BoxRec

How good was he? I remember reading about him before seeing him ,he was like 46-0 38 kos,before beating Bobby Joe Young.
I remember he was good but not as great as I imagined a fighter nicknamed "The Italian Ali" to be.
There were faster fighters for sure but he was fast.

I saw him 3-4 times before his defining fight with a then prime Curry and I thought he was fast and a good boxer but his career was well-managed and he avoided opponents who could really effectively put him under pressure (Young could punch but LaRocca was too slick for him). Even though the scoring was relatively close before the KO, you had the feeling throughout the Curry fight that it was just a matter of time before Curry got him.

Nine was lucky that Bobby Joe was probably damaged goods before the fight.

LaRocca was a damn good fighter. Fast and slippery to the extreme. No disgrace losing to a prime Donald Curry. I wonder how a prime LaRocca would have done against a prime Honeyghan. I believe he would have stood a very good chance. Honeyghan's upset against Curry was tremendous. However, Curry was weight-drained and overwhelmed with personal problems. Also, Curry started to show wear and tear after over 400 amateur fights and being a pro since 1980.

His career trajectory reminds me just a little bit of Chuck Davey. Racked up great numbers before the title challenge and had a few good wins on the way up, but that jump to the championship match was way too far.