Boxing was a lot more technical, and the competition was tougher in the 1950's and 60's compared to the early 1920's.
Not only that, if you watch Dempsey's fight against Jess Willard, he doesn't go to a neutral corner. He knocks Jess down, and right as Jess stands up, he pummels him. I'm sure he did that to most of his opponents. He wouldn't be able to do that in the 1950's, because that was outlawed.
Well, both fighters may have used intimidation. However, fighters were terrified of Liston. Dempsey didn't put fear into his opponent's like Liston.
Not sure what Sonny Liston the previous guy was watching, but Liston was a superb boxer too. Very adept at slipping punches and with his 84 " reach, could sit back and block or slip punches and move in on his opponent. Liston didn't hardly train for the Cassius Clay fight in 1964, as Clay/Ali had barely gotten by light heavyweight Doug Jones and was knocked down and nearly out by Henry Cooper in the UK. No fix, just underrated and underestimated his fleet footed opponent (Clay). Against a 185 pound charging Dempsey, Liston would meet him head on and if need be swap punch for punch with Dempsey. The crouch by Dempsey would be ideal for Liston's crushing hooks and uppercut. If anything a TKO stoppage by referee in about 4 rounds of a real slugfest.
The Dempsey roll will be enough to let Liston know he's in for a war. Both can knock each other out and to tell you the truth, i cant tell who's gonna be on his back. Power for power, i had Sonny with a slight edge but that wont make a difference really. The tenacity is on Dempsey's side. Heart spells the difference and i favor JAck to win the war
I've never seen a Dempsey fight, but Liston was a street brawler with no form at all. That's why Ali beat him cold in their second fight (first was fixed for sure. Ali won that one too). Liston had no defense, just tower over the other guy and pound. You gotta realize that in those days, they would put mismatched slugs up against the champ to keep his record strong. Most of Dempsey's and Liston's wins and kos were against guys who never had a chance. All in all, Liston was no boxer.
Dempsey knockout
as great as liston was, he would not have been able to handle dempsey. i don't see it going 5 rounds.
i came across this video you may be interested in.
Who would have won this boxing match?
Jack Dempsey in 1918 went 20 wins 1 loss and 1 decision yes in one year he fought 22 fights. 17 of those fights he won by KO/TKO. Jack Dempsey showed off his explosive combinations, power, and stamina in that year.
Sonny Liston reigned champion throughout the mid 60's and early 50's. He had a 28 fight win streak from 1955 to 1963. He also showed that even the greatest fighters could be KO'd in the first round and be out cold like his two fights against Floyd Patterson. 22 of his 28 wins during his streak were by KO/TKO. Liston used his long reach and had one of the hardest jabs in boxing history.
Both boxers used intimidations and both were scared of no one. They were also role-models for Mike Tyson. Look how crazy and Powerful Tyson was in the ring if he wanted to be like them then they had to of been crazy.
