BoxRec

Now this is a great research topic for all boxing historians,

Mike always talked about how he idolized Sonny Liston. The similarities between each are haunting. Both terrorized the heavyweight division in their primes. Both were masters at intimidation and looking at their personalities, both could crumble under pressure both inside the ring and outside the ring. But there is no denying how alike these two men were.

A fight between them would be such a mental test of wills and it could come down to who would crack first under pressure. I'm not just talking about who landed the first punch, but who could be more mentally focussed in preparation. Ali got under Liston's skin in both fights and Liston fought some very tough contenders in his era. Tyson's competition was somewhat weaker because he had more "no hopers" than Liston had. His biggest and best came against a too old Larry Holmes and a too scared Michael Spinks. However, Liston had two "backyard muggings" against Floyd Patterson. Floyd was forced into the fight because of political and public pressure. Patterson, who never had a great chin, it was believed had a disguise with him to get out of town as quick as possible. He knew that Sonny was going to kill him both times, and that's exactly what happend.

I think that Tyson had better handspeed and footspeed than Liston and would probably take Tyson to win by a 7th round TKO. It would be very interesting to see how either of these fighters would (or if they could come back) in the mid to later stages of a fight if things weren't going their own way. Liston quit against Ali because despite the judges having that first fight an absurd draw at the stoppage, Ali was up 4-2 on most cards. Tyson didn't have to deal with adversity until Buster Douglas, and while Buster was a 50-1 longshot, that fight and the magnetude of the upset was much larger than the closest thing that you could compare it to, as Jim Lampley did, Ali-Liston I where Sonny was anywhere from a 7-1 to 10-1 favorite.

I don't know if the second Ali-Liston fight was fixed or not.

Look at the lives of these fighters outside the ring. Tyson the purse snatcher, Tyson robbing people, Liston who held up a gas station and used to hit people over the head with clubs. (In fact, Sonny would get beaten by policemen's clubs as well.) Both of these fighters had some of the meanest mean streaks which made them similar. However, my question to the forums is, what made them different?

Jack

I don't see much of a comparison, really, between the two men other than both had the power and intimidation factors and they could take punches. Tyson's style was more like Jack Dempsey's, while Sonny was more the boxer-puncher. Tyson had more speed than Sonny, and was better defensively. Liston had the edge in power, and wasn't the slow bastard that people make him out to be as he was rather light on his feet and had good hand speed for being a banger.

Tyson could put combinations up better than Liston also. Tyson could hit someone with a liver shot, then shoot up an upper cut and then land a hook off the same hand. It was dazzling.

But Sonny could take your head off with his jab. He could knock you out with a jab for crying out loud. Chuck Wepner swore up and down, that Sonny Liston hit harder than Foreman, and he didn't even fight the prime Liston. Ironic considering Liston broke Wepner's face and gave him 87 stitches, while Foreman broke the orbital socket and knocked Wepner's eye out.

Similarities:
-Criminal pasts, learned about boxing in institutions that they were sent to for criminal behavior... Liston in prison, Tyson in some sort of place for juvenilles... they were both feared and disliked by the media and by many fans for their criminal pasts.
-Punching power in both hands, especially their left hooks. Both known for the early knockout.
-The staredown... intimidation of their opponents.
-Good finishers.
-They both had great chins, as decagon said.
-On what was supposed to be their biggest stage they scored dominant, easy first round knock outs... Liston against Patterson, Tyson against Spinks... both Patterson and Spinks basically admitted even before the two fights that they were afraid of Liston and Tyson.
-Had basically cleaned out their divisions and were running low on challengers before succumbing to two of the biggest upsets in boxing history
-Were considered by many to be unbeatable at their best, but towards the end of their careers they lost their cloak of invincibility and were looked down on as quitters and mere bullies
-Were involved in two of the most infamous incidents in boxing history, Liston probably taking a dive in the second Ali fight and Tyson biting Holyfield.
-Both of their careers were interrupted by time in prison.
-They both probably rank somewhere from 10-14 all time at Heavyweight.

Contrast:
-Liston, as mentioned by decagon and henry, was a jabber and a boxer-puncher, while Tyson was more in the style of a Dempsey.
-Liston had an amazingly long reach, 84", while Tyson had an amazingly small reach at 71". Liston was about average in height for his era, while Tyson was short in his.
-Tyson was always the biggest name in the sport, even when he lost to Holyfield and Lewis, while Patterson and Ali were much more popular.
-I think Liston probably had better stamina than Tyson.
-Liston showed genuine toughness against Cleveland Williams. I don't think Tyson ever really stood up to adversity in that way.
-Tyson was a better combination puncher, and had faster hands.
-Tyson had a much better title reign, and regained his title temporarily.
-Tyson in his prime used a lot of head movement, while Liston usually stood straight up and didn't move his head too much.
-I think Liston did a little better against Ali than people think, while Tyson was simply terrible against Douglas, besides the knockdown. I don't think Liston would ever beat Ali, but I think there's a good chance a better conditioned Tyson might have beaten Douglas, though I'm not sure.
-Tyson was the youngest Heavyweight champion, while Liston won his title rather late in his career.
-I think Liston was a better fighter than Tyson. Not world's better, but better.

I'm not so sure that Tyson would KO Liston in 7.

Tyson was not one for KOing people in the 2nd half of fights & Liston was tough as hell.

Both men were not blessed with the greatest stamina, but I think Liston was tougher than Tyson.

With Tyson, there is always the nagging doubt in my mind that when the going got tough, he folded like a newspaper.

Liston on the other hand, despite the Ali debacles, once fought with a broken jaw & I just couldn't imagine Tyson doing that.

I think Mike Tyson had a lot more in common with Floyd Patterson.
Except for their completly different personalities and how they handled problems.
Sonny Liston couldnt deal with a mover very good,and he sort of became a little unglued when fighters got brave and tried to rough him up.
A lot of the oppentents Liston fought were like light heavyweights and outweighed them 20 to 25 pounds.
I dont think Liston had the killer instinct of Mike Tyson though or the rage.