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Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 16 Mar 2025, 00:22
by Nile4000
15/Hwy, who wins?

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 16 Mar 2025, 00:41
by DrDuke
It would be a slugfest, probably Marciano's toughness would play a key role.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 16 Mar 2025, 11:09
by Expug
Rocky was a great that’s for sure. It’s hard matching him up with the much bigger heavies of the later eras though. Tons of heart, great puncher, but he’s gonna be walking into a lot of firepower and mass. He could stay inside and out punch smith who is no all time great that’s for sure, but I could see him getting cut up and stopped also.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01
by witherspoon
Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 17 Mar 2025, 08:28
by wouter
Bonecrusher way too skillful, he benefits from 40 years of boxing evolution.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 17 Mar 2025, 13:05
by keithmoonhangover
Bonecrusher is tailor made for Marciano. If James slugs, he gets stopped. If he hugs, he doesn't. If they were fighting in Marciano's era and Smith clinched like he did against Tyson, he's get thrown out.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06
by Cojimar 1946
witherspoon wrote: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01 Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.
Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 17 Mar 2025, 17:54
by witherspoon
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06
witherspoon wrote: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01 Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.
Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards
Damn. So he is. That opens up a whole new can of mythicals. I mean, if you transplanted prime Rocco into the 90's or 2010's I could easily see him bulking up to cruiser to challenge Holyfield or Usyk. But RJJ or James Toney at light heavy would be interesting too.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 18 Mar 2025, 12:25
by gilgamesh
I'd favor Bonecrusher Smith in this matchup. He was a pretty good fighter in his own right at his best, and I think the size is just too much. He'd be able to take Rocky's shots. He'd be able to reach Rocky first. He'd be able to physically overpower him. He'd probably be just as powerful if not more powerful with the massive size advantage.

I think Smith would win this by TKO stoppage.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 19 Mar 2025, 06:17
by keithmoonhangover
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06
witherspoon wrote: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01 Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.
Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards
He never weighed 175 or under, so, no he wasn't.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 19 Mar 2025, 13:14
by gilgamesh
keithmoonhangover wrote: 19 Mar 2025, 06:17
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06
witherspoon wrote: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01 Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.
Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards
He never weighed 175 or under, so, no he wasn't.
In fact I only recently discovered that you can technically compete as a Heavyweight even today if you weigh 176 or more. I had no idea that was a rule in Modern Day Boxing, but apparently it is.

There was a recent fight on a Golden Boy card that showed this where one of the fighters in a Heavyweight bout weighed 190 pounds.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 00:50
by Cojimar 1946
keithmoonhangover wrote: 19 Mar 2025, 06:17
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06
witherspoon wrote: 16 Mar 2025, 15:01 Bonecrusher was burning bright for a fleeting moment in the late 80's. He destroyed Mike Weaver and Witherspoon in a round a-piece (regardless of Tims mindset, Bonecrusher turned up to win) and although he's not remembered fondly for frustrating Tyson for 12 rounds, I consider it an achievement worthy of praise that he took Mike the distance.

That short-lived, inspired version of Bonecrusher is a dangerous foe for any heavyweight, let alone Cruiserweight.
Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards
He never weighed 175 or under, so, no he wasn't.
Sure he was. Todays light heavyweights enter the ring well over 175 some are over 190.

Some light heavyweights enter the ring as heavy as Joe Louis

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 06:02
by keithmoonhangover
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 00:50
keithmoonhangover wrote: 19 Mar 2025, 06:17
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 17 Mar 2025, 15:06

Marciano is a light heavyweight by todays standards
He never weighed 175 or under, so, no he wasn't.
Sure he was. Todays light heavyweights enter the ring well over 175 some are over 190.

Some light heavyweights enter the ring as heavy as Joe Louis
Some don't. Plus, you're talking about today's 'benefits'. Marciano could well have weighed 220 and campaigned at heavy his whole career. That's all speculation. The fact is, Marciano was never a light heavyweight.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 08:09
by Seamus
He did fight 5 guys who were 175 or less though, and in his 21st fight, 177 lb Ted Lowry took him the distance.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 08:48
by keithmoonhangover
Seamus wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 08:09 He did fight 5 guys who were 175 or less though, and in his 21st fight, 177 lb Ted Lowry took him the distance.
Yeah, but Rocky himself was never a light heavyweight.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 11:54
by Cojimar 1946
keithmoonhangover wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 06:02
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 00:50
keithmoonhangover wrote: 19 Mar 2025, 06:17

He never weighed 175 or under, so, no he wasn't.
Sure he was. Todays light heavyweights enter the ring well over 175 some are over 190.

Some light heavyweights enter the ring as heavy as Joe Louis
Some don't. Plus, you're talking about today's 'benefits'. Marciano could well have weighed 220 and campaigned at heavy his whole career. That's all speculation. The fact is, Marciano was never a light heavyweight.
The fact is many of todays light heavyweights enter the ring heavier than Rocky did. Plenty of them will never enter the ring under 180. Todays light heavyweights are not light heavyweights by that criteria either.

Re: Rocky Marciano vs Bonecrusher Smith

Posted: 20 Mar 2025, 13:25
by keithmoonhangover
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 11:54
keithmoonhangover wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 06:02
Cojimar 1946 wrote: 20 Mar 2025, 00:50

Sure he was. Todays light heavyweights enter the ring well over 175 some are over 190.

Some light heavyweights enter the ring as heavy as Joe Louis
Some don't. Plus, you're talking about today's 'benefits'. Marciano could well have weighed 220 and campaigned at heavy his whole career. That's all speculation. The fact is, Marciano was never a light heavyweight.
The fact is many of todays light heavyweights enter the ring heavier than Rocky did. Plenty of them will never enter the ring under 180. Todays light heavyweights are not light heavyweights by that criteria either.
Unless you can give me the exact weights that all light heavyweights weigh when they enter the ring, it's not a fact, it's just speculation.