Liston vs Wlad Klitschko

Wlad would need to be more aggressive in order to win this one, but that's not his style. Liston demonstrated problems with good movers, and Klitschko isn't a mover in that regard. Liston would be the mover and the aggressor in this one.

I could see Wlad having success with the jab and maintaining distance, but I think its a matter of time before something shakes him up. Once Liston gets some momentum, Klitschko is in trouble.

Klitschko only goes backwards on his terms- if you can back him up, he's out of his element.

 

Cleveland Williams was on the right track in both fights early on, as he was beating the **** out of Liston... That is until Liston came on and repaid him with interest...

It appeared that Liston was waiting for his turn, and while he was getting tagged, appeared to be in control of himself while backing up, ducking, slipping, and covering up until he capitalized on his turn...

In other words, he kept cool in spite of receiving a broken nose and getting kind of a beating thrown his way... Klitschko doesn't react well to clean punches landing on him consecutively.

If Wlad had Williams' mentality going in, his chances increase exponentially. He has the accuracy and power to put the blast on Liston and keep him defensive, at least until Liston takes his turn...

 

Liston KO6.

 

I'd love for a challenger to come along that actually throws more than one punch at a time, can keep up pressure consistently, and isn't at least 30lbs overweight...

Just those three things might prove to be a winning combination...

 

I'd favor Klitschko. Liston's reach advantage would be completely neutralized by having to punch up 6 inches with one of the great straight right hands in heavyweight history waiting to crash over the top of that great jab- a combination Liston never fought in his career. I picked Wlad on points, but he may well have iced Liston.

 

That what i was thinking. :deal

Klit-Fangirls overate teh **** out of Height.

 

If Wlad can keep Liston at the end of his jab all night, I can see a win either by decision or stoppage, as I think Wlad wins a standup boxing match from long range against Liston.

At at some point, Liston is going to get inside or land a punch that gets Klitschko shook, and that's when Liston turns the tide.

 

In other words, his success will be short-lived or sporadic.

 

:rofl:rofl:roflatsch

Liston has a BETTER And HARDER jab,, And a 3" Reach Advantage. :hi:

 

I... don't really know who takes this.

It's a pick 'em I think.

Leaning towards Liston by mid-late stoppage though.

 

Punching up lessens your power more than punching down does. And yes, it does make it easier to come over the top of the jab when you're fighting someone 6 inches shorter than you. And, Wlad does have one of the best straight rights the division's ever seen. He's also the faster fighter than Liston.

So no, it's not simply height and size (although Liston, unlike Louis or Dempsey, didn't have any pedigree of beating big men), it's that I really don't think he matches up nearly as well with Wlad as Liston's hype makes it sound like. Then again, I think Liston's probably the most overrated heavyweight in history right now.

So if you're going to tag me for something, it'd be better to chalk it up to Liston hype backlash than Wlad nuthuggery. I don't think Sonny would've beat a number of the top heavyweights over the 20 years and I believe simply didn't have the mentality to be a dominant champion.