Cleaver has 60 stoppages and a 7 inch reach advantage. Cleaver lands the enough of the hard punches to run away with it
Charles defeated Holman in the rematch while well into his decline as a contender. A prime Charles also stopped the durable Baksi who was 32 lbs heavier. Prime Charles also knocked out the 6'2" Elmer Ray.
A was very aware of the Holman rematch, though neither looked too good. Didn't know Baksi had 32 lbs on him though. Very impressive feat on the part of the Master Boxer.
I actually agree w/ you completely. The guys who had the most success w/ Liston were guys like Ali, Machen, and Folley. All excellent boxers who were great counterpunchers. Charles had good defense, his jab would compete well with Sonny's, and he would make Liston miss a lot, and he would make him mad. Plus, Charles is underrated in the way that he could thrive in a slugfest, like Marciano I and Walcott II. He ate lots of bombs, hung tough, and never touched down.
If a guy like Quarry, who was in the same category as Charles when it came to smaller heavies, could beat guys like Lyle, Shavers and Mac Foster, I think Charles could beat those types of bigger men as well and Williams fits right into that mix of bigger men. It's the Foreman's and Tyson's and Bowe's of the world that give me pause when putting Charles against the big boys.
Good point, although Tyson was a big hitter, not a big man. Still, if Williams landed a bomb on Charles, I think he would knock him out.
You did say Cleaver. I thought you meant June Cleaver. In which case I agree with you 110 percent. She'd KO prime Ezzard in 1 round. It would look like Tyson/Spinks.
Well he was big if you're going by optimal fighting weight. His optimal weight was like 217, 218 pounds I believe. Or I should say big as compared to old time heavies.
Quarry was overweight. He ideally should have been about 197 instead of 207, though Norton would always been the bigger man and I do think he'd have still won.
