Rocky Marciano Versus

[ThatOne]

Lennox Lewis

Riddick Bowe

Vitali Klitschko

Wlad Klitschko

Jerry Cooney

[keithmoonhangover]

Lennox Lewis

Riddick Bowe

Vitali Klitschko

Wlad Klitschko

Jerry Cooney

Vitali beats him every time.

Lewis on his best day beat him easy, but if he got caught clean with the Suzie-Q, then it's Marciano by stoppage.

If Holyfield can put Bowe down then Marciano can. I know Bowe was superb inside, but that's Marciano's game. 12 rounds - Bowe wins. 15 round Marciano by stoppage.

Wlad from a few years ago loses inside 3 rounds. Now, I think he wins, but if he gets caught...

Gerry Cooney loses every time they fight, he is tailor made for Rocky.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Loses to all, except for Cooney.

[keithmoonhangover]

Loses to all, except for Cooney.

Every single time?

[crusader]

Loses to all, except for Cooney.

I agree

[Goodnight, Irene]

Loses to all, except for Cooney.

Every single time?

I dont think hed beat those guys in ten tries. Maybe here and there in a hundred efforts, but thats it.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Agreed with Irene, Bowe would absolutely mutilate him.

[gilgamesh]

I agree with GI on this one too.

[jezzamundo]

Lennox Lewis TKO9 Marciano - Lewis could get caught, but probably wouldn't. A smart Lewis dominates from a distance, before opening up later on to beat Rocky into submission in the mid to late rounds, the referee stopping the fight.

Riddick Bowe TKO11 Marciano - Bowe's defense was leaky at best and Marciano certainly hit harder than Holyfield, so Rocky has a good chance here. That said, I think Bowe's in-fighting gives him the edge, stopping Rocky late on cuts.

Vitali Klitschko UD12 Marciano - Vitali's stoppage record is impressive, but his resume is not. Marciano is made of tougher stuff than anyone Vitali has beaten. That said, this is a physical mismatch, although the smaller man has the greater punching power. A very interesting fight to watch - a 6'7 upright fighter, against a 5'10 fighter in a crouch - there would appear to be over a foot difference in both height and reach. I have Vitali winning 116-112 to 117-111 on the scorecards.

Marciano TKO6 Wladimir Klitschko - Wlad has all the tool to soundly beat Marciano and on both men's best night, Wlad clearly wins. This said, there is no way Wlad's chin can survive a flush Marciano right hand. If Wlad fights a safe/boring fight, he wins most of the round until Suzie Q finishes the show. Wlad wins a wide, boring decision in the rematch.

Marciano KO8 Jerry Cooney - Marciano down once from a left hook, but once he gets to Cooney's chin, it's all over.

[keithmoonhangover]

Loses to all, except for Cooney.

Every single time?

I dont think hed beat those guys in ten tries. Maybe here and there in a hundred efforts, but thats it.

I'm sorry mate, but if the over confident Lewis that fought Rahman or McCall or Bruno shows up then Marciano puts him on the floor and Lewis gets stopped.

[Goodnight, Irene]

Unless stated otherwise, matches are always assumed to be men at their best.

[keithmoonhangover]

What would you class as Lewis' best?

[dempseyfire]

Lennox Lewis TKO9 Marciano - Lewis could get caught, but probably wouldn't. A smart Lewis dominates from a distance, before opening up later on to beat Rocky into submission in the mid to late rounds, the referee stopping the fight.

Riddick Bowe TKO11 Marciano - Bowe's defense was leaky at best and Marciano certainly hit harder than Holyfield, so Rocky has a good chance here. That said, I think Bowe's in-fighting gives him the edge, stopping Rocky late on cuts.

Vitali Klitschko UD12 Marciano - Vitali's stoppage record is impressive, but his resume is not. Marciano is made of tougher stuff than anyone Vitali has beaten. That said, this is a physical mismatch, although the smaller man has the greater punching power. A very interesting fight to watch - a 6'7 upright fighter, against a 5'10 fighter in a crouch - there would appear to be over a foot difference in both height and reach. I have Vitali winning 116-112 to 117-111 on the scorecards.

