Anyone buy "Superfight- Marciano vs. Ali" DVD yet?

kidlefty · Post by **kidlefty** » 04 Jan 2006, 23:05

Anyone pick this up yet? I just bought it tonight and can't wait to get home and watch. I've heard about this staged fight (with computerized result) for decades, now I'll finally be able to check it out. The "making of" documentary promises to be very interesting as well, and I'm blown away that they have the audio from the 15 fantasy fight radio broadcasts that preceeded the big closed-circut event. I know the whole idea is rather silly, but I can't resist it. I'll be up late with this tonight!

ferocity · Post by **ferocity** » 06 Jan 2006, 03:45

Post a review.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 06 Jan 2006, 03:49

when u guys watch this, do u ever just keep watching it, like u cant put it down for 13 rounds because ur imagining what a real marciano and ali fight is?? i mean it looks kinda real at times and u cant help use ur imagination. its the closest thing i can think of to having marciano vs a great from another era on film.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 06 Jan 2006, 19:46

wonder if you get to see the out takes of ali knocking Rocky's wig off over and over again.

I listened to these fights on the radio when they were first broadcast and for it's time it was great entertainment. They usually would be the warm up to another live fight broadcast in the Phoenix area. I think it was totaly syndicated and the wherever you happened to be you might have had a different experience. I know my cousin in Texas said they were broadcast alone with no accompanying live fights.

But I think they got good radio ratings.

enrique · Post by **enrique** » 06 Jan 2006, 21:05

I can tell you about this one. Mike De Lisa -one of our box rec editors- is the producer of this show. I am one of the people interviewed and my son Erik is one of the cameramen. I enjoyed it very much, but then again, I'm obviously biased.

KOJOE90 · Post by **KOJOE90** » 08 Jan 2006, 08:58

I am just waiting for it to released on region 2 DVD.

THE DANCING MASTER · Post by **THE DANCING MASTER** » 09 Jan 2006, 17:13

I found one at my local Warehouse and popped it in as soon as I got home. I remember seeing the fight when they showed it on Wide World of Sports ten months after it was shown in theaters in January of 1970.

If you have never seen it it is well worth a look-see. This new release has the other ending with Ali winning on cuts as well as other extras. Well worth 20 bucks and fun to watch.

theone · Post by **theone** » 25 Feb 2006, 10:43

Bought the tape yesterday. If you know someone who owns it borrow it; I dont think it has enough replay value to spend $19.99 on. Rocky did not look anywere near as good a shape as I was lead to believe from most reviews.
You have to really, I mean really, suspend your disbelief to arise any enjoyment from this thing. It looks like such a mismatch physically and from the way both fighters were moving around the ring. You get the sense throughout that if Ali really wanted to, he could blast Marciano out of there at any time. The fact that it looked as though they were preforming in a ring in someones basement didnt help any.
I believe at film discussing fantasy matchups with expert analysis and highlights of actually fights pointing out the strenght and weakness of the fighters would make for much more interesting viewing.
The staging of the Ali/Marciano match up seems pointless.

theone · Post by **theone** » 25 Feb 2006, 10:46

Oh yeah, the extras were nothing special either.

ferocity · Post by **ferocity** » 26 Feb 2006, 17:29

Why did they change the ending to Ali winning on cuts?

Wasnt the original ending Marciano wins by tko?

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 26 Feb 2006, 18:40

theone wrote:Bought the tape yesterday. If you know someone who owns it borrow it; I dont think it has enough replay value to spend $19.99 on. Rocky did not look anywere near as good a shape as I was lead to believe from most reviews.
You have to really, I mean really, suspend your disbelief to arise any enjoyment from this thing. It looks like such a mismatch physically and from the way both fighters were moving around the ring. You get the sense throughout that if Ali really wanted to, he could blast Marciano out of there at any time. The fact that it looked as though they were preforming in a ring in someones basement didnt help any.
I believe at film discussing fantasy matchups with expert analysis and highlights of actually fights pointing out the strenght and weakness of the fighters would make for much more interesting viewing.
The staging of the Ali/Marciano match up seems pointless.

he was 46 years old, what did u expect? all the reports simply said was that marciano lost 50lb and entered in the ring in more shape than ali who had not trained . now just because marciano had a pot belly and his muscles were a flabby(due to old age) doesnt mean hes not in excellent shape. even though ali was more muscular toned and cut than marciano due to age, ali probably wasnt in as good of shape(at least stamina wise) as marciano simply because he hadnt trained hardly at all while marciano trained alot.

