Bonavena/Liston?

Question

I have a post out about who would win Bonavena or Foreman? I was shocked that most picked George run out of gas Foreman as the winner. I mean if the young Foreman had to go five rounds even Betty Crocker could dispose of him. Bonavena could easily go a full twelve rounds & at least box, & not bad for a flat footed guy at that! The YOUNG Foreman, in my opinion was a crude powerful puncher with little to no skills inside the ring but power.
So I gotta ask...if most pick Foreman to blitz Bonavena, do you see a YOUNG Liston doing the same? I'm not trying to make Bonavena into something he was not. I mean Patterson humiliated Bonavena senceless, but Jimmy Young did the same to George Foreman. Even Louis had a ruff BUT successful bout with a light heavyweight named Billy Conn. I always thought of Liston as a multi talented boxer some what in Louis' leaque. Personally I think Bonavena would give both Sonny & Louis a run for the money & KO Foreman between seven & ten rounds. Feedback please.

Answer 1

The blogbaba is not as committed a Oscar Bonavena fan as you Bobo, but I acknowledge Bonavena as a tough durable fighter who could absorb a lot from his opponents. Unfortunately putting Oscar in the ring against two of the heaviest hitting heavy weights of all time is putting a lot on the shoulders of a good tough journeyman in any era. Granted Big George had some stamina questions early on, and I though Jimmy Young beat both Forman and Ali. Liston was maybe as heavy a hitter as Forman with better movement. I can't see Oscar fairing any better with Liston than I did with Forman. Liston would have gunned Oscar down with the same type of aggressive power punching that Forman would have.

Liston by KO in 6.

Answer 2

I'm not sure you've seen alot of the guys you discuss here.
Bonavena was a brawler, almost a wrestler who stayed in close and hit hard. Tough guy, sure. Not a boxer at all. Did not defend well.
He would bother Foreman for a while but would also be in front him where few want to be.
Liston would get Oscar with his steel hard jab and then pound him after 4-5 rounds. Liston also would outweigh him by 15 pounds, Foreman by 20.
No knock on Bonavena. He would possibly be a cruiserweight today. Foreman and Liston were top shelf heavyweights.

Answer 3

Bonavena was a good fighter but not particularly fleet footed. This would not serve him well against Liston (who was nowhere near the Louis league). However, Oscar had very good counter punching skills and enough power that he could surprise Liston. Liston had remarkable recuperative power, though, as he demonstrated against Cleveland Williams who may well have been one of the hardest punching heavyweights of all time.
Against Foreman, however, either one hits the canvas for the 10 count within 7 rounds.
I liked Bonavena and Liston and this would have made for a very good fight.

Liston by close decision

Answer 4

Foreman would have a rough time with Bonavena because he was right there to be hit, had stamina problems and had only a good(not great) chin. Oscar would hit him back and George didn't like to be hit back. George only fought two heavy hitters in his early career- Frazier and Lyle. Frazier never got a chance to get started. Lyle almost KO'd Foreman. So George against another heavy hitter like Bonavena? Oscar has a good chance.

Liston on the other hand took on murderous punchers like Cleveland Williams(twice) and Mike DeJohn, took all their best and knocked them flat. Unlike George, he had movement, boxing ability and excellent stamina(watch the last round of the Machen fight). Oscar would hang tough and bang Sonny when he could, but Liston would take it and go on to win a decision or a referee stoppage late in the bout.

Answer 5

I have to disagree with Gerry on this. Oscar Bonavena was a top ranked heavyweight and never exited the top 10 in his whole career. Pretty impressive when you consider the number of quality heavyweights who were around. He beat such top heavys as Zora Folley, George Chuvalo, Leotis Martin, Karl Mildenberger, Al "Blue" Lewis and Gregorio Peralta(not a "top" heavy, but gave Foreman all he wanted and more). True Oscar didn't achieve the level of success Liston and Foreman enjoyed, but that doesn't mean that he couldn't have given a rough night to both.

As far as weights go, with blacks, whites and Latinos you're talking totally different physiology. If you look at Bonavena's measurements(muscular-wise) he was a big guy, comparable to any black heavyweight of the era. Weights don't always tell the full story. He outweighed Frazier by only a few pounds, yet appeared much larger than Joe when they fought. Ron Lyle outweighed him by quite a bit too, but Oscar appears almost as large as Ron in the pics I've seen of this fight(still trying to find this fight on video!!!!)

Answer 6

I'll have to go with Liston. Oscar would be there to be hit, and a prime Sonny could whack big time. Oscar was all the good things that have been said about him, but I think Sonny would have been a little too much for Oscar.

Answer 7

Having seen these fighters I can't see Oscar lasting more than a couple of rounds. Liston was one of the hardest punchers in the history of the game. He would stiff Oscar in less than 7.

Answer 8

FIRST THING, U GOTTA GET OFF THAT CRACK.

IN THIS BOUT I PICK LISTON IN A 8 TH RD TKO.

IN BOXING STYLES MAKE A FIGHT NOT WHO BEAT WHO.

PLEASE LEARN THE GAME.

U START OFF WRONG THEREFORE YOUR CONCLUSIONS ARE INCORRECT.

Answer 9

http://magegame.ru/?rf=c0f0f5e8efe5ebe0e3