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

BUT there are favourites… who for example would rank undisputed champs of the modern era over Jimmy Bivins or Charley Burley? Who you beat matters… sometimes lol.

 

Liston built his reputation bullying smaller fighters, Wlad is a 6'6", 240-pound athletic powerhouse who would manhandle him. Liston wouldn't be the intimidator in this fight; he'd be the intimidated.

 

Wlad was undisputed when the WBC was vacant and he held the other belts.

 

Exactly

 

For a visual… Sonny Liston when he won the title is roughly the same size of Chris Byrd give or take a pound or so, the difference between Wlad and Liston is greater then Patterson vs Ali…

This content is protected

This content is protected

 

Maybe he was also a little scared of Povetkin and pulled it out maybe Wlad can ask Vitali’s Ukrainian Mafia friends to counteract Liston’s mafia connections?

 

That first sentence is hilarious. Liston built his reputation by bullying smaller fighters but Wlad didn't? At least Liston didn't have to hug every time one of those smaller fighters got close enough to make conversation. Wlad is a 6'6 powerhouse who almost lost to Peter and did lose to Brewster. Liston KTFOs him.

Liston scared everyone and Wlad had a tendancy to get spooked. You don't need to be genius to see how that works out.

 

Liston is the guy who had a history of being spooked.

 

We have to give it to the ugly duckling here, because he simply has too much depth and longevity.

The way I see it, Liston was an arch underachiever, and Wlad was an arch overachiever.

I think that Liston would very likely have beaten Wlad, but they both had their chance to be champion, and they came out with what they came out wit.

 

Sounds like you're in your feelings there, mate.

 

I don’t know what I’ve done to make you so reactive. I hope you regain control.

 

Wlad is clearly the greater of the two; I see no argument for having Liston higher. Wlad has a better resume; both in terms of depth and top wins (sure, Patterson is the greatest fighter either beat, but like, I really doubt he beats Povetkin), an infinitely better title reign, better longevity, very dominant albeit in a less impressive way and his losses, surprisingly, aren't even as bad. Wlad is top 6ish, whereas Liston isn't top 10 imo.

However, head-to-head, I'd take Liston every day of the week. Wlad shits his pants, panics, grabs, gets hit on the chin and goes to sleep.

 

Liston built his reputation overwhelming smaller men who couldn’t handle his strength and power. Floyd Patterson, his most famous victim, was a natural light heavyweight at 188 pounds, and even Cleveland Williams—a so-called “big puncher” of the era—was barely over 200 pounds and never won a meaningful fight. The moment Liston faced a bigger, more mobile opponent in Ali, his intimidation factor vanished, and he was completely outclassed. Wlad, unlike Patterson or Williams, would not be there to be bullied. He wouldn’t need to engage Liston in mid-range exchanges where Liston’s power was most effective he’d dictate the fight with his jab, controlling distance and forcing Liston to work his way inside against a significantly larger opponent.

At the end of the day, Liston is the one with more unknowns in a matchup like this. He never fought a super heavyweight, never faced an elite jabber his own size, and never proved he could adjust against a great fighter. Wlad, on the other hand, fought and dominated big, powerful opponents. If we’re looking purely at head-to-head ability, Klitschko has the better physical tools, the better resume against elite heavyweights, and the style that would completely shut Liston down.