Marciano TKO6 Wladimir Klitschko - Wlad has all the tool to soundly beat Marciano and on both men's best night, Wlad clearly wins. This said, there is no way Wlad's chin can survive a flush Marciano right hand. If Wlad fights a safe/boring fight, he wins most of the round until Suzie Q finishes the show. Wlad wins a wide, boring decision in the rematch.

Marciano KO8 Jerry Cooney - Marciano down once from a left hook, but once he gets to Cooney's chin, it's all over.

Good analysis. I'm never too comfortable affixing Rocky's worth in some fantasy fights since he beat everyone he faced but struggled with the best guys he fought, both near or in their 40s (Walcott and Moore). So either he falls vs the top on their best night and was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, or he finds that extra gear and is as great a fighter as some proclaim. Either way, a great fighter without a doubt, but tough to judge comprehensively based on the competition he fought.

[Ambling Alp]

Marciano would beat Vitaly Kltischko. No way is he going to knock Marciano out. Marciano would be landing more punches so he should be able to win a decison if he has to. More likely that he chops him down and stops him.

Neither have good defense. Marciano was not a very accurate puncher, but he would have no problem finding Klitschko. Marciano hit harder, was busier and was much tougher.

[raylawpc]

Marciano would beat Vitaly Kltischko. No way is he going to knock Marciano out. Marciano would be landing more punches so he should be able to win a decison if he has to. More likely that he chops him down and stops him.

Neither have good defense. Marciano was not a very accurate puncher, but he would have no problem finding Klitschko. Marciano hit harder, was busier and was much tougher.

Good post.

[raylawpc]

Lennox Lewis TKO9 Marciano - Lewis could get caught, but probably wouldn't. A smart Lewis dominates from a distance, before opening up later on to beat Rocky into submission in the mid to late rounds, the referee stopping the fight.

Riddick Bowe TKO11 Marciano - Bowe's defense was leaky at best and Marciano certainly hit harder than Holyfield, so Rocky has a good chance here. That said, I think Bowe's in-fighting gives him the edge, stopping Rocky late on cuts.

Vitali Klitschko UD12 Marciano - Vitali's stoppage record is impressive, but his resume is not. Marciano is made of tougher stuff than anyone Vitali has beaten. That said, this is a physical mismatch, although the smaller man has the greater punching power. A very interesting fight to watch - a 6'7 upright fighter, against a 5'10 fighter in a crouch - there would appear to be over a foot difference in both height and reach. I have Vitali winning 116-112 to 117-111 on the scorecards.

Marciano TKO6 Wladimir Klitschko - Wlad has all the tool to soundly beat Marciano and on both men's best night, Wlad clearly wins. This said, there is no way Wlad's chin can survive a flush Marciano right hand. If Wlad fights a safe/boring fight, he wins most of the round until Suzie Q finishes the show. Wlad wins a wide, boring decision in the rematch.

Marciano KO8 Jerry Cooney - Marciano down once from a left hook, but once he gets to Cooney's chin, it's all over.

Good analysis. I'm never too comfortable affixing Rocky's worth in some fantasy fights since he beat everyone he faced but struggled with the best guys he fought, both near or in their 40s (Walcott and Moore). So either he falls vs the top on their best night and was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, or he finds that extra gear and is as great a fighter as some proclaim. Either way, a great fighter without a doubt, but tough to judge comprehensively based on the competition he fought.

Rocky struggled against Moore?!? He knocked him down five times! It's hard to imagine anyone more thoroughly defeated than Archie Moore. If you are going to say that Rocky "struggled" against Moore because of a flash knockdown in the second, then you are going to have to say Joe Louis "struggled" against Jimmy Braddock.

It is remarkable to me how Rocky gets damned with faint praise for having gone undefeated. Is there anything in his championship career that suggests Rocky couldn't find what you call that "extra gear?" He sure found it against Walcott in 1952 and, arguably, against Charles in the second fight! The fact he was undefeated suggests that Rocky was always able to find that "extra gear" when it counted.

