Sonny Liston or Wladimir Klitschko who rates higher as a all time heavyweight?

I always view prime as the absolute best version of each fighter that could have been, not necessarily was. And I think Wlad's toolbox is deeper than Sonny's...

 

Wlad easily way better more developed fighter

 

Liston. Wlad's a Co-Champ.

Along with:

Lennox Lewis
Vitali Klitschko
Hasim Rahman
Chris Byrd
Lamon Brewster
Nikolai Valuev
Ruslan Chagaev
David Haye
Bermane Stiverne
Deontay Wilder
Corrie Sanders
Sultan Ibragimov
Shannon Briggs
Sergey Lyakhovich
Oleg Maskaev
Samuel Peter

 

Wlad ruled 2006-2015, 18 defenses, beat half your list clear king of his era. ‘Co-champ’ with Vitali? Cute, but he still ran the show. Liston? One defense then Ali smoked him. Dominant stretch, sure, but one-and-done vs. Wlad’s decade? Not close. Tossing in champs that he didn't get a chance to fight doesn’t change the math—Wlad’s reign is way better then Liston’s.

 

Bro you can't force me into respecting unterchampions. So he reigned over mandos for a long time. Wlad's not an undisputed despite having plenty of opportunity to become one. He didn't even try. He got a belt, sat on mandos and got offer more belts. All of which were just just pieces of one. The IBF and WBO are just 80s splinters of the WBA. The WBA as a whole even with the IBF and WBO are only 1/2 global boxing participation. The WBC and its regional bodies manage the other half of the planet. Wlad had plenty of chances to do what Liston and Primo and plenty of other men you probably would like to tell me his 14 year reign as half champ should be rated over did do, Wlad showed no interest.

Also in that time he managed a resume not worth mention in any ATG conversation and got handed lineal based on some made up rating like as if there were rating at the beginning of the lineage. His mandos got rating on ring overnight after they were announced.

You guys make a ton of excuses and concessions for a man who didn't bother to make a vol once, did not bother with undisputed, and despite his resume being ass on toast there were actually great names whose careers overlap Wlad's.

Compared to:

Liston absolutely dominated the HW division for a short time. No other champion, defended, and removed all peer and former contenders before even entering the title fight.


You can make you excuses for Wlad and feel good about them. It's cool bro, I don't agree.

 

That's it in a nut shell...

 

Take the belts out of the equasion and Wlad did everything Liston did, beat everybody he needed to, but for the way longer stretch of time. When Vitali vacated the belt, WBC got Stiverne fighting Arreola for the vacancy. LOL. This completely damaged their credibility and Wlad had the undisputed status without having that joke of a strap. And you're simply lying Wlad didn't try to fight for the title. He made an offer to fight Stiverne, but Wilder blocked it. After that, Wilder ducked him. Wlad picked Jennings for his next title defence (which turned out to be the last) to beat someone from the Top 5 WBC rankings. And he already had the WBC lineage, when Peter, the guy he already beat, became the title holder.

 

You can’t seriously expect me to rank a guy with one title defense higher than someone with 18 just because you don’t like the sanctioning bodies involved. Wlad unified the division, collecting every belt except the one his brother held. You’re playing semantics to push the idea that a short reign with one defense is better than a decade-long reign of dominance.

And even by your logic, if you dismiss sanctioning bodies, then Wlad has multiple wins over champions—which strengthens his legacy, not weakens it. You twist definitions and play word games instead of acknowledging that both were champions, but one dominated his era for years, and the other had a short reign.

There are no excuses here, just an objective evaluation. And by any fair measure, Wlad's achievements, longevity, title defenses, and wins over champions far surpass Liston's.

 

Do you rate Canera above Holmes and Wlad?

 

Is there any decent information or number on Liston's amateur record?

 

I am one of the few who liked Wlad's style. Liked him physically breaking down his opponents with his ramrod jab and left hook.