than Leotis knocked over.

Martin’s best knockout is over Sonny Liston. His next best stoppage win is over Karl mildenburger or Thad Spencer. Neither were one punch finishes either. And that’s it. Ellis stopped Martin and Henry Clark took Leotis to Majority draw. Martin was not a guy with ATG power written all over him. He just wasn’t. The Sonny knockout was a one time deal. He’s like Buster Douglas, or somebody like that. Decent pop in his punch. But that’s it.

 

You aren't going to trick anyone with that lot.

 

It dosnt have to be a trick. It’s just factual. Larry dosnt get remembered as a monstrous puncher but Leotis Martin does? On what criteria is Martin better? Or what criteria did he knockover better fighters? Gerry Cooney was #1 with the WBA and WBC when Larry decked him. Weaver later a WBA champion. Listons days were firmly behind him. It’s like Tyson losing to Danny Williams. Why isn’t Danny Williams remembered?

 

I wouldn't gauge punching power on ability to kill someone in the ring.

 

Again, anybody who thinks Liston toppling over like that was real, needs to get their eyes checked and improve their logic skills. That wasn't real by any stretch of the imagination. Was it a deliberate fix, was it a dive and he stayed intentionally down? Who knows, but I will say, there was a lot of money to be made by Liston getting TKO'd in the first round, and we know what money does to people

 

But what do they know compared to the great Choklab?

 

ESB's great Liston and Foreman sage.

 

To be fair, Salvador Sanchez made that Top 100 punchers list, and while he wasn't feather fisted, I don't think he's anywhere near that level. So, anyone who makes that list (like Martin) shouldn't automatically be considered a world-ender.

 

Which is why i included numerous other quotes. For a guy like Martin to get in he has to have some pop because unlike Sanchez, Monzon, McCallum and co. he lacks top class.

 

Martin had a bit of a pop in his punch. But let’s not get carried away. Jimmy Ellis had some pop in his punch too.

Martin hit hard enough. And that is good enough to knock most folks out.

 

I saw him beat up and stop Thad Spencer at the RAH and he killed Sonny Banks he was an excellent puncher!

 

Thad Spencer, the guy who didn't win the next 7 fights to the end of his career? Sonny Banks was a journeyman.