Sonny Liston vs. Jim Jeffries

While I agree with much of your post I think this is a bit unfair.

Liston is verry much a fighter who used opponents forward momentum against them, and generaly anticipated what they were going to do and reacted to it.

 

Liston by brutal KO early, probably within seconds. Jeffries is a guy that imployed his physical strength on his normally smaller opponents and that would play into the hands of the naturally bigger and stronger Liston. I also believe that he fought in a primitive era. He still has yet to see anyone as Strong, Powerful or as skilled as Liston.

 

Corbett and Fitz were far from shot when Jeffries beat them in the first fights. Sharkey was a HOF guy and so was Choynski.

Jeffries never lost or was dropped by someone like Marty Marshall. Nor was Jeffries every Ko'd in a round, or knocked nearly dead at an older age.

Pick whomever you choose, but Liston is by no means bulletproof. I tend to think Jeffries had better speed, stamina, durability and intangibles, and he would take Liston out late.

 

What's wrong with looking like Wepner?

 

Liston takes it. Better overall boxing ability not to mention a ramrod jab which would keep Jeffries at bay and set him up for more devestating combos. Plus both men would bre roughly equal in size. This isn't Jeffries against a 160-180pound man like Corbett and Fitzimmons. Thgis is a big modern HW trained in the modern method of boxing. Liston by mid to late roumd KO.

 

That is the one outcome that definitely wont happen.

Nobody is taking Jeffries out early without a baseball bat.

 

Jeffries also never took on a powerful skilled tall 210-215lb heavyweight like liston did. Liston took flush bombs off powerful big heavyweights like valdez dejohn and williams. jeffries never faced a man of this size.

 

Liston did not take any bombs from Vladez. It was a one sided match. Liston did take some bombs from Williams. The big cat won round one of the first fight and busted Liston's nose. Liston Ko'd an old Valdez, but a prime Cleveland Williams. To quote Ring Magazine, Williams was powerfull and had heart, he also had the chin of a placekicker.

Incidentally, both Williams and Valdez accuse Liston of putting a burning like substance on his gloves.

It was unwise to stand and trade with Liston, Jeffries was a mover boxer as much as he was a slugger. On film, Liston did not like it much when his opponent fought back. He fouled, or depending on your point of view quit.

I do not think DeJohn was as big and powerful as you are making him out to be.

Bottom line is this, I beleive Jeffries defeated better fighters than Liston. Liston as great as he was has a thin resume for an all time great in terms of oppositon defeated and title defenses.

 

Jeffries took a lot of punishment in the major fights he won. It's going to be very different taking Liston's pole of a left to Corbett's persistent pecking.

Great as he is Jeffries would not fare well in this one.

 

Liston would bust him up badly and win on point's imo.

 

Thats the first time Ive heard Jeffries described as a "mover boxer",in any article ,book or newpaper clipping I have read of him.

 

Well, Liston actually did less well against the under 200 lb opponents. Against men under 200 lbs, he was 26-2 with 18 knockouts. Liston was 24-2 with 21 knockouts against 200 lb and over opponents.

Liston fought to a split decision to 179 lb Bennie Thomas and the 193 lb Johnny Summerlin. He lost outright to the 180 lb Marty Marshall. Marshall and Willis Earls (189lbs) knocked him down. Leotis Martin (199 lbs) knocked him out. Against men the same size as Jeffries fought, Liston was hardly invincible. Giving him a big edge on the basis of the size of his opponents might be a mistake. Liston actually did better against the over 200 lb men he fought, Ali excepted. How do we know Jeffries would not simularly have cleaned up on over 200 lbers, Johnson excepted, if they had been around in his era?

The idea that Jeff might have done better against over 200 lb fighters is by no means out of the question. Dempsey, Louis, and Marciano, as well as Liston, all did better against the big guys of their eras. Ed Dunkhurst and Jan Plaacke would have made fat additions of his resume, in more ways than one, I think.

 

My take.

Jeffries didnt take the punches of a guy like Cleavland Williams, but he did take punches much harder than those that Marty Marshal threw, when he was much less seasoned than Liston was when he met Marshal and was never off his feet.

Jeffries chin at least should not be questioned.

 

I've never heard or read about Earls scoring a knockdown. What is your source and do you know if it was a right hand?

 

Marshall techinically knocked liston down, but it was a 1 second flash knockdown in which liston was caught wayy off balance causing his glove to touch the canvas, officially a knockdown. but liston was never actually physically knocked to the canvas.