dempseyfire wrote:A few points about Rocky's opposition, in response to MF and BB:
Walcott was not a 'late bloomer' . . .he gained the championship at a later time b/c he didn't get proper management until a late age. To say his prime was 38 years old is laughable. The Joe who fought Marciano was a dangerous fighter but just watch the film of him vs Rock and then Walcott vs Louis and the Charles fights . . .in the those Walcott doesn't tire by the 4th round. Joe was very crafty and dangerous BUT he was an old man and this helped Marciano, a guy who wore you out by attrition, considerably.
Sorry, Rex Layne was a fringe contender at best. DUe to corruption he got his decisions vs Charles and Walcott (the former being in his own hometown). Just look at the film of Laybe . . .VERY slow, horrible technique . . .some Marciano fans play up this guy as some super dangerous contender and he was far from it . . a tough guy with a punch sums up Layne.
Walcott was not a 'late bloomer' . . .he gained the championship at a later time b/c he didn't get proper management until a late age. To say his prime was 38 years old is laughable. The Joe who fought Marciano was a dangerous fighter but just watch the film of him vs Rock and then Walcott vs Louis and the Charles fights . . .in the those Walcott doesn't tire by the 4th round. Joe was very crafty and dangerous BUT he was an old man and this helped Marciano, a guy who wore you out by attrition, considerably.
I think you need to watch this match again. Walcott kept up a steady pace and, in fact, dictated the pace almost all the way through the fight. He wasn't very tired after the 12th round, let alone the 4th.
How do you think Walcott had slipped so much since the Charles fights? Walcott had just taken his two wins over Charles less than a year before he fought Marciano. He was in tip-top shape for the Marciano fight, focused, confident, and determined, and his performance reflected it.
I believe it is
possible Walcott had started slipping for the first Marciano fight. Clearly he was not far past his prime, as the third Charles fight, just a year before his fight with Marciano, was quite likely the best performance of his career, in which he won nearly every round and then flattened Charles with one incredible punch. One must remember that different fighters age differently.
Regardless, if Walcott HAD gone downhill by the time he fought Marciano the first time around, I think it is more than balanced out by the rounds Marciano fought nearly blind due to cut medicine in his eyes in that fight. Marciano was the better man, fair and square.
And yes, of COURSE Walcott was a late-bloomer. In his 20s, he
lost to guys like Abe Simon and Roy Lazer, who a late 40s-early 50s Walcott would've outclassed. Walcott learned his trade by fighting professionally, as he turned pro with no amateur experience and no professional training at 16 years old. His prime years unquestionably came much later in his career than they do in most fighters' careers- 38 years old for Walcott is MUCH different than 38 years old for most other fighters.
Sorry, Rex Layne was a fringe contender at best. DUe to corruption he got his decisions vs Charles and Walcott (the former being in his own hometown). Just look at the film of Laybe . . .VERY slow, horrible technique . . .some Marciano fans play up this guy as some super dangerous contender and he was far from it . . a tough guy with a punch sums up Layne.
Layne was certainly not a "fringe contender at best." He was ranked in the top five in the world when Marciano beat him, and I've read RING Magazines from that era- sportswriters were very impressed with Layne in the months leading up to his fight with Marciano. Since the Walcott fight, he had beaten two more name contenders- granite-jawed argentinian champ Cesar Brion and devastating puncher Bob Satterfield- all over the last 8 months prior to fighting Marciano. After Layne had scored an impressive knockout over Satterfield, Jack Dempsey said he would pick Layne to beat Ezzard Charles(in other words, to win the championship) "right now." His recent record had been highly impressive, and he was a clear favorite to beat Marciano that night. After what Marciano did to him, Layne was never the same again.
Now, I agree Layne was a limited fighter from the start and was nothing overwhelmingly special, but he was a real contender and a good fighter. Marciano fans may try to play him up at times, but you're trying to play him down.
