The Modern History of Heavyweight Title Fights: Liston vs. Clay

[SweetPea]

Thread idea:

I enjoyed doing the "Scoring Controversial Fights" thread a while back. I was thinking about a new thread that would have a similar format.

Youtube has almost every heavyweight title fight of the past 40-45 years. There are only a few missing. I think it'd be interesting to watch all the heavyweight title fights in chronological order, starting in the early 1960s or so. I'd post a fight every couple days, and we could discuss/score/debate each fight. Then after a few days, I'd post the next fight. We'd go thru the title reigns of Liston, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Ali II, Holmes, Tyson, Holyfield, etc.

Anyone interested in this? If enough people show interest, I think it would make an interesting topic.

Here's the first fight of the thread:

Floyd Patterson (38-2) vs. Sonny Liston (33-1)
Comiskey Park
Chicago, Illinois
Septermber 25, 1962

[youtube]9_cvyvIqNvU[/youtube]

[Hoggmeister]

good idea dude, count me in. the patterson and liston fights are a perfect example of what happens when one fighter is just too tough and strong for the other. no matter what strategy patterson would have used he would never have beaten liston.

[Bookkeeper]

Do it

[Gandalf]

Great thread idea. Im sure there are lots of fights I havent seen before.

[BIG H]

Cool idea - I'm in

[Kel]

Good thread idea.

Well lets see......I think Liston won that fight.

[ICB]

Yes i im in i tried to bump your old thread but it didn't seem to work, as for this fight. Floyd Patterson wasn't a natural Heavyweight and his chin, couldn't stand up to the bigger Heavyweights.

Plus he was intimidated by Sonny Liston which didn't make it easier, i think Floyd Patterson would have been one of the best Light Heavyweights of all time.

Its a shame he couldn't really pursue at Light Heavyweight, but i think he done well at Heavyweight considering his size. But Sonny Liston was simply too scary, too strong, too big, for Floyd Patterson.

[DaxxKahn]

Patterson nwas a great boxer, just too small of a HW as ICB stated....I agree with the fact he was just not strong enough and he was just too intimidated by Liston....


Though I am probably one of the few out there who think Liston was over rated....He was like Tyson..He had the goods as long as he did not have someone in his face forcing him to do something he did not like....

He folded too easily against Ali showing his bully mentality

[SweetPea]

Ok, thanks for the response guys. Let's keep going.

One quick thing:
Don't be afraid to post something about a fight we've already passed by. For example, if you've still got a thought about Liston-Patterson a few days from now, go ahead and post it. The more discussion, the better.

I can't find a clip of Liston-Patterson II, but that's not a big deal, since that fight ended in another Liston 1st round KO victory.

On to the next title fight:

Sonny Liston (35-1) vs. Cassius Clay (19-0)
Convention Hall
Miami Beach, Florida
February 25, 1964

Part 1:
[youtube]AiYirCvp-Tg[/youtube]

Part 2:
[youtube]NnJA9sJ6tqk[/youtube]

Part 3:
[youtube]OSitEzKnTvI[/youtube]

Part 4:
[youtube]ZWfGalrYtRQ[/youtube]

P.S. There are parts missing of Rounds 2 and 4. If you can find the fight in its entirety on youtube, send me a private message with the links.

[SweetPea]

No comments?

[Kenneth B]

I SHOOK UP THE WORLD!!!

Great buildup before the fight, the most famous postmatch interview ever and the fight changed boxing history as much as any one fight ever did. But the fight itself was actually kind of boring and disappointing, especially the ending. The definition of anti-climatic.
Don´t let this thread die....It´s a great idea!

[Mr140]

To be fair to Liston he was a old man by the time he was champion and when he faced Ali he was really old i read alot of about him. But since there is no real date on when he was born i go with his mother which would of made Liston like 40 which is very old for boxing pluse with his life style it did not help.

[SweetPea]

Muhammad Ali (20-0) vs. Sonny Liston (35-2) II
St. Dominic's Hall
Lewiston, Maine
May 25, 1965

[youtube]uzWynvBLJ4I[/youtube]

Thoughts on the controversial ending of this fight?

Thanks to those who have responded/repped so far.