If we're expanding things beyond just Holmes and Poirot, my vote is for Kojak.

Poirot. Although I like them both.

Well, I read and like both, so choosing won't be easy....

If it's boxing we're talking, then I would vote for Sherlock.

But, if it's pure crime solving skills, then I vote for Poirot. Why, you ask? Well, because he doesn't need to go around fetching for cigar ashes or footprints, he's essentially a psychological detective! He makes other people underestimate him and makes them talk a lot, contributing to helping him solve the crimes.

Heck, he even mocks a Holmes-type detective in the novel "The Murder on the Links", a detective Giraud, check it out!

Hm, that does sound a lot like Columbo, doesn't it. He even makes his own cigar ash.