Watched his two fights with Sonny Liston and they were rough. He broke Sonny's nose in the first fight and landed some bombs. He was 6"3 213 lbs and hit like a truck, Sonny said he was the hardest puncher he had ever faced. His record was 78-13-1 with 58 KO's. Eight of his losses came after he was shot with a 357 magnum and nearly died.
I believe there's a good chance he might have been champ if he had gotten a shot at either Floyd or Ingo, he had a good jab, fast hands and ungodly power.I would pick him to beat the following contenders that were ranked whilst he was. Hunter Harris Folley Lavorante Erskine Cooper Cleroux Logan Mildenberger
Had the misfortune of being around same time as liston then a young ali. As mcvey stated, a shot against Floyd or ingo would have probably got him the title. Would have been interesting to see Cleveland as the champ and liston the challenger.
Cleveland in his ENTIRE career only fought about 11 guys over the 215 mark..He only k.od 50% of them in his prime....This isnt really about the fighter so much an example of how hype is ranked over actual ability.Williams was fast and could hurt smaller guys quite easily...why wouldnt he be able to? On the flip side this post will show just how hype over shadows actual reality. Here are some of them... 1/ Abie Gibson who he couldnt knock out the FIRST time ,he was outweighed by 10 pounds. Cleveland only k.od him in the rematch when he GAINED 10 pounds more.( SIZE doesnt matter though) 2/ Punce Deleon..Williams k.od him he also OUTWEIGHED him by 10 pounds.( size doesnt matter though) 3/ Bob albright His first 220 pound opponent was who had a 25 % k.o percentage and who LOST his previous fight to a 190 pounder. It only took Williams 38 fights to fight a 220 pounder. Yes he knocked him out in 7...but why would that look good? 4/ Ben Marshal who was 6'8 and 220 he also lost HALF his fights.He made quick work of him...but again why would this be looked on as a great feat with that guys record? 5/ Young Jack Johnson He lasted 10 rounds .Most likely bc he was 233 pounds .He also LOST 2 fights prior to Williams.Again someone please point out the significance of a guy landing 3 straight losses? Some Guys he couldn't k.o 1/ Keen Simmons a 220 pounder who LOST 10 previous fights with a 13 % k.o record simply because he OUTWEIGHED Cleveland. 2/ Howie Turner another doozie who had 18 % k.o percentage and LOST 4 previous fights.. 3/ Mel Turnbow his heaviest opponent at 238 with a 9 % k.o percentage, also LOST 3 previous fights and even knocked Williams down even though he was as weak as a super heavyweight could get to the 212 Williams....... So was Williams actually this killer or simply did he look good against Liston because he was in the same size zone and liston couldnt walk through a more sizable guy he wasnt accustomed too? Williiams had flaws and got by on speed and power against what ive shown above.The claim that some eras have of these killers row is comical. EVERY era has their own killers row...MOST eras post 60's im assuming knockout the majority of anyone i mentioned here. Fighters are becoming less effective doe? The way people go on about how Ali defeatted a past prime williams also has to make one think ...DOES anyone actually follow the careers of BOTh guys? smh
And Floyd Patterson and Ingemar Johansson weren't 215 pounds, either. Floyd didn't weigh 200. The heaviest Ingo ever weighed was 206. He was usually 200 pounds or less. Hell, Marciano never weighed more than 192. So, if you're saying Cleveland didn't do as well against bigger guys, he wouldn't have been facing bigger guys in Floyd and Ingo and Rocky, the three men who basically held the title during much of the best years of his career.
I'd give him a good chance against Floyd or Ingo, the punches he hit Liston with would have knocked out Ingemar