Cleveland Williams found Sonny ok so I think Co0ney can too. Can Gerry win? Proberbly not. For all his explosive hitting Gerry was a little too anxious natured to be a really great fighter. You need to be a really great fighter to beat Sonny Liston. He's in with a serious punchers chance though, Gerry would do better than big cat Williams and still lose.
I just think Sonny Liston would take out Gerry. He was just a better fighter, hard jab and could knock you out with either hand and Gerry would be right there for him. Liston was also an underrated boxer, I think he would have outboxed Gerry and knocked him out before round 5.
Liston would walk through Gerry. First solid punch ends it. ****ey had poor whiskers. ****ey would not last 5 rounds against prime Ali. First right hand stuns him followed by a gradual beat down. A massacre.
Only amateurs consider size an important variable. This is boxing not a mr universe competition. Liston cleaned out the hwt division, was considered by everyone including Foreman who sparred with him as a murderous puncher and had one of the best jabs in hwt history. Listons only problem is he won the championship right when the best hwt ever was in his prime. ****ey did not have what it took to handle a Sonny Liston.
Coney horribly outmatched and overrated, only his toughness keeps him in the fight before the inevitable KO/TKO.
And ****ey had very little "toughness",...he'd be horribly manhandled before being dispatched in the first or second round.
Liston was one of the hardest punchers in hwt history. So says everyone who ever fought him. Wepner who fought both felt that Liston hit harder .......that's a hard puncher. ****ey had a chin of glass. Unless you think Gerry would not be hit Liston has to be the choice.
In practicality, Liston knocks C00ney out. But it doesn't have to be a one sided mismatch.. Both of these men could crack HARD and neither were much known for durability or strong mental fortitude. Both had long wingspans and the size advantage goes to C00ney. I think Liston wins by way of his superior jab and right cross, probably stopping Gerry at about round 5. But he'd likely take some hard shots along the way and even get rocked.