Ringside Report Dream Fight: Sonny Liston Vs “Iron” Mike Tyson

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By Roy “The Body Snatcher” Skillen

All too often fights simply fail to live up to their hype. Bouts billed as The Fight of the Century or The Clash of The Titans are nothing more than smoke and mirror magic shows set up by promoters and shit-talking fighters that are more worried about filling their pockets than putting on an old fashioned blood and guts boxing match. But every now and then a fight comes along that’s such a perfect blend of styles and vicious intent that both boxers come out of it with eternal glory.

Mike Tyson was coming off the back of his impressive 90 second KO of the formerly unbeaten lineal heavyweight champion Michael Spinks when this fight with Sonny Liston was announced. Liston himself had just destroyed the light-footed, but heavy-handed Floyd Patterson not once, but twice making this the most talked-about boxing match in the history.

Just like Patterson, Tyson is trained by the great Cus D’Amato and it is because of this that on-line bookies felt Liston would have the slightest edge.

“Mike fights like Floyd,” said a representative from Bet365. “And Liston destroyed him twice within a year. The serious money is on Mike getting caught early and being out of there within five rounds.”

But Tyson fan boys were quick to point out that “Iron” Mike is far quicker than Patterson. From his head movement to the way he sets up combinations, it’s all done with far more evil intent.

“He ain’t no conqueror, I’m Alexander. I’m the most vicious and ruthless champion there has ever been,” said “Iron” Mike when asked about Liston’s tentative status as fight favorite.

“He better watch out,” said Liston trainer Johnny Tocco. “Sonny has hands like hams.”
While boxing historian, Hank Kaplan said, “Sonny has the best left jab in heavyweight history. It’s the type of jab that will go straight through you.”

For those that care little for technicalities of boxing it was the promise of a blood bath between the two most feared men in boxing, both of whom have the KO record to back it up, that has caught the imagination. That and the brewing hatred between the two men that exploded as the two weighed in just days before the bout at Madison Square Garden.

The stare down in the center of the stage was as intense as you will ever see. You could feel it in the air and smell the testosterone billowing in the air. Tyson looked like a chiselled monolith as the scales tipped in at 215lbs. He flexed and his gold tooth glinted at the cameras. But it seems Liston was not as impressed as the waiting journalists and could clearly be heard calling Mike, ”a little bitch,” as he waited at the side.

Tyson retaliated “I ain’t scared of you, you piece of shit. I’m gonna f##k you up.” Liston simply smiled and refused to back down as the two went face to face. Tyson shoved Liston’s trainer as he tried to come between the pair and sent him flying across the floor and it was then that all hell broke loose. Punches were thrown and chairs were broken as the Tyson was wrestled to the floor.

“I want to break his will. I want to take his manhood. I want to rip out his heart and show it to him,” said a visibly agitated Tyson.

When asked for his thoughts Liston’s reply was simply, “I don’t have many words and I have used them all already. Mike is a lil bitch.”

Tyson entered the ring first with no robe or towel, his body worked into a full sweat and a scowl on his face that told the world he was ready to fight. HipHop star Tupac Shakur accompanied him on his walk, his words intense, his fire spreading to the crowd and igniting an atmosphere shook my soul. Liston followed him soon after with no music, his eyes fixed on his foe. It is usually a custom mind game to make your opponent wait in the ring for as long as possible but Sonny was having none of it, he couldn’t wait to meet his man and get this fight started.

“It will be interesting to see how Tyson handles this new situation,” said ESPN commentator and former Tyson trainer Teddy Atlas as the bell sounded for the first round. “He’s never been in there with somebody that has absolutely no fear of him at all.”

As expected, Tyson started fast. Banging his gloves together he literally ran to meet Liston in the middle of the ring. And it was Mike’s wild intensity that set the early pace and caused Liston more than a few problems. A wild left hook caught Sonny on the gloves as he tried to protect himself from the onslaught. It wasn’t a clean shot, but Liston seemed to stumble backward and the crowd roared as they sensed that Tyson might be on his way to another early knock-out.

He closed the gap to Liston with a straight right to the body pushing him against the ropes but the finish didn’t come. Mike wasn’t moving as he should and his punches were single bombs that Liston absorbed with ease. With a minute of the opening round left Mike stepped forward again, but was countered beautifully by a jab that sent his head flailing backward. Sonny tried to back it up with a double jab, but the punch seemed to have rocked Tyson into action. Finally, he heeded the advice of trainer Kevin Rooney, who was banging the edge of the ring shouting, “move your frickin head, Mike.” This time his head did move. Tyson slipped to the right, weaved to the left and threw an angry uppercut that just missed the mark, but it was a sign that Liston would have to be more clinical with his work to keep Tyson at a distance for the rest of the fight.

Liston picked up the pace at the start of the second round. Pinging off his jab with more consistency. Mike bobbed and weaved looking for an opening and at the halfway mark he was able to catch Sonny with two vicious hooks to the body that visibly took his breath away. Liston stepped in to grab Tyson and seemed to throw an elbow as he did. A cut instantly opened up above Tyson’s right eye. Blood slowly dripped from the wound and began to interfere with his vision. He blinked and dabbed at it with his glove as referee Mills Lane separated the pair. Tyson complained that an elbow had been used to which Lane replied, “it was a left hook, Mike.”

I had it scored as one round apiece with Liston gaining the upper hand in the second round by turning it into an ugly and frustrating fight for Tyson.

As the bell for third-round sounded it was Liston that continued to dictate the pace. A double jab was followed by two quick hooks to the body. Tyson slipped to the side and covered up well before countering with another vicious left hook of his own that drove Liston back. Mike stepped in smelling blood. Then, with amazing speed and agility, he managed to avoid six or seven wild Liston punches as the older man threw everything he had at his ever-moving target just to keep him at bay. Tyson smiled, threw a jab to the stomach of Liston and then came over the top with a crashing right that smashed Liston’s head back towards the ropes.

He stuck out a jab, but it lacked the steel of the first two rounds and “Iron” Mike easily slipped to the right before throwing his signature combination, a right to the body followed by a right uppercut, both of which connected flush. Liston stumbled forward and looked ready to go as Tyson moved to his left to create a new angle. A left hook to the ribs and a left hook upstairs had Liston out on his feet. Referee, Mills Lane, stepped in as Tyson lined up another barrage saving Sonny from taking any more punishment.

Mike looked nonchalant as Kevin Rooney ran into the ring and hugged his fighter.
“He was a C+ tonight,” said Rooney when asked how he thought Tyson went. “He will need to do better if he is to take on Ali or Joe Louis next.”

“Bring me Ali,” shouted Tyson at the post-fight press conference. “Marciano whoever. I just wanna fight whoever dares challenge me with their primitive skills.”

Muhammed Ali Vs Mike Tyson is the one everybody wants to see, but Ali himself still feels that “Iron” Mike has much to improve before he gives him his shot. “He’s too ugly to be the champ. The champ should be pretty like me.”

But whatever fight is thrown up next there is no doubt that made a massive statement tonight about where he figures in the list of greatest heavyweights of all time.

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