Yank Durham ducked a 38 y/o Sonny in '68 and Jack Quarry did so with the 40 y/o in '70. Joe and Jerry were 24 and 25, respectively, at the time(s). Sonny was hot for both and was more viable in '68 with 14 consecutive wins and pre-Leotis Martin. End of '68 Sonny was rated #5 (Joe 1 and Jerry 6). End of '69 Sonny 6, Joe 1 Jerry 3. End of '70 at time of death Sonny was only demoted to #8 in spite of Martin KO (very generous!) with Joe as champ and Jerry #4. In later '70 Sonny 40 and Jerry 25. Two scenarios 1) Sonny's jab readily turns Jerry's mug into a Wepner repeat or 2) Jerry does his giant killer routine to an old Sonny as he later did to prime Mac Foster-Lyle-Shavers (this outcome more likely). Sonny's goldfish bowl comment on Frazier aside, I see a late '68 24 y/o Frazier getting inside and giving 38 y/o Sonny a body beating with many a left hook to the head landing flush and thus a middle round stoppage (KO'd in 9 by a much lesser Leotis Martin in '69). Joe's head movement and overall D and full steam pressure would also have been a big prob for Sonny. Thoughts? As to Sonny's age see Springs Toledo
At the very least I would say that the risk Sonny represented outweighed the best possible rewards. Throw Ellis in also with the aforementioned fighters. Some say post title Liston was only looking to fight 2nd tier guys. I would say that might be true only in so far taking the least disruptive path to another shot at the title - but, just imo, if Liston was offered the ultimate chance at an Ellis or Frazier, he most certainly would’ve taken it. All in all, I think it would be fair to deem old Sonny as the underdog vs said fighters but, again, he was still somewhat of a risk to fight and, in view of stylistic meshing, possibly that much more of a risk for Frazier than the other two fighters.
I think the boxing establishment wanted no more to do with Sonny Liston and that made him someone not desirable to fight. Wouldn’t be surprised if we one day learn that the powers that be of the day gave a quiet word to top guys to steer clear of him … if Sonny wins, he’s unavoidably back in the title picture. I would imagine early champ Frazier (or Yank as his manager) would be given the edict to not give him a title fight. Sonny was still considered toxic — he never lived down the two performances against Ali, which left an odor of a possible fix, he was mob-affiliated and he hung out with unsavory characters.
Pretty sure Joe would have been too much for Sonny at that particular time.The fight with Quarry is harder to call,these are two of my favourite fighters.Slight preference for Sonny here but on another day could possible pick Jerry
