Sonny Liston vs Tim Witherspoon

Liston all day, every day.

 

Not disagreeing, but care to expand?

 

Prime Liston has the fundamentals, jab, and power to give Witherspoon serious problems. Just seems like a terrible matchup, stylistically, imo. That and I think that Prime Witherspoon gets overrated on here.

 

This^

 

Spoon might have a better chance of stopping Liston than you think. Holmes was as gone as I've seen as a fighter, whilst standing on two feet. It's is likely Holmes underestimated his challenger, but for this reason alone it makes me believe Spoon gives Liston a rough ride down the stretch, provided he make it that far. Despite this I can't not pick Liston by way of decision

 

Cross armed defense of Witherspoon is wide open for left hooks. Wrong opening to be giving Sonny. Tim really needs to make this guy work for everything and I just don't see that.

 

This was evident in the Holmes fight where Witherspoon left the right side of his face unguarded because he wanted to parry Holmes's jab.

Holmes hardly threw a hook, but I am pretty sure that Sonny would have.

 

I think that this is a more competitive match-up than most people here envision.

Liston would be the favourite but Witherspoon is always a live underdog in my book and he'd likely be the best guy Liston ever beat.

 

That's the flaw in the cross arm defense and it is an automatic opening the opponent desn't even have to work to create. And Liston had an alltime great lefthook off the jab & Witherspoon would be standing right in front of Sonny anyway.

 

agree. spoon has nothing on him.

i think liston would be great today, with modern training and peds he would have been very dangerous... he had great physical gifts and good boxing fundamentals, skills.

 

Everything Tim does Sonny does better,imo U Dec

 

I think Liston would beat Spoon up a bit for reasons some have already mentioned. Spoon and a lot of the early 80's heavies could get quite lazy in there, not good against Liston as he would be keeping the pressure right on. Spoon was also right there, he ain't running. Liston's jab would control the tempo of the bout and his hook would land hard and often enough to give him a chance of a stoppage in the latter rounds.

 

I think the same.