BoxRec

This is only my opinion but I believe that Rocky Marciano could have beat anybody on his day!

Rocky Marciano VS...


MUHAMMAD ALI

Rocky never foguht anyone the likes of Ali, but then again Ali never fought a Marciano!

Imagine, the Frazier-Ali wars. Ali barely came out alive against Frazier!

AND

Marciano punched harder than Frazier (up to the standard of George Foreman) and could take punches better in my opinion.

SO, Marciano would've beatn Ali I think...

What's your opinions on this.

(I know I'm gonna take some serious stick for saying this, but its only my humble opinion, so let the Crease-bashing begin)...

PS. I hope someone out there agrees with me...

Marcinao Punched harder than Frazier???.... I think not!... Frazier is in a different league, ...Foreman too... this post is evidence of the Myth around Marcinao that I have talked about on another thread... never has so much been made of a fighter who faced just 5 world class opponents during his career.... and 3 of them were past their best!!... Marciano beat Ali!!.... nonsense!....

ROCKY MARCIANO VS

JOE LOUIS.
They did fight but it can't be used as a guide-line as Louis was "over the hill". However, Max Schmeling did KO Louis in his prime, so he wasn't unbeatable. And Louis himself said that Marcianopnched harder than Schmeling.

JACK DEMPSEY.
Marciano and Dempsey can often be compared to one another, but if they even fought one antoher it would've been the most destructiv eheavyweight match-up ever seen. With similar styles and strengths their would been very little to choose between them. However, Dempsey only ever foguth 10 rounders, Marciano could keep pounding and battering for 15 rounds, so for Stamina and endurance, Marciano would win in my book.

JOE FRAZIER.
Again, both very, very similar but I'm under the impression that Rocky punched harder and had a better chin than Frazier, so Marciano would win in my book.

GEORGE FOREMAN.
Foreman would give Marciano a lot of trouble, his punching power would certianly startle Rocky, but Foreman tired after 6 rounds of battering, Marciano would stern and consistent, he would win by a late KO.

MIKE TYSON.
Tyson on his hay-day was humbled by Buster Douglas, so I see no reason why Marciano couldn't kncok him out. Plus, Tyson could be imtimdated and frustrated easily, (look at the Hoylfield fights).

MARCIANO COULD BEAT ANYBODY!!!

Marcinao Punched harder than Frazier???.... I think not!... Frazier is in a different league

different league?

actually marciano did punch harder than frazier. he was also the the greater two fisted puncher than frazier, who soely relied on his left hook. marcianos left hook was far better than fraziers right hand.

joe louis saw frazier hitting the bag and shook his head and said "marciano hits harder"


i have a clip of marciano wailing away at a 300lb bag, i suggest u watch it.

never has so much been made of a fighter who faced just 5 world class opponents during his career.... and 3 of them were past their best!!

joe louis
archie moore
jersey joe walcott
ezzard charles
roland lastarza
rex layne
harry kid mathews
don cockell


all world class THATS MORE THAN 5!


*walcott and moore were not past there best.




marciano has 4 hall of famers on his resume. quality over quantity!





god silkov, i cannot believe u even rate marciano in ur top 10 considering how little u think of him. u have no appreciation for his style.


marciano retired undefeated, BEAT the best of his era, what more can u ask of him? walcott, moore charles were all still great fighters when they fought rocky.


funny how alexsis arguello is up 3 weight classes his best fighting weight yet hes "in his prime" vs pryor but archie moore on a 45-1 win streak up 1 weight class is not in his prime vs rocky.


fact is u think horribly of rocky head to head. i have never seen u pick him to win a fantasy matchup except tyson.


u think 70s-80s heavyweights are the gods, u think gerrie coetzee is on the same level as rocky marciano. u think joe bugner and coetzee would beat lennox lewis. u think frazier is in a different league than marciano. i mean damm, how far overboard can u go?

Crease wrote:ROCKY MARCIANO VS

JOE LOUIS.
They did fight but it can't be used as a guide-line as Louis was "over the hill". However, Max Schmeling did KO Louis in his prime, so he wasn't unbeatable. And Louis himself said that Marcianopnched harder than Schmeling.

