Sonny Liston 1959 vs Gentleman Gerry Cooney 1982,

Liston head to head...that's tough for to me to confidently list because I've become progressively more educated in watching his fights attentively (thanks to Swag).

I think Liston would have MASSIVELY bothered Holmes (Larry always hating fighting people with really good jabs, Carl Williams is a good example for one). And Liston really knew how to step through with it. Liston would probably floor Larry with the right but...

here's where things get interesting to me. Prime Larry's known for scraping himself up off the canvas and gaining control again within a round (Weaver, Snipes, Shavers), ultimately roaring back for a stoppage. But Liston was unquestionably a better finisher than ANY of those guys, plus a much better boxer overall.

So it's tough...as I mentioned, Larry goes down at some point, gets back up...he'd have to be able to hold, hold, hold until the end of the round, possibly having a point taken away for it. Because Liston was a ferocious lion when finishing, and he didn't miss too much.

If Larry can weather the storm, he could stop Sonny in the 11th or 12th. But it's quite possible things could end after the knockdown, Sonny was THAT good a finisher.

Against Frazier I have the fight up in the air, too. Sonny would be quite fine with Joe coming in...but then, Joe liked people doing that, too. It's just that Sonny could move some and box, too, he wasn't locked into a constant-forward-motion style.

Two tough calls.

I do pick prime Ali and Louis to beat (Patterson-era) Liston, but the prime Sonny wouldn't lose without an exciting fight. Holyfield I pick, too. Beyond that, not entirely sure. Foreman was already intimidated by him, Tyson would have been the same...