Supposedly two other fighters complained previously about having vision issues in fights with Liston. Strangely (Or maybe not so strangely) these fights took place back to back. Vs. Machen and Zora Folley. Strange that Liston lost three points against Machen for low blows, was taken 12 rounds by him, AND supposedly he was blinded during said fight. Makes you wonder...
Source? Given what happened in the Clay fight, it doesn't sound implausible. I have never seen the Foley fight however.
Not really Russell ,you were pretty even handed in another post about Liston's power,no knee jerks from me .I doubt my knees could manage it! If you were my age,[near 60],you would remember ,with what awe and dread Liston was perceived,he was talked about as equal to Louis, without a shred of patronage ,take it from me he was a monster.Liston kod Folley so I don't see any controvery there.The Machen fight is difficult to nail.Machen didnt make any allegation ,as far as I'm aware,he did say he had an injured arm,which may have hindered him .To get to the bottom of these fights and the Clay/Ali one, you would have to interview Joe Polino ,Lston's cornerman ,I would think he is dead now so go chase your tail if you want.
I think Cleve Williams made the same accusation.....said his eyes kept burning after the fight.....might have been Fight 1 when Cleve was doing so well early. In one of the books Liston was alleged to tell his corner "burn'em up" referring to putting "something" on his gloves (when the fight was not going his way). If you watch the Clay-Liston 1 fight objectively, it appears something smelled from the very first......either Liston was "pulling" or purposely missing his punches.....or Clay was so fast that Liston just couldn't hit him. Kinda like Big Brother sparring with Little Brother and trying to make it look real....but not trying to hurt him either. No miatter what, "somebody" at 7 to 1 odds made some money on the fight.....and it was held in Miami where anything could happen.
If this is true then it has been covered up very well over the years. Williams was indeed having his way with Liston until a sudden momentum change. But we need a little bit more proof than that; the list of boxers claiming foul play in what seem to be legit fights is endless. However, the fact that it clearly happened in the Clay fight does not speak well for him at all. If they did it back then, why wouldn't they have done the same thing earlier? It was the same money cow.
It was mentioned (Machen and Foley examples) in a Liston documentary that was actually very kind to him. So...
