Which fighters, despite not being incredibly great, would be a tough fight for anyone in a H2H fight? I think Tyson Fury is a good example of this, his resume might not be the best, but he is also a 6'8 250 pound boxer with a great fight IQ and movement. That would be tough for any ATG. Which fighters would you list as being tough in a H2H fight?
GGG. He doesn't have a weakness that you can exploit -Amazing jab -Power in both hands -Iron Chin -Fundamentally Sound Prime GGG gives every MW in history trouble. He was impossible to Knockdown and you had to power respect GGG's Power. He always made the right decisions in the ring technically. And he could box you with a strong jab to keep you at bay.
Liston is also underrated by many, because of the image he left in the Ali fights. Also a big underachiever. But in his prime very dangerous H2H for almost all big names including Louis, Marciano, Frazier, Foreman, Holmes...infact i favor him over all 80s champions except Tyson and Holmes in their absolute peaks. Due to his reach i also see him outboxing the Klitschkos and guess he has a better chance vs "old" Ali than Foreman in Zaire.
The only person I favor over a prime Liston with great confidence is Ali. Holmes and Fury would have excellent chances as well. I can't see Tyson beating him tbh. Liston is better on the outside, and despite a 13 inch reach advantage is better on the inside, has a better jab, better stamina, better ring IQ, more power, and he's much more adaptable. He also had a better long-term defense imo which is very underrated. Tyson's defense was incredible but he'd use it less and less as the fight went on.
I think the Fury from the Klitschko fight would have a good chance at beating Sonny, he was very quick and hard to hit clean in that fight. However, I wouldn't take current Fury over Liston.
I think @Showstopper97 picked a great choice in Aaron Pryor. Anyone who's fought at 140 would be forced to work very hard to deal with his relentless whirling dervish style. Even the great pre-welterweight Napoles and JCC would be sweating as they announced the scores for a decision.
It would take a special fighter to be favoured over a prime RJJ at 168lbs. A legitimate ATG, but would rank higher on H2H list.
An animal like Charley Burley is the poster child for this. Lacked the opportunity to make his true mark on greatness and often fought up in weight to get suitable matches. Imagine this freak against the top 15 Welterweights ever. He's going to win a lot of these fights. You can slip up to 154 and put him against the McCallums et al and he's a gonna do some damage there. Even at 160 this guy's going to put the sword thru some very notable names. The rest of The Black Murderers Row as a blanket mention would be respectable too. McCallum with his old school skill would be a nice mention. He's going to be a hard fight for almost anyone. Guys like Luis Rodriguez, Billy Graham, Marlon Starling, Buddy McGirt, Lupe Pintor, Jeff Chandler.....they all fly under someone's radar and at their finest are a handful for all. You could name dozens and dozens of them. Some people still, somehow, underrate Azumah Nelson. He would slay a lot of names that guy.
