Liston vs Tyson

Its definitely arguable .

In my opinion , I would say Williams power and Tyson power was about equal .

But yeah , its debatable.... No denying that .

Williams was also lot longer and larger than Tyson.. so who knows ?

 

Tyson by KO inside of 10 rounds.

Depending on the source Tyson is 5'10"-5'11 1/2" and has a 71" reach. His best weight was close to 220 Lbs. but he was still ripped at 230 Lbs.

Liston was listed anywhere from 6'-6'1" with a reach of 84", but many people question the reach. His best weight was just under 220 Lbs.

Tyson was very fast and had good footwork. He could cut the ring off very well and very quickly. He was a huge puncher with either hand and a great finisher. He was accurate and was a great combination puncher. He had good head movement and a good bob and weave style for defense and for getting on the inside of his opponent. He could take a good punch. He fought many men who were taller, heavier, and with a much longer reach than himself.

Liston had a good jab and excellent power. He was used to being the much bigger and stronger man in the ring on most nights but that wouldn't be the case this time. He had a good jab but he wasn't a very fast fighter.

Tyson beat David Jaco KO1, Jesse Ferguson KO6 (was initially ruled a DQ for excessive holding), James Tillis W10, Mitch Green W10, Reggie Gross KO1, Marvis Frazier KO1, Jose Ribalta KO10, Alfonso Ratliff KO2, Trevor Berbick KO2, James Smith W12, Pinklon Thomas KO6, Tony Tucker W12, Tyrell Biggs KO7, Larry Holmes KO4, Tony Tubbs KO2, Michael Spinks KO1, Frank Bruno KO5, and Carl Williams KO1 before losing the HW Title.

Liston beat Johnny Summerlin W8 x2, Marty Marshall 2 out of 3 (KO6 and W10), Bert Whitehurst W10 x2, Wayne Bethea KO1, Frankie Daniels KO1, Ernie Cab KO8, Mike DeJohn KO6, Cleveland Williams KO3 and KO2, Nino Valdes KO3, Willi Besmanoff KO7, Howard King KO8 and KO3, Roy Harris KO1, Zora Folley KO3, Eddie Machen W12, Albert Westphal KO1, and Floyd Patterson KO1 x2 before losing the HW Title.

 

Tyson lost the HW Title to James Douglas LKOby10. Douglas was a 42-1 underdog but not because he wasn't a good HW. Douglas was 6'4" with an 82" reach and 231 Lbs. Douglas had a good jab, good hand speed, good footwork, and a powerful right hand. Douglas had beaten Jerry Halstead KO9, Mike Williams KO7, Trevor Berbick W10, and Oliver McCall W10 leading up to the Tyson fight. Douglas was down in the 8th but eventually stopped Tyson in the 10th.

Tyson came back and beat Tillman KO1, Stewart KO1, and Ruddock KO7 and W12 before going to prison.

He came back again and beat the likes of Mathis KO3, Bruno KO3, and Seldon KO1 before losing the WBA HW Title to Holyfield, LKOby11.

Liston lost the HW Title to Ali, LKOby7. Ali was much too fast for Liston and frustrated him the entire fight. Ali stopped Liston in the 1st round of their rematch, a questionable stoppage to say the least.

Liston never fought for a World Title again. He beat Henry Clark and Chuck Wepner among others but was stopped by Leotis Martin, LKOby9.

 

Liston did not have a good jab , . Liston possess a DEVASTATING jab .

Theres a big difference .

His Jab broke facial bones , shattered teeth and ended fights .

Exactly How is Tyson the much bigger and Stronger man ?


Liston has him beat in height and arm length . He also possess the biggest hands in the history of the HW division .

In there prime , there weight was almost identical .

BTW Mike was nowhere near prime anymore when he bulked to 230 .

Sonny being very slow was a complete myth that started in the Ali fights .

I would definitely not label him as a fast fighter . Absolutely not

But I would say he was average and deceptively quick for a man with his muscularity .

Also Liston did not have to be a speed demon to catch his opponents , his arms was so freakishly long . He was always able to find his opponents before he slaughtered em .

 

Liston would slaughter him, realistically.
I think even Tyson knows that.

 

hence, why Tyson admitted the one man hed be scared of would be Liston.

