Which of these HW fighters had the best boxing skills?

I agree. But Lennox is the best at not getting hit. His defense was made to smother and tie his opponent up at any chance he gets. WOuld you call that good defense? I'm not sure. If so then Wlad is the greatest defensive fighter of all time...

 

1. Liston
2. Lewis
3. Foreman

 

1. Lewis


2. Liston









3. Foreman

 

Looks about right.

 

I don’t have the stats in front of me I’ll check later. Pretty sure Liston edged him out in that department. Could be wrong. Lennox got better defensively in his later years.

 

Problem is Rahman and McCall were not considered big punchers. Neither of them hit as hard as Williams even if they are bigger

 

Off topic but where would you place Big Cat in the echelon of heavy hitters?

 

Rahman was considered a very big puncher.

 

respectfully disagree.

Rahman may have been an above average hitter but he wasn't considered a massive puncher like Tua or Morrison or Lewis etc.

Remember Rahman's best tko/ko win outside of Lewis is over Sanders. Which other notable heavy did Rahman ko? He couldn't ko Ruiz, or an old Berbick, or Maskaev. Rahman has very few notable stoppages over quality opponents.

Unlike Shavers (whose opponents attested to how hard a hitter he was), i have never seen any notable heavyweight ranking Rahman as an outrageously hard puncher. I don't see him as a monstorous puncher, just a slightly above average one.

 

good question.

I would rank Williams just a slight notch below Shavers/Foreman/Lewis etc. I would put him in the same category as Ron Lyle.

Foreman reportedly said that Williams was one of the 3 hardest hitters he faced along with Lyle and Cooney. I think George must have sparred with him. Williams was the only guy who tko'd a Ernie Terrell in his prime if i recall correctly, and that counts for something. So yeah, i rank Big Cat Williams as a very hard hitter, just a slight notch below Foreman/Shavers

 

So an A- grade. Sounds about right to me. Forgot about the Terrell knockout but it's proof Big Cat can starch some very good heavies out there.

 

In fairness that was a given

 

Liston
Lewis
Foreman

 

Liston was a more fluid and skilled boxer than Lewis. Lewis could be extremely uncoordinated and awkward at times. Steward did an incredible job at improving Lewis's movement and coordination and Lewis did get a lot better, but he was never as "natural" as Liston.

Liston was smart, strong, extremely well coordinated and made things look easy. IMO he had a better ring IQ than Lewis though the latter was an intelligent fighter too.

 

Liston had the best skills of the bunch for sure IMO. He's in the upper echelon of skill when talking heavyweights. The cupboard is pretty bare.