Sonny Liston vs George Foreman. Prime for Prime?

No it's not...
George would come right at Liston and Liston would box him better jab and used it more than George.

George fought Peralta with the same strategy as he always did back then and Peralta was a smart boxer that's why he stayed all those rounds, the difference is Liston was naturally bigger stronger harder punching and had a better jab than Peralta and Geroge did back then...

 

Good matchup.

I like Liston by Knockout in the mid rounds.

He was the sharper puncher with similar power. George had a good jab himself but he didn't use it the way Liston did. Sonny set up his bombs with that brutal jab consistently.

Foreman would distain the jab and that would cost him here. I think Liston was a little better defensively but neither guy was that hard to find.

I don't buy the Liston was mentally weak theory. I think they are equally tough with Sonny having a style advantage here.

 

I just don't like the Liston corner whatsoever in this matchup. In any of the big fights involving a champion, who ever got by with a worse corner than Sonny?

That kind of issue becomes huge when you fight the best. Pre-fight preperations and tactics and conditioning and everything. sonny pretty much did everything on his own. Very very tough sport to not have a team working for you.

That said, I like the corner of Archie Moore and Sadler by a ton in this. It's as wide as it gets. They sure did a tremendous job in that Frazier and Norton bouts didn't they? And that was against top notch corners as well. Sonny has nothing remotely close and I think the Foreman pre-fight sets the table once again for a big win.

 

An interesting, refreshing, and thoughtful perspective. Fighters fight the fights but a trainer and a game-plan are rather important in the big time fights.

 

Foreman came out and tried to knock the guy out as quick as he could... That's no corner stratergy masterclass that's just George being George and throwing bombs.
Sonny with the worse corner did what he should have against Cleveland Williams and did it perfectly and beat him, why would there be an exception for George.
End of the day these guys would be fighting not their corners...

 

What out-monstering? One-handed light heavyweight runt Gregorio Peralta was able to stop Foreman in his tracks multiple times. If it was Liston landing those punches, Foreman would get his head knocked off. Foreman is a mid-long range fighter. He has no inside game. He's not going to push Liston into the ropes and maul him up close. He wants plenty of room for those looping punches. At that range, Liston's superior technique and Foreman's poor defensive skills will result in Foreman getting beat up.

 

:good
Spot on

 

Well done :thumbsup

 

Disagree.

There are specials out there where George talks about the prefight preperations and tactics for Undefeated Frazier and everyone that loved Norton due to Ali fights. they had a plan and he did as he was told.

The results were devastating against 2 guys that had never experienced anything like that before. He's not winging away like Mayorga in there. He was doing certain planned things to create an opening. And he created one and more importantly, finished guys.

Sonny Liston's corner held the spit bucket. I'm not sure they even did that properly. What advice where they offering in the Clay bouts? Gotta love those pre-fight preperations in those 2 bouts against a top corner as well.

 

There was a great book that came out call, ""Ali and Liston"" in Nov 2011. They talk about Sonny and George sparring and even an old tired wornout Liston dominated. Liston thought not much of George it says. A young feral Liston was pure Brutality w/ stamina. I talked to a lot of guys in the 70s who knew and saw them both in the ring live and training as well and the concensus was that Sonny would have overpowered George much as he did Big Cat Williams and so many others. George swung wide and slow. Sonny was more short punching and straighter to the point. Sonny's 84 inch reach would be in Georges face the whole time. Then comes the wreckingball left hook. George excelled at putting his hands on opponants shoulders and literally pushing them back. NOT against Sonny who was a bigger man in a 3 inch shorter frame. George acted tough, Sonny was the real deal. One badassss mother****er. Sonny in 3 rds.

 

No way is Liston stopping Foreman. No way!

 

I think that if Liston is landing on you consitently, you are going to get stopped whoever you are.

 

Foreman never fought serious heavy hitters and went life and death with Lyle ... Liston takes it

 

Hell if Lyle could knock George down you better believe Liston could.
And if Liston is tiring him out by outboxing him and jabbing him consistently Foreman will definatley get knocked out, if Ali could do it by tiring him out Liston could and Liston wouldn't have to tire him out on the ropes either. Peralta had George dead tired imagine if George was that tired with Liston in there he'd be murdered.

 

If Marty Marshall could break Fishton's jaw, imagine what George Foreman would do...