Take Brewster or Sanders love handles and man boobs away and they're no bigger than Liston. Liston KO 5.
Size is overrated. Liston had a freakish reach, and more than enough power to shatter the glass in Wlad's chin. Liston by early KO.
true - and remember that Sonny was 215lb back in the days when heavyweights trained like athletes. The guy would probably be 240lb in todays climate.
Hmmmm...stiff, rapid jabs and handspeed absolutely bothered Liston - and alot. See Marshall, Machen, Whitehurst, and of course Ali. He SHOULD have been able to knock those guys out (esp. the first three). Dunno about this one - there's every possibility that Liston finds Wlad's chin early and changes the course of the fight....he was a monster with the jab and could take punishment. But it isn't just Wlad's "size", it's the COMBINATION of height, reach, SPEED, power, relatively quick feet and strength tying up that make this interesting. I'm absolutely a fan of Liston's strength, ramrod thudding jab and punches....but what happens after round 5 or 6? Taking Liston on early was a mistake; if you boxed him and tied up in the later rounds he got tired and became slow and awkward. Liston early/mid-rounds....if it goes past that; there is every possibility Wlad outpoints him. Peace.
They trained like athletes means in this case that they trained like long-distance runners, but the sport has developed so that these days guys train with different methods and are much stronger than the midgets of the past. Also Wlad's body is very ripped even compared to Liston. Comparing the guys from 50s and 60s to modern fighters is like comparing middleweights to heavies. Middleweights put up better fights because they can keep up a better pace and take more shots from each other, but middleweights won't beat heavies
