Expert opinions on Marciano VS Liston

Fight Advantages:
Hand speed- No Advantage, Boxing Ability- Liston, KO Power- Liston, Chin- Liston, Size- Liston, Defense- No Advantage, Endurance- Marciano, Adaptability- Liston, Foot Speed- No Advantage, Strength- Liston, Jab- Liston, Cuts- Liston:
Total: Liston 8-1-3

Special Notes About the Fight:
Marciano went to the canvas against two light punching heavyweights, Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore. One of his closest battles was against Walcott in 1952 when he was behind on all three judges score cards when he won by knockout in the 13th round. His other close calls were a split decision over Roland LaStarza and Ezzard Charles. Both of these men weighed less than 190 pounds and all three were great boxers. The only fighter Marciano faced with a similar style to Liston was an over the hill Joe Louis, who he disposed of in eight rounds.
Liston was very dominating destroying all contenders from 1959 till he gained the title in 1962. Only one fighter went the distance and that was Eddie Machen in 1960. Machen was a classic boxer who weighed 196 and hit and ran most of the evening.
Very few fighters stood a chance exchanging blows with Liston. Liston was only down twice in his career, his questionable first round lost to Ali in 1965 and at the age of 38 his knockout loss to Leotis Martin.

Common Opponents:
None.

Keys to the Fight:
Marciano would be giving up about 30 pounds in weight and a lot more in reach. Liston had an 84 inch reach compared to Marciano’s 68. That is a difference of 16 inches in reach alone. Liston’s long jab would be the key to the fight. Marciano was cut in many of his fights and Liston would be able to fight Rocky at long range. Liston did not have many long fights so if the fight went into the late rounds Marciano's endurance would be a factor. Liston loved fighters who attacked him as Patterson did in their two fights. Most fighters who had success against Liston ran.

Results:
Marciano would come out early trying to take the fight to Liston much like Patterson did trying to get inside Liston’s jab. But unlike Patterson, Rocky is a much harder target to find. Marciano is extremely low and Liston is missing a lot of his jabs and becomes frustrated. Although Liston is not dominating the fight, he is winning the rounds and Marciano is cut in the middle rounds. Liston wins on a late round TKO or by decision. The fight is much tougher for Liston than many expected.

Counter Point:
In both the Ali fights, Liston's courage and stamina were always called into question by most experts. Of course the second Ali fight you can throw out because it most certainly was not on the level. Marciano on the other hand was one of the most courageous fighters in the history of the ring.

What the Experts Say:
Most experts have a hard time being objective about Marciano because he never lost a fight. Many forget the many cuts that Marciano endured during his career. Many boxing historians focus on Liston two loses to Ali. Experts like Marciano in a late round knockout.(Most experts rank Marciano over Liston 10 to 7)

Moontan Rating:
* {Looks at fighters' longevity, competition and ability}
Liston 135.1 Marciano 113.8

Liston-Marciano Comparison

by Jim Carney Jr., boxing expert and author who has written numerous articles on boxing and his new book called “Ultimate Tough Guy” on the life and times of James J.Jeffries.

There is not much to choose between these two in hitting power, skill, durability or speed (hand or foot). One assumes the bigger Liston has the edge in strength, but this is far from certain since Marciano worked hard to develop and maintain that. Definite points in Liston's favor are that Rocky was not used to fighting top-rate heavies of Liston's style, let alone a great like Sonny. Rocky did beat a Joe Louis of close to Liston's size, but that Joe - though still good - was not great when he fought Marciano. Rocky beat an excellent crop of heavyweights (Walcott, LaSarza, Charles, Moore, Mathews, etc) but they were all stylish and about his own size.

On the other hand, some of these men were great or near-great fighters and Marciano always overcame them thorough many tough situations. The one time Liston ran into a man his own level (the then Cassius Clay) he unceremoniously quit in his corner. It is almost unimaginable to think of Rocky quitting in his corner. One time, Ezzard Charles almost ripped the Rock's nose off his face yet Marciano stopped him in the next round. He was also almost blinded by liniment in the first Walcott fight and never thought of giving up. Back in Liston's favor, he did perhaps fight more people of the slugging style than Rocky. Included here is at least one man, Cleveland Williams, whose punching power (though not total ability) was at the Liston-Marciano level. Rocky fought some good hitters but probably no one who was at his, Liston's or Williams level in this department.

In terms of the comparable styles each man experienced, I don't recall Sonny ever fighting a powerful, crouching fighter of the Marciano type. There was stylistic similarity between Liston and the Louis of 1951, though that Louis was probably far from Liston's equal. Liston's height advantage (2 or three inches) and weight advantage (25-30 pounds) were substantial but not overwhelming. But Sonny's 16-inch reach advantage may have been too much of an advantage in a key area. He also sometimes cut opponents with his long, ultra-deadly jab.

Conclusion: If Rocky had more experience fighting bigger heavyweights, I would pick him to pull this one off by decision or even late-round kayo on grit and conditioning. Since this is not the case, I give Liston the edge. A kayo is not impossible but more likely, Liston scores two knockdowns and wins by decision or late-round stoppage.

One more thing to add, Liston could be rattled by movers and awkward fighters, such as Bert Whitehurst, Marty Marshall, Eddie Machen and Ali. Sonny never wanted to fight Ernie Terrell, whose style drove him crazy in the gym. But slugger to slugger, Sonny walked through people like Mike DeJohn and Cleveland Williams, thought they rattled him with good shots. Williams had even broken his nose earlier. I don't think he would have lacked heart in a macho match with Rocky.

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