MYTHICAL MATCHUP: SONNY LISTON VS. MIKE TYSON
He did have one gnawing concern regarding a statement Mike had made in a recent documentary. He’d said that “Liston is more intimidating than me.” Also, someone told Cus they had heard Mike say words to the effect that he did not want to fight Liston. Now that the contracts were signed, Cus would not talk about it or even bring it up to Mike, but he knew what he had to do: something he was an expert at, and that was instilling real confidence in his fighters. D’Amato had a long call with Tyson’s manager, Jimmy Jacobs, and plans were made to have Mike meet with Jimmy as soon as possible before training camp started. J acobs sat alone at home, waiting for Tyson to arrive. They had a great relationship; he understood Mike, and he was anxious and inspired to speak with him. When the fighter arrived, Jacobs invited him to sit down and listen to what he had to say. Jimmy spoke to him like a loving brother: “Mike, very simply, Cus and I feel you can not only beat Liston but knock him out early, and I want to prove it to you. Cus was concerned about something you said in passing in an interview about Liston being more intimidating than you, and we’re concerned that maybe there is a small part of you that believes that and doubts your ability to take him out. “It is my job now to prove to you that you can. Cus wants me to show you some things. Are you willing to listen to me?” Mike says, “Hell yeah, Jimmy. I love you guys. I trust you, and we’re a team. We’re family. I’m just saying now, right now, I know I can take him.” Jimmy smiles and is delighted to hear Mike say that. “Now that is exactly what I want to hear. Let me sell it to you a bit more. I have some films of Liston no one has, and I want you to watch this shit like you are putting him in a pipe and smoking his soul. Everyone has seen the two Patterson fights, the two
THE WEIGH-IN Liston comes in at 212 pounds. Tyson weighs in at 218 pounds. The staredown alone is worth the price of the tickets. Liston is as intense and chilling as always, but this time Tyson is up in his face, giving it back in spades. Liston’s scowl melts into a threatening glare, but Tyson is all snarling fury and has to be held back by the inspectors. Liston is caught off guard by the genuine, unbridled anger and rage he sees in Tyson. For the first time in all the many staredowns of his career, his focus breaks. They both back off without further incident. FIGHT NIGHT The Garden was sold out three weeks before the show. It’s being streamed on every major platform and every device in sight. Trainer Joe Goossen, publisher Bert Randolph Sugar and boxing writer Bernard Fernandez are doing the color commentary. Goossen asks the panel, “Does anyone here give Tyson a chance against Liston after what he did to Patterson and Cleveland Williams? I favor Liston in this one if Tyson fights him like Patterson tried to.” Sugar says, “I have a strange premonition about this one if Tyson can avoid getting stopped in the first round. With great respect, I turn to the learned sage to my left, Bernie Fernandez, who along with Russell Peltz has written extensively about Philly boxing history better than anyone, and that was Liston’s old stomping grounds.” “Boxing history has shown us that the fighters we thought were unbeatable were not,” says Fernandez. “Just think about Joe Louis in the first Schmeling fight. Tyson is a whole different animal than Sonny has ever come up against. Let’s see what happens.”
Cleveland Williams fights and all the rest. They talk about him getting Folley out of there in three rounds and taking down Nino Valdes, but they are not seeing what I see and Cus sees. “Let’s look at the two Cleveland Williams shoot-outs. Williams is fighting him and bombing from mid- to-long range and his punches are slow. Liston closes the gap and is hitting him with clubbing punches, also slow, along with short and long telegraphed, wide left hooks. Williams is wide open, standing straight up and still taking all his shots before going down, and yet he has hurt Liston. “Patterson was too nervous and frantic and could not reach or hit Liston
the way he wanted to. “Liston could not hit you in the ass with a handful of rice the way you move, plus you are not going to be on the defensive. Most trainers would say it’s suicide to bring the fight to Liston. Yeah, OK, if you’re Patterson or Cleveland Williams – but not you. “He has never fought anyone like you, Mike. You hit faster and more explosive than anyone he has fought. You have the best head movement, pivots and angles to hurt him right away and keep pouring it on. You took the best punches from “Bonecrusher” Smith and Tony “TNT” Tucker and you ate it up like candy, so I never, ever fucking want to hear – even joking around – that he is more
intimidating than you. “Now, go into training camp and be the meanest, most focused, confident, two-handed, hard-hitting son of a bitch, like always. No play, no bullshit, just train and fight like Dempsey did to Willard, like Louis did to Schmeling in the rematch. Do it for Cus, who loves you, Mike, and who has 100% faith in you, just like I do.” Moved by what he has heard, Tyson’s eyes are glazed with emotion as Jacobs pops open his laptop and cues up a video. Riveted, Tyson views all the fights that his manager has found: Liston going the distance with Eddie Machen, then doing the same in early bouts against Johnny Summerlin, Bennie
Thomas, Marty Marshall, Neal Welch, and Bert Whitehurst. When they are done viewing these hard-to-get fights, Jacobs simply says, “If they could do it, then you have nothing to worry about. You are faster and stronger than all of them put together.” L iston prepares for the fight in Las Vegas with Willie Reddish in his corner. His team is supremely confident about the quality of his sparring and his weight. He trains in a manner similar to what he did for Patterson, viewing Tyson as just another Cus D’Amato protege with a peek-a-boo style – it will be like shooting fish in a barrel.
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