The Liston Paradox

Machen only lost because the right he used to floor Nino Valdes for the count with a single body shot had been injured in training. Sonny only won because Eddie was a one armed fighter against Liston, and Sonny knew it. Immediately after those 12 rounds, Machen expressed wanting a rematch as soon as his right was healed and he could do battle with two good arms, a situation Liston wanted no part of.

Everybody who saw footage of Machen-Valdes II knew Sonny completely lucked out against Eddie, especially Liston. Yes, injuries are a part of training, but nobody who's seen the conclusion of Machen-Valdes II can question that Eddie's injury in training for Sonny was far more pivotal than most.

For another example of what a massive difference such an injury can make, check out the contrast between Shavers-Clark I and Shavers-Clark II. Earnie entered his first bout with Henry in Paris having bruised his right hand. He managed to get away with it by using completely unexpected skills with his long left jab and high school gridiron lineman developed mobility to outbox Clark in front of a completely bewildered Larry Merchant, making his television broadcasting debut. For their rematch in Yankee Stadium as the semifinal to Ali-Norton III however, Shavers now had a fully healed right, and used it accordingly to blow out his durable opponent in an unprecedented two rounds.

Yes, I'm saying it here. In a December 1960 rematch between Sonny Liston and a fully healed Eddie Machen, Eddie takes the win, possibly by knockout with his two handed power. Machen also would have won their Seattle match in September 1960 if he'd emerged from training with a healthy right.