how long does the irishman survive the onslaught from liston or does jimmy turn the trick and runs for his life while sticking and moving for the win?
fair assumption but anything can happen in a fight. look what he did to max b. how would sonny do with max. max had a sledgehammer right hand of his own.and when he wasnt clowning around he was a tough tough s.o.b.
jimmy braddocks parents were English immigrants. His mother was English born but from an Irish family and the Braddock side were English. So the american born "Irish jimmy braddock" was proberbly 3 quarters english.. sonny liston would be fancied here but braddock has the balls and experience. Remember Jimmy was a talented guy who had finaly broken through into the big time and was quite driven. Braddock was a good enough fighter to beat a good champion for that spell of form he had where he beat Jh lewis, max baer, tommy farr etc, he also gave a peak joe louis a beter fight than given credit for, perhaps beter than a lot of ATG's would do against that version of louis. I think the best version of braddock beats marty marshall and leotis martin out of sight. Hed make lighter work of burt whitehurst (inferior in everyway to john henry lewis) and eddie machen who gave liston competative fights. Of course liston would beat all the lesser fighters who beat Jimmy before his comeback but I dont think Liston would have an easy time of it against Jim DURING HIS PURPLE PATCH, a guy tough enough to give sonny the resistance to take him into deep water unlike 99% of the uncompetative mismatched prey Liston feasted on in real life.
After stubborn resistance from Jimmy,Liston breaks his opponent up to the body and scores a tko by round nine or ten. Braddock would earn plaudits for his brave stand.
Liston knew how to keep a high gaurd, tight defense, and he knew how to box. Max Baer didn't. Max with his low lands and wide punches would be jabbed to death by liston until liston choses to know him out, by which time max baer would probably lay down and give up because he was being so thoroughly outclassed(like he did vs Louis). The comparison of Baer to Liston is silly. I am a Max Baer fan too. Braddock vs Liston is a mismatch. Braddock had tight defense, sound skills, and a good beard, but Liston was on another level. Braddock would have no answer for Listons jab, he won't have an answer for liston muscling him on the inside, and he won't be able to take liston's best stuff for more than a few rounds. Braddock had a lot of heart, but heart ain't enough to beat a prime sonny liston. Liston TKO 5 Braddock
Cleveland Williams, Floyd Patterson, Zora Folley, Eddie Machen? What would James Braddock record be against these guys? I would say .500 at best. Ever thought perhaps these men were so "uncompetative" and "mismatched" because Liston was such a dominating force in his prime? Fancied heavily So does the best version of Liston So you think he would knockout whitehurst? Because Liston did not lose one round in two fights against whitehurst. I think Machen has a good chance to beat Braddock. Machen was more fluid and polished, along with a better offense. Not easy. However, I do think it will be one sided. Jimmy does not have anything in his repertoire that can make Liston nervous. He also does not have the tools, skills, or speed to outbox liston. Liston would overwhelm him.
Braddock was taller than liston and was a good jabber himself. He sucked it up against a great joe louis but It wasnt enough. No doubt Liston was stronger but I remember eddie futch remarking on what a clever fighter braddock was, he wasnt fast but had the experience to get away with it. Futch said jimmy knew just where to stand and when to pull the trigger. Eddie machen was clever and he went the distance with the best of liston. why not jimmy?
Yes. However, Liston was a GREAT jabber. If braddock tries to get in a jabbing match with Liston, he will get busted up. More importantly, Liston had a 84" reach compared to Braddock's 75". So despite Braddock being a mere 1" taller than liston, there is almost a 10" disparity in reach. Liston was a lot closer to Joe Louis in ability, than Braddock is to Liston. Because Machen fought to survive. He did not engage Liston. He played 100% defense and retreat for 12 rounds. Would Braddock engage Liston? I think so. He had a big heart. If he doesn't, he still gets jabbed to death and outboxed for a unanimous decision loss.
Liston was much, much better ... a brave and gutty Braddock lasts maybe five or six rounds and then goes to sleep ...
Jimmy was noticably taller than joe louis and had amoung the longest of jabs by heavyweight standards. I would dispute some measurements given in boxing and go by what you see. braddock was a genuine long guy and tougher than anyone Liston actualy beat. jim wasnt fast he just knew what to do and IMO braddock was tough enough to stand up to liston who had too few COMPETATIVE fights. Nobody but a very special joe Louis knocked out braddock. Unlike joe louis who could knock out guys with a reputation for never being KO'd, Liston was NEVER the first guy to knock out anyone. clevland williams, foley, patterson had all been knocked out before. when asked to explain his favourite stratergy eddie futch named braddocks gameplan against baer. He said he used it many times for his fighters from watching that fight. futch called max baer a clever fighter who would walk a guy near the ropes and let his big right hand go when they automaticaly steped forward from backing into the ropes. Futch said braddock recognised this and jabbed baer at the right moment preventing max from ever geting off. simple but effective. jim knew what to do where as most who fought liston, if they were not scared already, they just did not know what to do. Now, I accept Liston would bring more than a right hand with him but if braddock was smart enough to impress old eddie futch he deserves more credit than a guy who liston could simply walk through...
