from 1953 (Liston's 1st fight) til Marciano retired, Sonny Liston fought opponents with a combined record of 131-77-23. I wouldnt call that great enough competition to be able to deal with the Rock. Then from 1956 til the end of 1958 (Marciano would never have fought beyond Fall 1956/Spring 1957) Sonny Liston's opponents' records were 153-89-12. He didnt fight anybody decent until April 1959 in Cleveland Williams. So if he had fought Marciano say in Spring 1956, he would have had a very poor chance of winning. He wasn't ready to face the Rock, nor was Floyd Patterson.
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