You get the sense throughout that if Ali really wanted to, he could blast Marciano out of there at any time.

i got the sense that if ali really got mad, he could have made the old man look slow, foolish and have busted him up. but of course however ali was very classy and wasnt like that. however, i believe however that wig episode showed even at 46, its was not wise to toy with marciano.

just like a lot of fighters who fought marciano, ali's opinion of marciano before they got in the ring changed after he got in the ring with marciano.

ali gained huge respect for marciano the man and especially fighter from this filming. after this, he always spoke highly of marciano as a fighter and rates him up there with the best in history. part of alis praise for marciano could be out of being humble, but ive read certain quotes from alis praise of marciano and in some of those situations, he did not have to go out of his way to praise rocky. so that leads me to believe ali has a genuine opinon of rock.

marciano also gained a newprofound respect for ali and became close friends with him during training. marciano had always spoke highly of alis abilities but now found ali was just as good a person. at one point during the filming, marciano went to angelo dundee and said "your right ange, hes a great guy." ali later said of marciano "i became closer with him, than any other white fighter."

i know the ali-marciano superfight is thought of as a joke,

but im wondering to everyone. just watching the ali-marciano computer fight, did anyone notice any skills or fight stradegies that ali or marciano used that perhaps is something to take of note if they ever fought for real?

how does everyone think marciano looked for a 46 year old? what did everyone think of the size difference?

i know this whole superfight is a big joke, but I think this computer fight is a great piece of history and is something defintley to be looked at just because its the closest thing to filming we have of a fantasy matchup of greats from different eras. i mean i dont see any tape of louis vs dempsey tape out there. marciano-ali is something that i find interesting.

i mean i bet at times, you imagine marciano and ali fighting in a fantasy matchup but only in ur head. at least with this filming, u can see both fighters in the ring for real. it will help u use ur imagination a lot better.

i mean marty woroner did a fantastic job making the fight look real even if some of the things that happened in the fight(like marciano flooring ali 3 times with body shots) were unrealistic.

enrique, i saw ur interview. it was nice to see u in person!

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 26 Feb 2006, 18:43

theone wrote:Oh yeah, the extras were nothing special either.

jeez u seemed to really hate this superfight. did u ever both to listen to marty woroners radio tourney which was quite interesting?

in the specials, they talked about behind the scenes superfights and showed breif training footage of ali and marciano and even showed rare training footage of rocky in his prime throwing big rocks over his head.

what exactley were u expecting to see in this super fight DVD?

theone · Post by **theone** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:11

jeez u seemed to really hate this superfight.

Naw I didnt hate. Disapointed yes, hate would be to strong of a word.

he was 46 years old, what did u expect?

From what I read and heard, Marciano got into great shape. Thats what I expected. He looked like a typical 46 year old. And not one in particularly great shape.

but im wondering to everyone. just watching the ali-marciano computer fight, did anyone notice any skills or fight stradegies that ali or marciano used that perhaps is something to take of note if they ever fought for real?

Not really. Ali is holding back way too much, and Marciano is way too past his peak to even fake it realistically.

in the specials, they talked about behind the scenes superfights and showed breif training footage of ali and marciano and even showed rare training footage of rocky in his prime throwing big rocks over his head.

Brockton, those rocks werent exactly boulders.

did u ever both to listen to marty woroners radio tourney which was quite interesting?

Yes I did. Jefferies won a 15 round decision over Ali. I repeat, JIM JEFFERIES won a 15 round decision over Ali. That alone makes the whole tourney utter bullshit.

BoxBuzz · Post by **BoxBuzz** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:24

Or at least the product of very limited 1960's computer power....
Was it the mighty UNIVAC? I believe that uitilized a vacuum tube or two.

Some of the outcomes did seem vacuous.

Expug · Post by **Expug** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:27

Wait a sec , Did Brockton say somethin about 46 and old age ? The older the Bull the stiffer the horn.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:52

theone,

i admit some of the fantasy results of marty moroners tourney was ridiculous but the pre fight interviewes on the fantasy matchups to all time greats and historians were intersting to hear on who thought they would win.

also i dont know why i said "big" rocks. perhaps i was going to say did u see how big rocks shoulders/back was when he was throwin those rocks.

just because rocky didnt have his once rock like build didnt mean he wasnt in shape anymore. rocky was in shape because he had trained so much, however because of his age he wasnt able to tone his muscles like his prime years. even when he lost 50lbs, he still had a gut and his muscles were a bit wrinkly due to old age.

take a look at foreman at 46, he was in great shape but his build was not nearly the same as his prime years.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 26 Feb 2006, 22:34

From everything I know of the 1969 Super Fight. Marciano was 14yrs retired and had to lose 50 pounds to look like he did when he was a fighter.

The men sparred much like sparring partners do, doing the best they could showing what they would do if the two had fought eachother---but the editors speeded up the shots to make them look like they were trying to knock eachothers heads off.

A few times though Marciano did hit Ali and so did Ali, knocking off Marciano's wig he was fitted with, Ali was left with welts and bruises, Marciano had his ego bruised. Both men were asked at different times what they thought of each other, and Marciano said:

"He's a good kid, talks too much, but in my prime I could have killed him."

Ali said this of Marciano:

"My whole body ached and ours wasn't even a real fight!", referring to how well Marciano's body punching and skills were.

This just shows me that even though the fight wasn't a full blast contest, Ali would, if he had ever faced the prime Marciano---would have been really hurt by the Brockton Blockbuster.

