On their very best night who wins the all time heavyweight prizefighter competition?

[BIG H]

I think I would roll with Sonny Liston and his jab.

Unless he had to face Ali? Which on the basis of this competition, he would have to

People underrate Sonny Liston, no one knew his true age, reports say he was close to 40 when he fought Muhammad Ali i believe.

He actually had one of the best jabs in Heavyweight history, and ridiculously long reach for his height at 84 inches. And joke reports used to say his hand size was the size on dinner plates.

I think Sonny Liston is one of the most underrated Heavyweight champions.

I'm not underrating him, I'm just pointing out that history tells us he got whooped twice by Clay/Ali. He wasn't showing any signs of aging prior to those fights, he'd just detroyed Patterson twice in ide a round each time and had been walking through the best the division had to offer and knocking them all out. It's odd how there is no official record of his age, but he was reportedely 32 when he fought Clay in 64. H elaimed to have turned pro at 21, so that would've confirmed that.

[ICB]

I think I would roll with Sonny Liston and his jab.

Unless he had to face Ali? Which on the basis of this competition, he would have to

People underrate Sonny Liston, no one knew his true age, reports say he was close to 40 when he fought Muhammad Ali i believe.

He actually had one of the best jabs in Heavyweight history, and ridiculously long reach for his height at 84 inches. And joke reports used to say his hand size was the size on dinner plates.

I think Sonny Liston is one of the most underrated Heavyweight champions.

I'm not underrating him, I'm just pointing out that history tells us he got whooped twice by Clay/Ali. He wasn't showing any signs of aging prior to those fights, he'd just detroyed Patterson twice in ide a round each time and had been walking through the best the division had to offer and knocking them all out. It's odd how there is no official record of his age, but he was reportedely 32 when he fought Clay in 64

I think they say he was 36 when he fought Muhammad Ali.

[Fenster]

His age is irrelevant. If you show blinding form and take a fearsome reputation into a contest you can't start making excuses - of being past it/out of form - if you get whipped.

This age argument in boxing is a very dubious one.

[Dark Lord Al]

Liston was a plodder , prime george foreman beheads him , and if a light punching ali boxes him to a standstill , larry holmes / Lewis / vitali / all beat him for me.

[ICB]

Liston was a plodder , prime george foreman beheads him , and if a light punching ali boxes him to a standstill , larry holmes / Lewis / vitali / all beat him for me.

Sonny Liston used to spar with George Foreman, supposedly taught him all the bullying tactics.

[Dark Lord Al]

Liston was a plodder , prime george foreman beheads him , and if a light punching ali boxes him to a standstill , larry holmes / Lewis / vitali / all beat him for me.

Sonny Liston used to spar with George Foreman, supposedly taught him all the bullying tactics.

Yes i know , but Liston was at his peak when he fought patterson , Foreman at his peak when he fought ali , put them together and i think Foreman stops him inside 3 rounds.
would love to have seen the fight

[Jimanuel Boogustus]

Hmmmm....

Just found these (Opinions on Foreman Vs Liston):

Ernie Terrell
Chicago based promoter Ernie Terrell is a former WBA heavyweight champion.

"Oh boy, it would have been something to watch! We're talking about two very tough men, not just tough fighters, Liston was a very good boxer in his prime, which was the late-50's and early-60's. I sparred with him, but since I was much taller, and was a boxer, his jab, which was one of his best weopons, didn't affect me the way it did most other fighters. Physically, he could do more in the ring than Foreman.
It's a shame Foreman couldn't combine the power and speed of his youth with the improved defense and maturaity he shows today. Still, he was a very strong guy. Most of the men he knocked out he hurt first. Foreman had a great chin, but even greater determination. Getting up from those knockdowns and coming back to beat Ron Lyle proved what he was made of.
The fight would flow the same way Foreman-Lyle did. Both men would connect with big punches. But Liston was abetter all-round boxer, and he was certainly a better puncher than Lyle. By o means would it be an easy fight for Liston. But I see him coming on as Foreman weakens, and scoring a knockout around the 11th round."


Chuck Wepner
A heavyweight contender in the 70's, Chuck Wepener was stopped by both Liston and Foreman.

"I fought Liston in his last fight, and Foreman when he was on his way up, so I speak from experience when I say they were two of the hardest punchers ever. it would be hard to match two harder-hitting heavyweights. Even though I though Liston was at the end, I thought he was still a very good boxer. He took a good punch, and he had a lot of savvy. In his prime, he could do it all.
When he was younger, Foreman's most impressive quality was his awesome brute strength. He liked to push people around, but he could be wild with his punches, and that cost him against Muhammad Ali. He was alot like Liston then. Both liked to intimidate their opponents, but you couldn't intimidate either one of them. With George, though, it was an act; he's always been a good guy.
It would be an action packed fight. Both had good, hard jabs, and didn't hesitate to open up and throw bombs. But Liston was a much better boxer. i don't beleive anyone could have beaten Liston in his prime, including Ali. I see Liston stopping Foreman in six or seven rounds."

[chinchekked]

I am a fan of boxing.....that being said it is easy to lean towards certain fighters as favorites and overrate them. However I have to defend the fact that Ali being # 1 does NOT bother me. It is my opinion that many people do hail him as the best based on name and reputation alone without even looking at the other options. IMO though I think that he is top 3 without a doubt. I also believe that he did fight in a better era of heayweights as stated earlier in this thread. For anyone who says that today's heavyweights are as good I ask you this.......how many fighters showed up to fight Ali looking like Kirk Johnson vs Klit.