Would a Prime Sonny Liston beat the 1971 Muhammad Ali?

Question

The reason I'm asking is because Joe Frazier had the style to give any version of Muhammad Ali a lot of trouble.

However, Sonny Liston was only defeated by Ali because he just could not catch the young challenger. The Ali of 1971 was stronger, but not as fast as he was in the 1960s. Do you think Sonny Liston would have beaten the 70's Ali?

Answer 1

Not really He is good do not get me wrong but I see Muhammad Ali knocking him out.

Answer 2

He would have beat Liston using the strategy he used on Foreman

Answer 3

A prime Sonny Liston would beat a 1978 Ali.

Answer 4

I love these questions. It kind of put a spin on things.  Ali was not ready for Frazier at the time of the first fight. Considering all that was going on in his life it is amazing he put up such a good fight againt Joe. I may have to disagree with the other guys on this one. Liston did not really take Clay seriously and didn't train much for Liston/Clay I. I won't even comment on their second fight. I think that the Liston who knocked out Patterson twice might have been too strong for the Ali in Frazier 1. Just as Frazier was too strong. To put another spin on this, the Ali who beat Cleveland Williams would beat the Frazier of 1971 fairly easy.

Answer 5

Hi there Champ! The sad truth is that the mob beat Sonny in BOTH of his fights with Ali. The Phantom punch fight was of course an obvious dive orchestrated by the mob. And the mob made money on a lot of "pigeons" in the first Liston/Clay fight where Sonny was an 8 to 1 favorite. Organized crime thugs used and abused Sonny all his adult life, and when this exploited, unlucky shell of a man finally tried to break free........Those cowardly, gutless PUNKS killed him!

Sonny Liston was one of the most gifted, well rounded fighters of all time. He had the boxing ability of Joe Louis combined with the Jab, Power, and Chin of "Big" George Foreman. If the mob had not controlled the fate of poor Sonny, he would have probably held the Heavyweight Championship untill the end of the decade, if not beyond.

I'll answer your question 2 ways

1. If it's a fair fight Liston wins

2. If it's a mob fight, it would all depend on who organized crime had their money on