Sonny Liston vs Rocky Marciano - Who wins?

He absolutely hit harder than Big Cat Williams (who did not show his power when he moved up in class) and lost all the big ones. Marciano has proven power with the elite of his era

Marciano worst cut came from an elbow to the nose but he finished the fight in his favor promptly

It is very hard punching down when your opponent had awkward power and off-rhythm counter ability

Liston had a great look but did not look good going down hard from the anchor punch vs Ali in fight 2 and took a 50 count vs Leotis so I am not confident of his ability to survive Marciano

Walcott and Moore were pinpoint puncher with proven one punch power but Marciano rose quickly and briskly and went back to work. I am not saying Liston did not have power to hurt or drop Marciano but I am not confident that Liston could take what Marciano would give back.

Just my opinion

 

Liston would have his way all day and every day. If Marciano could be hit, he could be cut, hurt, dropped and ultimately stopped. Liston would have no trouble hitting him. I can easily see Liston avoiding Rocky's punches while landing plenty of his own. Liston winning inside of 6.

 

You are entitled to your opinion and the underlined is just that ,your opinion not a fact.
By his own admission Marciano was badly shook up by Moore .Lets not pretend it was "just another day at the office" arising quickly from a punch is usually a sign that you were hurt, not the opposite.

 

Williams was regarded as the hardest punching heavyweight in the world. Saying he didn't show his poer when he moved up in class? In his pomp the only top drawer fighter he faced was Liston. It showed Liston's durability by taking the best.

These things are usually prime for prime. Dragging up a Liston loss when aged around 40 is like using Berbick as a yardstick for Ali

 

Williams was 27-0 when he was beaten by Sylvester Jones 7-3, Jones dropped him 2X, He was 31-1 when he was KO'd in 3 by Bob Satterfield and dropped 2X, He then was KO'd by Liston in 2 fights dropped 2X in each. His big wins were Frankie Daniels W 10, W 10, Frankie D was stopped by Bob Murphy,Loyd Marshall,**** Finley X2, Bob Satterfield,Joe Dorsey, Sonny Liston in 1, He had another win over Billy Daniels W10 but Daniels was KO3 5 months later by Karl Mildenburger and KO 1 by Oscar Bonavena and others after.

Other than stopping Ernie Terrell (who beat him in a rematch, Big Cat did not show KO power or ability to KO nor did he show a solid chin.

I think Big Cat is over rated as a puncher and may have been a bit chinny

 

Definitely chinny and definitely overrated in the finishing department.

Much like Shavers, the anecdotal evidence is that he hit very hard but the results against top flight competition are not overwhelming.

 

Right, how good you are against teh best does not show how HARD yo u hit.

Foreman said Lyle, ****ey & Williams hit him the hardest i do not think he was counting sparring partner Liston, but I believe him.

The arguments have been well made. maciano NEVER faced anything like a great slugger, the bane of swarmers. And it was clever boxers only who gave Liston trouble.

Who was REMOTELY the powerhouse with skills Marciano faced?
I mean not a great boxer who could KP guys with guile, or a natural/past LHW demon.

Who you gonna count, Vingo? he was a beanpole young kid, 6' 4" & under 190!

Rocky & frazier would have great trouble with a top slugger with a great jab.

 

:good his leaning to the right wouldn't work against any of the bigger peak heavyweights.you're the only poster ive ever seen point this out.
Marciano would compete against other shortish heavies of the same weight but the bigger ones would ko him.
Look at the way a 38 year Jersey Joe got him to walk on to his left hook????

 

The harder punchers of the era were the smaller guys, Walcott was a pin-point puncher accurate and powerful, Moore could also box and bang, Layne was on a roll and at 6'1 not small, Vingo and the other big guys Marciano fought were a good test at the stage of Marciano's career and Charles,Moore,Walcott,Johnson,LaStarza,Satterfield, eliminated most of the Big guys from title contention.....for his defenses Marciano fought the best not the biggest but then again the 5 # 1 contenders Marciano fought were not giants but he fought Big men

Joe Louis fought many BIG men but slaughtered them but from Dempsey to Ali, it was always the Bigger you are the harder you fall. Only Carnera and Willard made it and they were murdered by Dempsey and Louis.

We have had 3 great Big men since, 4 if you throw in Foreman and these men were deep in amateur experience and SUPER-Heavyweights in the Olympics so their may be a need for a super-Heavyweight division in the pro's but back in the days of Dempsey,Louis,Marciano and Ali (his hardest fights were against the smaller men- Frazier,Doug Jones,Cooper 1. These days the emphasis is more on size than quality and the youngster say crazy things like Shannon Briggs and Nicoly Valuev,Fury, are better than Joe Louis because they are bigger.

Joe Louis would chew them up and split out their bones

 

Remember the trouble Rocky had early against A COMPLETELY SHOT Joe Louis, because of Louis's jab? Well increase the jabbing strength by 20 and you have Liston's jab. Rocky was prone to cuts, throwing punches off balance and coming in leaving himself open. All three would lead to his downfall against Liston

His susceptibility to cuts and bruises would only double because of that jab banging on him from the outside every few seconds. Liston used his jab like Frazier used his hook, as a weapon, he rarely followed it up because it did more damage than an average fighter's one-two. That would keep Marciano away early and also swell him up, cut him up early.

No way Liston wears Rocky down because we all know about Marciano's stamina - punching opponents blocks whenever close enough trying to wear down their arm...he had endurance in spades! So Liston would have to end this via KO, not TKO or picking Rocky apart - and I think Sonny would do just that.

If Rocky left himself open and vulnerable like he did many times to Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott (who floored him) and Archie Moore (who floored him) he eventually gets caught with a flush Liston shot, who makes these guys look like pansies when it comes to punching power.

After a few rounds of Rocky wading in and trying to slip, he gets busted up with jab after jab after jab. Liston cuts him over the eye, swells his face up and catches him with a left as Rocky comes in too quickly. A Sonny left is in other words 'lights out.' This all happens before the 6th.

KO5 Sonny Liston

 

Keene Simmons fought both Williams and Marciano. It is a fact that Keene Simmons said Rocky hit harder than Williams.

 

The only way Marciano wins is if the mafia makes it that way

A prime Liston was arguably the best ever

Marciano isn't top 50 really

 

Top 50? Is that an opinion or a fact?

 

Good posts by all regarding this matchup. I still lean toward Liston though. I think his jab would be the deciding factor. It was long and punishing and Sonny put it to good use. The only opponent that really used his jab against Rocky was Louis and he had success with it but not much else behind it at his age. Rocky bent over to his right to defend against his opponents right but against Liston he would be in range of Sonny's left hook which was a potent punch that Sonny could launch from a safe distance. For me it's the big difference in reach combined with Sonny's jab that would make the difference. It wouldn't be a walk in the park of course but I think Liston would prevail.