Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams vs David "The Terminator" Tua - Who would have won?

Tua is a short, squat, explosive slugger with a granite chin. The cat was a borderline great before being decimated by Liston and being shot multiple times only to survive and fight on. Who would have won this war.

Footnote - There is very interesting footage on youtube of a young Tua sparring with Holyfield in October 1996 getting the Real Deal ready for the Tyson fight. Tua makes an excellent account of himself in the three minute clip. He lands a couple of a sizzling left hooks to the top of Holyfield's head and Holyfield is continually moving (the only way to fight Tua since very few are going to be able to outslug the Samoan strongman. Could Williams be one of those men who could have put Tua down for the count?

 

Tua by Brutal KO fairly early.

Williams' power is exaggerated. Terrell is his best KO victim and that ain't saying a whole lot. Furthermore, he was KO'd by a lightheavy. Tua is an entirely different echelon.

 

How are you a borderline great by beating a grand total of one significant opponent during your entire career?

Williams can dish it out but can't take it. Tua by vicious KO.

 

Williams outboxes tua for a unanimous decision. Fast fighters gave Tua fits. Williams was big athletic, and had the power to hurt tua. It was his blistering handspeed which is going to give tua huge fits. I also will state Williams had a solid chin. From 1957-1964 his prime years, only sonny liston beat him convincingly. Liston could knock any man out, so it's not such a knock against his chin.


Let's not overrate Tua here folks. He had that late clutch explosive power which I love, but he had to be one of the easiest worldclass fighters to outbox i have ever seen. Mediocre fighters like Izon, Oquendo, Maskaev all outboxed him. So did Rahman. Rahman's chin was no better than Williams.



Williams by UD

 

Mind explaining why? Every single contemporary source I have ever read describes williams as nothing but a deadly puncher of that era. ESB's John Garfield has nothing but outstanding eye witness detailed accounts of Williams ferocious power. Williams may not have knocked out many big names, but he certainly slaughtered the tough fringe contenders he was supposed too(some of them like Alonzo Johnson had never been stopped before). Williams was the most avoided fighter of the era, no one wanted to get in the ring with him. Sonny Liston said Williams hit just as hard as him.

Why not? Terrell was a 6'6 future WBA heavyweight champion. this was the only time he was ever knocked out near his prime.

Williams was a 20 year old teenager, taking the fight on last minute notice as a substitute. Not only was this a huge step up in class for Williams, but Williams at only 201lb had not yet physically matured.

Considering I watched fighters like Izon, Rahman, Maksaev, and Oquendo box his ears off...I think you should reconsider that statement.

 

"In a way Williams is tougher to fight than Liston because he has the speed the other doesn't have. You can't walk around Cleveland like you can Liston." -Eddie Machen


Some BIG words right there.

 

Tua by KO. Both are only fringe contenders on the broader scale of things. Cleveland has some advantages but when two punchers fight it comes down to two things. Power and chin. Williams had big power but his chin is suspicious. Tua had even more power and his chin is iron. So, Tua would win imo.

 

I agree with SuzieQ on most points but I see this like the Ibeabuchi fight but Tua winning a close decision or a late KO, Williams was a ferocious puncher like Tua and I see him coming to fight like he did against Liston, and this would suit Tua it would be a great fight

 

1. Why did Williams have a suspicious chin? Because Liston knocked him out?

2. I disagree on it coming down to power and chin. Williams could move, he had speed. He could box, he could jab. I can easily see him piling up a huge lead on the cards the way inferior fighters like izon and oquendo did. Whether tua catches him late or not is up to debate.

 

Do you consider Patterson having a suspicious chin? If yes, you answered your post.

Tua brings big pressure and I don´t think Williams would be able to avoid his left-hook over the distance. He would land. He would land big. And it would be over.

 

tua wins easy he just beat beter guys. its that simple.

 

BS, Tua does not pressure he follows his opponents around like a puppy. ****in' journeyman like Jeff Wooden outboxed him,lmao,if you need a come from behind punch in the latter rounds against C level fighters to succeed you are gonna be doomed. Fact.

Whats Tua s highlite, ko'ing the green Huggy Bear or like Golata getting all the credit for losing big fights ?

Iron chin ? After a couple of Lemmies right hands Tua was tamed and all what he wanted to do was go home to Mommy without getting Ko'ed. Fact. Rib injury my ass.

Tua is the ultimate one trick pony, never learned to slip a jab or effectively cutting off the ring.

Anyway, this is a 50/50 fight between two trial horses.

BTW, Tua was the ONLY fighter of the sorry ass nineties with a name who could not pick up a ABC belt.......................laughable.

 

Tua inside four rounds.

 

You are an even more depressive, miserable poster than Seamus. I wouldn´t have thought this is possible. :admin