 

I didn't say Tyson was the much bigger and stronger man. I said that Liston was usually the much bigger and stronger man in the ring but that would not be the case this time. Liston was a little taller with a much longer reach (even though I really don't think it was 84"). Their weight was similar but Tyson could carry the heavier weight a little better than Liston which is why I mentioned the 230 Lbs. that Tyson carried later in his career. Tyson was 234 Lbs. vs. Lewis and was definitely past prime but he was still ripped. Liston would be a little fat looking at 234 Lbs. Not a big deal though.

Compared to Tyson, Liston was indeed slow. Tyson had very good hand speed and quick feet. Liston had that long jab but Tyson was quick enough to slip many of them and get inside to land his quick combinations. He also had a good enough chin to not get caught and stopped with one big shot.

I don't think it would be an easy fight for Tyson, but I do think he'd win.

 

Yeah, and I guess it really matters that Foreman said he was scared of Frazier and Norton. Neither man got out of the 2nd round!

Note- Frazier was stopped in the 5th round of their rematch.

 

Are you talking about Cleveland Williams? Williams sucked! Williams was stopped inside of 3 rounds by Bob Satterfield, inside of 3 rounds by Sonny Liston and then 2 rounds in the rematch.

Sure, he stopped Ernie Terrell in the 7th round but Terrell beat him in the rematch, L10. He didn't beat another HW worth mentioning. He also drew with Eddie Machen.

Tyson was shorter than Williams and had a shorter reach but he was not smaller. Tyson was solid at 220 Lbs. despite being 3 1/2" - 6" shorter... depending on the source. I'd say that Tyson was stronger, punched harder, and was quicker. He was definitely a much better fighter and way more durable. Williams is overrated.

 

Liston all the way.

 

Im a Tyson fan dont get me wrong, i just feel Liston wipes the floor with both Tyson and Foreman.

He had the skillset and aggressive, intimidating, bullying attitude to do the job.

 

It's interesting to note that Foreman sparred quite a lot with Liston, and said he was the one man he couldn't go toe to toe with. He said he always tried to box against Sonny because he was too strong and hit too hard to brawl with.

If Foreman is saying that, you have to take note.

 

Williams was better than the tomato cans Mike feasted on in the Eighties.

Liston trained for 15 rounds, not 12, so is likely to be leaner than Mike. This is reflected in the tale of the tape. Liston had a bigger chest, bicep, forearm, and fist than Tyson. Tyson had a much bigger waist and a larger neck.

Not sure what you base Tyson being bigger and stronger on. There are countless boxers, including Foreman, who said Liston was the strongest, hardest hitting guy they ever set foot ina ring with. I haven't read one who said that of Tyson.

 

Tyson will slip the jab and will beat Liston to the punch every single time, Liston has never faced, besides Clay, a skilled big modern heavyweight with speed , speed kills, he could not deal with Clays speed and he would not be able to deal with Tyson's plus there is significant more mus**** behind Tysons punches than Clay.

Its a good thing that Tyson would be scared, you train harder, you get more focused and ultimately a scared Tyson is the best Tyson when it comes to fighting.

Tyson KO 's Liston inside of five rounds.

BTW, in the late nineties/early 2000's Tyson was running with some really bad company, dopers, drug dealers, hard core gangsters with endless rap sheets who would whack somebody for nothing.............. all of them respected him and were scared ****less of him.......there is crazy and there is Michael Gerard Tyson crazy , off the meds on a bad day he is/ was one scary mother fakker.

 

There is some errant nonsense that reflects pure bias.

You can make a good case for either man.
but to label Liston's jab as merely "good", & select adjectives to make it sound like Tyson hit harder totally erodes crediility.

Also, I am very familiar with that clip. it does NOT say Williams is the hardest puncher he faced. he listed him & Lyle | ****ey. Also he only sparred with Liston, who knows how hard Liston went, I would not say illiams likely hit harder.
But the FACTS are important. Get the details right to have your conclusions respected.

OTOH, Tyson did not have a "much" or at all bigger waist than Liston.
Tyson was leaner/seemingly a bit more muscle, though smaller upper body, & hypertrophy/size is not anything like an invariable correlation with power, otherwise bodybuilders & other lifters would hit as hard or harder.

What Foreman said is impressive & worth considering. Yet Foreman was very green then, AND Foreman says much nonsense, especially to be gracious.

Williams had top shelf power, though wasa contender fighter, not an ATG.

Tyson has speed & even greater skills on his side.
Liston reach, power, & possibly a stylistic advantage.

Hard to know.