I have just gone through a bunch of old "Boxing News". In early 1967 there are several mentions of Ingemar Johansson wanting to promote a fight in Sweden between Sonny Liston and Oscar Bonavena. Sonny was fighting in Sweden at that time, but the fight never came off. Maybe the WBA tournament came in the way. How do you see a fight in summer 1967 between Sonny Liston and Oscar Bonavena panning out. Looks a very interesting fight to me.
Not sure how this one goes but it would be an interesting and fun fight. I’ll take Liston by decision if I’m forced to make a pick.
Draw or Oscar by a thin margin on the cards. Tough tough fight. Sonny was not exactly fighting a who's who after that Ali rematch. Not even B grade heavies and more like C grade. Awful tough sport for the old guys use to fighting C graders to all of a sudden move up and fight an A grade youthful fighter. Let alone fight a bonafide tough guy. Easier opponents out there than this guy. Things don't seem to go as planned for Liston. Reflexes and fatigue and accuracy become magnified. Even things like balance. and across the ring is youth that is looking at making his reputation beating the old guy. Every now and then the old guy reaches back in time and pulls out a victory. Most times though it is the end of the line, and things end badly for the old timer.
Liston was done after Ali and not interested in taking a tough fight like Bonavena. Im going with Oscar. The two toughest guys Liston fought after Ali were powderpuff puncher Henry Clark, who was no world beater, and Leotis Martin, who lost to a clear cut decision to Bonavena but knocked out Liston. I dont think Liston was ready for or wanted a tough fight like Bonavena was gonna give him. I dont think he was trained at this point in his career to go the distance in such a fight. Id pick Bonavena to run him out of the ring. Liston would likely quit.
Liston 1967 wasn't Liston 1962. Thinking he does a Patterson number, or a Folley number on a rock chinned, rugged brawler like Oscar at this point of his career is unlikely.He beat some so,so opposition after the Ali rematch but Oscar was durable, strong as hell and fearless. The Leotis Martin fight is quite illuminating when predicting this match up. Different styles for sure but Martin (all 199 pounds of him) endured Liston's heavy stuff, hung in there and blasted him out with a scary KO. Liston was 2 years younger in 67 but he was still facing softish opposition and had questionable training habits that could see a tough bugger like Bonavena outlast and possibly beat Liston around this time also. Heresy on here but taking into account the timing of this match up then Bonavena has a real shot. Liston simply wasn't the animal he used to be at this point.
Its very possible Liston would have too much mileage and bad living on his clock by 67,but Bonavena was dropped 3 times by Ali,twice by Ellis and also by Folley,so not exactly rock chinned,imo.
This. By 1967 Bonavena definitely has a good chance at stopping Liston, since Liston’s timing, durability, and conditioning slipped a lot. Liston from 1960 on the other hand would beat Bonavena like drum.
When was Liston ever great? He beat Floyd Patteron a glass chin 180 pound fighter who would be considered a small cruiserweight by today's standards and he beat Cleveland Williams a glorified club fighter. [url]http://boxrec.com/en/boxer/9382[/url] Find me one even decent fighter Williams ever beat. Name him for me please. So because Liston beat these two guys it makes him a monster? Liston is built up by two groups of people. The ones who need to build up Ali's earlier career and these old guys who think everything from their era was better than what came afterward. Liston was never that good and I couldn't imagine him winning the title again any top guy from the 70's on. Do you think guys like George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Ron Lyle ect would of been afraid of him? If 180 pound guys like Marty Marshall could out box him then why wouldn't bigger guys be able to do the same? In any case Bonavena would stopped Liston much easier than Leotis Martin did.
Fair enough. Though he was stopped just the once in nearly 70 fights so his durability can't really be doubted. It's interesting that he was floored by moderate to fair punchers like Ali, Ellis and Folley yet legit hard punchers like Frazier, Lyle and Martin couldn't do the same. One of those strange things that boxing throws up.
Oscar stops Liston in a slight upset .After been at the end of Liston's jab for much of the fight ,Oscar nails him and kds a stunned Sonny ... Liston barely makes it up and the ref stops it .
