George Foreman vs. Sonny Liston prime for prime.

Taking Liston

 

Foreman’s jab was a huge weapon in his prime and he was tougher both physically and mentally. He out jabs Liston, controls the bout physically, and stops Liston within six rounds. Liston quit on his stool which we never saw from any Foreman. Sonny may have some good moments early but Foreman’s heart and toughness gets him through these rough spots.

 

Foreman's lack of stamina would probably come into play. Sonny used his jab better than Foreman and was a sharper boxer. If Foreman gets gassed he is in big trouble.

 

Foreman had the better jab. Faster and he could throw them in bunches. In a tough fight Liston would probably quit as he did vs Ali. There was no dog in George.

 

I'd tentatively pick Liston due to his better boxing ability. The real question you should be asking is if either could beat Monte Barret

 

And when Liston watches the Beverley Hillbillies, he sees Max Baer Jr and thanks his lucky stars that he didn't share an era with the great Max Baer Sr and his towering brother, Buddy Baer .

 

Ive gone back and forth on this fight and I've thought of it many times. But after watching Foreman vs Pires earlier today, I'm now leaning heavily towards Liston. Foreman was to easy to hit, and he telegraphed the majority of his looping punches. And unlike J.Frazier, I don't see Foreman being able to just manhandle Sonny Liston the key to most of his victories. That great physical strength that allowed Foreman to push his opponents off balance, keeping them off balance and setting up his punches. I dont believe that would work on Liston, who was as strong as an ox himself. Than it would come down to skill level. Liston had the better skills. And whom would win the intimidation factor? A true thug in Liston who was proven to be one. Or Foreman who was intimidating on the strength of his KO's and his size.
Foreman's Ko's and size wouldn't faze Liston at all. Liston by Ko within 8-9 rds's in a brutal fight for the first 4-6 rds.

 

I do agree and like your post a lot, Sonny used to say that was his favorite show. Max Baer Sr, and Buddy Baer, two tough guys, I once saw Buddy on an old episode of Gunsmoke, as tall as James Arness.

 

LoL he smashes both back to back

 

How the hell does he outjab Liston? Liston had arguably the best jab in history while Foreman almost always neglected to use his in his earlier days. Their are a lot of reasonable arguments you can use to justify picking Foreman over Liston. This is not one of them.

 

Lol

 

Foreman’s jab was called the best since Joe Louis PRIOR to him fighting Frazier. Like Liston he did not have a boxers defensive jab but instead a strong offensive weapon. A very powerful punch he could throw in bunches if he chose.

 

I don't think Foreman's jab was better nor did he always use it as much as he should of. Sonny understand the importance of setting the table with that long left lead.
Angelo Dundee was scouting Liston in the early 60s and said that he saw Sonny knock a guys teeth out with his jab. Liston also had a quick lefthook he could throw off his jab. It was kinda sharp. His right was more of a clubbing type of blow similar to Foreman's.
Other than being slightly bigger Foreman doesn't have any advantages. His defense was certainly inferior.
I think Sonny could box him and let George walk into shots. Setting him up.
I don't put too much stock in Liston quitting against Clay/Ali. There was alot going on down there that we'll probably never the full scope of. Liston was also old by 1964.

 

Was Sonny in his prime when a shoulder injury (confirmed later by doctors) halted him in Miami?

Or was Sonny in his prime when he fought round after round with a broken jaw against Marshall?

Or was Sonny prime when Williams obliterated his face and went on to KO him?

In truth, they were both single-faceted fighters. Machen compared Liston to a freight train that knew only one direction. The same could be said to describe Foreman. I just feel that Sonny, basically equal in power and equal in strength, had a tool or more in his arsenal so that when the firefight went down he would be more likely to catch George than vice versa. But it's all a matter of degrees. And play it out 5 times and both win at least 2.

 

Agreed. The quitting on the stool thing at age 35 gets so old here, So many other ATG's "quit" .. The reality is this is a close rock em sock em fight between 2 Beasts with huge power... Liston a little bit more polished than big George and threw the straighter punches .. No matter how hard you want to argue it, it basically is a coin flip fight