[BoxBuzz]

I agree that sometimes we make too much out of his perfect record. However I would add in this case that Rocky "struggled" with Moore the same way Baer "struggled" with Carnera.

And Archie is my favorite fighter, but that was not his night....though he did have a moment.

[dempseyfire]

Lennox Lewis TKO9 Marciano - Lewis could get caught, but probably wouldn't. A smart Lewis dominates from a distance, before opening up later on to beat Rocky into submission in the mid to late rounds, the referee stopping the fight.

Riddick Bowe TKO11 Marciano - Bowe's defense was leaky at best and Marciano certainly hit harder than Holyfield, so Rocky has a good chance here. That said, I think Bowe's in-fighting gives him the edge, stopping Rocky late on cuts.

Vitali Klitschko UD12 Marciano - Vitali's stoppage record is impressive, but his resume is not. Marciano is made of tougher stuff than anyone Vitali has beaten. That said, this is a physical mismatch, although the smaller man has the greater punching power. A very interesting fight to watch - a 6'7 upright fighter, against a 5'10 fighter in a crouch - there would appear to be over a foot difference in both height and reach. I have Vitali winning 116-112 to 117-111 on the scorecards.

Marciano TKO6 Wladimir Klitschko - Wlad has all the tool to soundly beat Marciano and on both men's best night, Wlad clearly wins. This said, there is no way Wlad's chin can survive a flush Marciano right hand. If Wlad fights a safe/boring fight, he wins most of the round until Suzie Q finishes the show. Wlad wins a wide, boring decision in the rematch.

Marciano KO8 Jerry Cooney - Marciano down once from a left hook, but once he gets to Cooney's chin, it's all over.

Good analysis. I'm never too comfortable affixing Rocky's worth in some fantasy fights since he beat everyone he faced but struggled with the best guys he fought, both near or in their 40s (Walcott and Moore). So either he falls vs the top on their best night and was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time, or he finds that extra gear and is as great a fighter as some proclaim. Either way, a great fighter without a doubt, but tough to judge comprehensively based on the competition he fought.

Rocky struggled against Moore?!? He knocked him down five times! It's hard to imagine anyone more thoroughly defeated than Archie Moore. If you are going to say that Rocky "struggled" against Moore because of a flash knockdown in the second, then you are going to have to say Joe Louis "struggled" against Jimmy Braddock.

It is remarkable to me how Rocky gets damned with faint praise for having gone undefeated. Is there anything in his championship career that suggests Rocky couldn't find what you call that "extra gear?" He sure found it against Walcott in 1952 and, arguably, against Charles in the second fight! The fact he was undefeated suggests that Rocky was always able to find that "extra gear" when it counted.

Rocky did not look good vs Moore. He missed a huge amount of shots and ate boatloads of counters. The fight was more than the 5 KDs.

Charles was well past it vs Rocky the first time and the fact that he still made it a competitive fight tells a lot. Walcott was a dangerous old champ but he was still 38 and was winning the fight before the KO. Without a doubt I think Marciano loses to a prime Walcott (and I'm not in the camp who thinks Walcott 'aged like wine' . . he simply didn't get proper management until later in his career, I'll take the 4-5 years younger Jersey Joe who fought Louis anyday over the version who fought Rocky), he may lose to a peak Charles. Not to say we never saw him vs any HW who in top shape was over 200 lbs near their peak. Those who've known me on this forum for years know I'm firmly in the 'skill beats size' camp but Rocky is one of the smallest HW champs in history this side of Burns and did not possess great speed to make up for the size disadvantage like some others. I think vs a huge peak HW like a Lennox Lewis, this clearly presents some major issues.

[Goodnight, Irene]

I agree Walcott was prime when he fought Louis, not Marciano.

Thing is, Demps, even then he was at an age where most guys, especially if pro since their mid-teens, are slowing down.