Wilder has serious power. But so did Williams. I think Liston stops Wilder in the early to mid rounds
I think it would look alot like liston vs williams. Piston and wilder were both heavy handed, had long range, very cordinated and tended to get hit alot. Liston was very hard to hurt until alcoholism and possibly drug addiction made his body less durable, wilder tends to leave himself open to getting hit and a world class boxer like liston would recogize that and go in for the kill. I' say sonny takes wilder out in the 5th
We had a very similar thread to this one a few days ago...only it was Young Foreman vs Wilder.....Liston would have killed him too.
Wilder towers over Liston and holds considerable advantages in both speed and power. If Deontay can utilise his superior athleticism to evade Liston's signature long stiff bargepole, I can picture Sonny overcommitting and eating some serious leather from the agile and alert Wilder as the fight wore on. I realise backing Wilder here requires a leap of faith but I really think he can turn the trick here. Wilder KO It is difficult to make a strong case for DW in any hypothetical H2H because he has so much still to prove, 2018 will hopefully give us some answers regarding some of his suspected weaknesses. Also, I understand we don't have the best of prime Liston on tape so my opinions are based off what may be a diminished version from what he was at his peak.
Wilder in his first real fight against a true Heavyweight bad-bass, starts running his mouth at the weigh-in, and then Liston puts his "evil eye stare" on Wilder. Pretty easy to figure out what happens after about 2 rounds in the fight later, after Liston catches Wilder on the ropes and unloads on him.
This content is protected It'd look something like this. George Foreman sparred a washed up Cleveland Williams and said that Williams was one of the hardest punchers he ever was in the ring with and Foreman had experience vs more modern heavies too. It's probable that Williams could rival Wilder in punching power. And, Williams wasn't much smaller than Wilder, weight wise. He was 6'3 215 pounds in the above fight with Liston who was 6'1 212 pounds. Wilder is 6'7 225 pounds. Four inches taller, but only 10 pounds heavier than Williams. So he wouldn't be too big for Liston, if used properly, his height could be a problem in terms of Liston getting to his chin. What I think is that the fight goes a few rounds longer than Liston/Williams, but with the same result. Unless Wilder surprised us and could take a much better punch than anticipated. Now if Wilder fights AJ and takes some flush power shots and keeps coming, then I may re evaluate my opinion.
Both men enter the ring to an unusually pro-Liston crowd. Wilder keeps his silly mask on throughout the referees instructions so he doesn't have to look Liston in the eyes. Upon the opening bell, Wilder is visibly intimidated by Liston and the crowd. Trying to encourage himself, he turns to the crowd and yells, 'BombSquaaad!' As he turns back around, Liston finishes him within seconds. Looking down at his foe on the ground, Liston says, 'BombSquad motherf#$@?r.' A pair of shades and a thug life chain and medallion descend from the rafters, and the phat Dre beat kicks in.
And Ali said he was #3 .... Liston takes abuse by a lot of posters on how slow he is .. which I have always disagreed with when he was in Prime.. Deceptively quick is a better description for me
Liston's jab would move Wilder. Everything Sonny would land would have wilder taking 2 or 3 steps trying to regain his balance. But Liston had the tools to close the gap after landing the first punch and would foolow up with a right hand or that nasty left hook off the jab and it'd be over. Wilder and his John Mugabi balance needs to improve about 400% to stay in the ring with this guy.
