Sonny Liston TKO 1 Wayne Bethea 1958

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQZkFNdPkdI[/ame]
I haven't seen many champion demolish ranked contenders who have never been stopped before in just 69 seconds of the first round.

I believe this is Sonny's best performances. I don't know if it was his weight(trimmer 204lb), but I have never seen him look so fast and sharp. Wayne Bethea was one of the most durable heavyweights of the era. He had size and strength 205lb. He was a mauler, a bit of a spoiler, and gave some of the division's best fighters very close fights. He was never stopped before the Liston fight, and never stopped afterward. Bethea was rated # 8 in the world by Ring Magazine at the time of the fight.

Was this Liston's best performance?

Interesting. According to the St. Petersburg times immediately after the fight on Aug 7 1958, IBC president Truman Gibson said he will offer floyd patterson a 250,000 guarantee to meet Liston in Chicago for a title shot.

 

Wayne Bethea was 26 years old, and was rated the highest he would ever become. I think this equates to being in the peak of his prime.

I like the way he attacks Bethea after hurting him with that brilliant 4 punch combination. It was the straight right hand which started it. He pursued Bethea, but used his long reach to punch at Bethea from the outside(away from where Bethea could hit him).

I think Liston looks fantastic when Bethea backs toward the ropes. Watch at 1:00, that left hook from Liston comes out of nowhere. Then at 1:04 he hits bethea with the same left hook. Absolutely lethal.

 

Did Ross Purrity Suck? Prior to fighting Wlad, he lost 3 out of his last 4. He went onto a great big slide for the rest of his career going 6-7-2 in his last 15 fights. I don't believe for a moment you think an undefeated Wladimir Klitschko lost to a **** fighter? Numbers can be misleading.

For example..

Even though Bethea lost 4 out of his last 7, all 4 losses came to men ranked in the top 5 by Ring Magazine. Harold Johnson was rated # 1 at LHWT, Folley rated # 3, and Valdes was rated # 4. The decision losses to Folley 2x and Valdes were all split decision losses.

So in Essance...

Bethea was

A. Only losing to top ranked world class fighters at that point

B. He was losing in very close competitive fights

Bethea had an excellent chin. He also was strong(we disagree here) and put up a solid workrate. He would bore into his opponents and would maul them on the inside. He was a big time spoiler. Very ackward fighter to face. He didn't fight pretty, but it worked to his advantage.

Bethea had a tremendous chin. This is why it is impressive. Liston needed only 69 seconds to give Bethea the only stoppage of his entire career.