Still Ali. Liston would prob do slightly better in fact Ali predicted he would KO him in round 8 but it ended up being in round 7 so I’m taking Ali in round 8.
I seem to recall Emanual Steward being asked this question and he said a prime Liston would beat Ali. I'm not so sure myself due to styles but I respect Stewards opinion immensely .
Is it really established that Liston was past his best in 1964? I get that he might have been in his mid 30s, but was there really any indication that he was slowing down? Also Liston was still a sub 40 fight boxer at this point, without having any long gruelling fights on his resume as I recall. The fights where he did face resistance, he managed to stop his opposition relatively early. On the other hand the 22 year old Ali had not reached his peak.
No funny business, no mob, no fixes then it would be different. I can see Liston flooring Ali…but Ali boxes his ears off for the rest of the fight. Ali wins convincingly on points
Yes You're correct he might've been in his mid 30s. At the youngest, he was 34. According to the 1950 census he was born in 1922/23 which would've made him 41/42 at the time he fought Ali. Doctors estimated his age to be 38-41. He'd fought less than 6 minutes in three three years, and had a confirmed injury going into the bout. He'd attempted to get a postponement but was denied. That being said I don't think any Liston beats '66-'67 Ali.
Recall he said he was more unsure of the result but based on his tone he did seem to lean more towards Liston. Given how he likely was in his 40s facing Ali along with his shoulder problems in the fight, the hypothetical fight itself would look very different from the actual one.
I struggle rate prime Liston cause he was champion for such a short time and his resume was nothing special. Don’t get me wrong prime Liston was a beast but the guys he was in with weren’t on his level. If his prime was during the 70s or 90s or maybe even the 50s he would have a much harder time.