As far as the question as to why there were two seperate endings made, when the original came out it was a huge hit---but when the British fans saw this, of course this was well after Ali had his European tour, they ranted and raved until the producers made it where Ali won on cuts, I believe by TKO 8th (?)

Neways, I would like to buy this DVD myself, as I have only seen clips and read alot on the superfight and its history. Even in Ali's autobiography THE GREATEST, he mentioned Marciano in such great respect and even mentioned going to the Rock's funeral, and how as a boy he remembered hearing Marciano won the title and how he finally got to face him---that Marciano was simply 2nd to none.

ferocity · Post by **ferocity** » 26 Feb 2006, 23:51

I think Im going to have to pick up the DVD. Sounds interesting and I've always heard of this fight film for many years.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 · Post by **BrocktonBlockbuster49** » 27 Feb 2006, 02:28

. Both men were asked at different times what they thought of each other, and Marciano said:

"He's a good kid, talks too much, but in my prime I could have killed him."

having studied a lot of marciano, i know for a fact marciano did not say those words. even if marciano believed he would kill ali, he would not say it. certainly not in the context of those words. marciano was far to humble. if marciano did say those words, it would have been in private with friends, but i doubt he would say that publicly.

as far as I know,

marciano always spoke high praise of ali saying things like

" i never thought id live to see the day we had a sugar ray robinson in the heavyweight division"

hell, listen to rocky on marty woronors computer radio tournament. when he gives his predicions, hes so humble and accurate hes hilarious.

Jaclem · Post by **Jaclem** » 27 Feb 2006, 02:44

...ah..the buzzmeister sets it up again so nicely...vacuum and vacuous..and it all seems to come so easily.

HomicideHenry · Post by **HomicideHenry** » 27 Feb 2006, 15:19

watch ESPN CLASSIC on Marciano, Rocky's brother, said that after the computer fight---Rocky told him those exact words.

The Great John L · Post by **The Great John L** » 27 Feb 2006, 16:18

IrishRufusMurphy wrote:From everything I know of the 1969 Super Fight. Marciano was 14yrs retired and had to lose 50 pounds to look like he did when he was a fighter.

And of course, Rocky still didn't look anything like he did when he was an active fighter.

Collins2000 · Post by **Collins2000** » 27 Feb 2006, 23:23

IrishRufusMurphy wrote:From everything I know of the 1969 Super Fight. Marciano was 14yrs retired and had to lose 50 pounds to look like he did when he was a fighter.

The men sparred much like sparring partners do, doing the best they could showing what they would do if the two had fought eachother---but the editors speeded up the shots to make them look like they were trying to knock eachothers heads off.

A few times though Marciano did hit Ali and so did Ali, knocking off Marciano's wig he was fitted with, Ali was left with welts and bruises, Marciano had his ego bruised. Both men were asked at different times what they thought of each other, and Marciano said:

"He's a good kid, talks too much, but in my prime I could have killed him."

Ali said this of Marciano:

"My whole body ached and ours wasn't even a real fight!", referring to how well Marciano's body punching and skills were.

This just shows me that even though the fight wasn't a full blast contest, Ali would, if he had ever faced the prime Marciano---would have been really hurt by the Brockton Blockbuster.

As far as the question as to why there were two seperate endings made, when the original came out it was a huge hit---but when the British fans saw this, of course this was well after Ali had his European tour, they ranted and raved until the producers made it where Ali won on cuts, I believe by TKO 8th (?)
Neways, I would like to buy this DVD myself, as I have only seen clips and read alot on the superfight and its history. Even in Ali's autobiography THE GREATEST, he mentioned Marciano in such great respect and even mentioned going to the Rock's funeral, and how as a boy he remembered hearing Marciano won the title and how he finally got to face him---that Marciano was simply 2nd to none.

Where did you get that from?

I always thought the reason they filmed different endings was so that no one would be sure what they were going to see at the closed circuit opening night...

Jaclem · Post by **Jaclem** » 28 Feb 2006, 02:51

..there were many scenes shot for the fantasy fight...knockdowns...eye cuts...etc. including different endings.....including fifteen round decisions...for each fighter and a draw. this was so neither fighter nor anyone else who saw them being shot would know how it came out. (a biography of marciano claimed he knew what the outcome was...rocky by a kayo from statments he made to friends...i have no idea if htis is true.)

however, the statment that the ali wining ending was shown in some theatres later is also correct. i haven't played this in in its entirety yet...it doesn't hold my interest for more than a few rounds at a time, though i did see it on tv some years ago. i've heard that on the documentary included with it says that the ali win was shown is a myth....but i heard from other sources that indeed it was shown.

the whole thing was a hustle, in a way. the idea was that it would be shown just once in theatres and then the only copy of it would be burned, never to be seen again. we know now this was false.

can't resist this.....it was called a fantasy match..and by all means it was....the concept of marciano beating ali is a fantasy of the highest order.