Liston would crack wlad's jaw open...Liston by brutal KO. Vitali would be more competitive but probably still lose.
Wlad. But on here most people will have ol Jess Willard humiliating Wlad and Vitali in 2 rounds repectivley.
I'm a big Wlad fan, and I often get pissed off at some of the idiots in the Classic forum who believe they have a wonderfully in depth knowldege of boxing history when all they ever do is slag off modern fighters and go with the belief that the further ago a boxer fought, the better he must be (i.e the fannies who believe 5'6" Langford would KO both Klits :roll. However Liston would be a nightmare opponent for Wlad - tremendously strong puncher with a very good beard (forget the phantom punch, there's no way Wlad throws the type of short, sharp punch that Ali could), long reach, come forward style and a great finisher. Liston by KO in the early rounds.
The answer is...it depends. If a young Liston fought Wlad he would win, in my opinion, 9 times out of 10. He was just too big, too, strong and put on too much pressure. However, if a 32-year-old Liston met a 32-year-old Wlad, he'd likely be outboxed in every round.
The Phantom Punch was a phantom dive. This has been pretty must settle in every boxing book I've ever read.