Prime Ali vs. Machen-era Liston...Hmmm

I hadn't seen this fight in many years and for some reason kind of forgot that Machen was actually a good heavyweight. It was Liston's jab more than anything else that ruined the fight for Eddie, and I must admiringly comment on that jab. But it was overall just a fascinatingly dominating performance...I've rarely seen a heavyweight puncher handle a good boxer so well w/o scoring a TKO/KO.

I gained a whole new dimension of appreciation for Sonny's left jab watching that fight. I knew it was terrific but watching him use it for so long against Machen opened my eyes even more.

Liston knew how to use his ridiculous reach and jab to really knock fighters off-balance and (like Holmes) generally ruin their day. It was so long I think of it as the javelin of heavyweight jabs.

Watching this...I wonder how Ali would have fared (say, at the age he won the title) against this earlier Liston. Though I toe the line as far as Ali being the rightful Greatest, I don't think things would have been as easy.

 

True. But check out how he still gets his man. Machen wasn't anywhere near Ali, but he had above average hand and foot speed.

 

One of the things most interesting to me about the Machen fight is the contrast between the announcers telling viewers how stressed Liston was getting over not knocking out Machen and the overall composed and quite self-possessed performance the bulky champ put on.

Is it me or did Liston seem to be a different fighter in some important ways to the man who fought Ali? Even taking into consideration his age.

 

I know Ali would have still made him look like a relative turtle. But I'd be willing to bet he landed more often. Ali (like Holmes) always wanted to be the guy with the big jab, and when someone else had one of high quality he would get frustrated. Plus that hook off the jab could have spelled a knockdown.

But it's true, Liston would have been walking around in a blender for that fight.