Have Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston ever fought each other?

Yes. Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston have met 2 times and Sonny Liston leads the series 2-0.

Who has the better record, Summerlin or Liston?

Johnny Summerlin is 1-5 across the 6 bouts Kill The Body has tracked and Sonny Liston is 50-4. Sonny Liston has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.

Who has more knockouts, Summerlin or Liston?

Johnny Summerlin has 0 knockout wins and Sonny Liston has 39. Sonny Liston has more.

Do Summerlin and Liston have any common opponents?

Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston share 3 common opponents: Eddie Machen, Zora Folley and Niño Valdés. Sonny Liston fared better against 2 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Summerlin and Liston?

This comparison is drawn from 6 bouts tracked for Johnny Summerlin and 54 bouts tracked for Sonny Liston. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Johnny Summerlin vs Sonny Liston — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

Johnny Summerlin

🇺🇸HEAVYWEIGHT

Sonny Liston

Johnny Summerlin (1-5 across 6 tracked bouts) and Sonny Liston (50-4) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met 2 times. They share 3 common opponents.

Summerlin

Tracked record

1–5

counted from 6 bouts Kill The Body has ingested

Liston

Wins39 KO · 78%

Losses

Draws54 tracked bouts

Heads up: at least one of these records is a tracked record — the wins and losses Kill The Body has ingested so far, not an independently verified career total. Treat the comparison as a read on the bouts we hold, not a settled ledger.

Head to Head

Liston leads 2–0

Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston have met 2 times; Liston leads 2–0.
Met	1954Jun 29	1954Aug 10	Series
Johnny SummerlinFighter A	LLost	LLost	0–2W–L
Sonny ListonFighter B	WWon	WWon	2–0W–L
Result	UDListon vs Summerlin	SDListon vs Summerlin	2Meetings

The Numbers

Summerlin 2 · Liston 5 of 7 measurable rows

SummerlinEdge = longer wingListon

Record^†: 1-550-4 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 16.7%
92.6% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 39: 0
39 (edge)
KO ratenot comparable: —78%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^‡0–100%: 100% (edge)
78%
Times stopped^‡max 3: 1 (edge)
3
Title reignsmax 3: 0
3 (edge)
Bouts per year^§max 3.2: 1.5
3.2 (edge)
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 54: 6
54

† One or both records are tracked, not career-verified. · ‡ Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · § Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Johnny Summerlin: No height on file; Sonny Liston: 6′1″
Reachnot held: Johnny Summerlin: No reach on file; Sonny Liston: 84″
Stance: Johnny Summerlin: Not recorded; Sonny Liston: Orthodox

Johnny Summerlin left, Sonny Liston right, as everywhere on this page. Stance is stated, not scored.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Johnny Summerlin1 win · from 6 tracked bouts

1 by KO/TKO 100%

Sonny Liston50 wins · from 54 tracked bouts

39 by KO/TKO 78%11 on the cards 22%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Johnny Summerlin 6, Sonny Liston 54 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

3 shared

3 shared · Liston better on 2 · even on 13 shared · Sonny Liston better on 2 · even on 1

SummerlinJohnny Summerlin

Opponent

ListonSonny Liston

Johnny Summerlin
Loss, UD
1956Dec 1956
MachenEddie MachenUnited States 50–11–3 · HeavyweightListon betterSonny Liston better — 1–0 to 0–1
Sonny Liston
Win, UD
1960Sep 1960
Johnny Summerlin
Win, RTD
1955Jun 1955
FolleyZora FolleyUnited States 79–11–6 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Sonny Liston
Win, KO 3
1960Jul 1960
Johnny Summerlin
Loss, KO 5
1958May 1958
ValdésNiño ValdésCuba 48–18–3Liston betterSonny Liston better — 1–0 to 0–1
Sonny Liston
Win, KO 3
1959Aug 1959

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Johnny Summerlin last boxed on May 24, 1958 — 24,985 days ago. Summerlin had lost three straight, after one straight win.LWLLL

Liston Aug 1954Folley Jun 1955Satterfield Jun 1956Machen Dec 1956Valdés May 19581.5 tracked bouts per year

Sonny Liston has won once since losing by stoppage to Leotis Martin. Liston last boxed on Jun 29, 1970.WWWLW

Joiner Mar 1969Johnson May 1969Moore Sep 1969Martin Dec 1969Wepner Jun 19703.2 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston ever fought each other?: Yes. Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston have met 2 times and Sonny Liston leads the series 2-0.
Who has the better record, Summerlin or Liston?: Johnny Summerlin is 1-5 across the 6 bouts Kill The Body has tracked and Sonny Liston is 50-4. Sonny Liston has the higher win percentage. Records shown as tracked have not yet been independently verified as complete career totals.
Who has more knockouts, Summerlin or Liston?: Johnny Summerlin has 0 knockout wins and Sonny Liston has 39. Sonny Liston has more.
Do Summerlin and Liston have any common opponents?: Johnny Summerlin and Sonny Liston share 3 common opponents: Eddie Machen, Zora Folley and Niño Valdés. Sonny Liston fared better against 2 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Summerlin and Liston?: This comparison is drawn from 6 bouts tracked for Johnny Summerlin and 54 bouts tracked for Sonny Liston. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Johnny Summerlin vs Sonny Liston — record, stats and common opponents compared

Johnny Summerlin

Sonny Liston