JACK DEMPSEY.
Marciano and Dempsey can often be compared to one another, but if they even fought one antoher it would've been the most destructiv eheavyweight match-up ever seen. With similar styles and strengths their would been very little to choose between them. However, Dempsey only ever foguth 10 rounders, Marciano could keep pounding and battering for 15 rounds, so for Stamina and endurance, Marciano would win in my book.

JOE FRAZIER.
Again, both very, very similar but I'm under the impression that Rocky punched harder and had a better chin than Frazier, so Marciano would win in my book.

GEORGE FOREMAN.
Foreman would give Marciano a lot of trouble, his punching power would certianly startle Rocky, but Foreman tired after 6 rounds of battering, Marciano would stern and consistent, he would win by a late KO.

MIKE TYSON.
Tyson on his hay-day was humbled by Buster Douglas, so I see no reason why Marciano couldn't kncok him out. Plus, Tyson could be imtimdated and frustrated easily, (look at the Hoylfield fights).

MARCIANO COULD BEAT ANYBODY!!!

i disagree with this. joe louis, foreman, tyson all beat rocky, and maybe dempsey.

BB

Let's see your clip of Marciano and the punching bag...

Tyson beat Marciano?

C'mon like, wind your neck in. Here's a man who lost two consecutive fights aginat Hollyfield, (Hollyfield was a great fighter but no-where near Rocky's calibre). Plus, he was knocked down by Douglas, if Douglas could knock him down, what would The original Brockton Blockbuster do to him?

I can see why you think Foreman would beat him, I could maybe see a early round knock out for Foreman as a visible possibility, but the longer the fight goes on, the better the chances are for Rocky, and I think Rocky could take what Forman had to offer...

As for Louis, well I dunno...

Heavyweight boxing went through a difficult spell in the early 1950s. Walcott and Louis were still game but old men, Charles was beyond his peak, Moore a gifted light-heavyweight who fought above his weight. Marciano beat this guys, often against the odds, often by rallying late after being outboxed early on. There is no question that he was THE hevyweight of the early 50s - the doubts come in when you compare the early 50s with other periods.

My take: Marciano is surely not in the same league has Ali or Louis. I also would rate Larry Holmes above him, as well as Gene Tunney (this may be an excentic pick on my behalf).

But anywhere between 5 and 9 Marciano has his spot, along with Lennox Lewis, Jack Johnson, and Jim Jeffries. All guys who were the best of their time; the difficulty is to compare times.

I think Marciano has a chance against anyone. He was a great puncher. What stands out for me though is his stamina and endurance. IMO the top HWs in the post 1970s era would either blow him out early or find themselves unable to match the pace that he would set (and constantly increase round after round).

It's easy to imagine a Lewis or Bowe, with their huge size and reach advantages, crushing him. Then again you see how ponderous those guys were late on in fights and I wonder how they'd live with Marciano's punch rate in the 13th round. He wouldn't be holding on with his mouth open, that's for sure.

pundit wrote:Heavyweight boxing went through a difficult spell in the early 1950s. Walcott and Louis were still game but old men, Charles was beyond his peak, Moore a gifted light-heavyweight who fought above his weight.

charles was not past his heavyweight peak in 1950-51, he was heavyweight champion for crying out loud and 28-29 years old. even if he wasnt at his "peak", he was still unquestionably a great fighter, even though u make it sound like he wasnt.

walcott was in his prime 1950-52 and heavyweight champion in 1951-52.


walcott, moore, charles were all at/near there best in the early 1950s, and all were great fighters.

Ezzard wrote:I think Marciano has a chance against anyone. He was a great puncher. What stands out for me though is his stamina and endurance. IMO the top HWs in the post 1970s era would either blow him out early or find themselves unable to match the pace that he would set (and constantly increase round after round).

It's easy to imagine a Lewis or Bowe, with their huge size and reach advantages, crushing him. Then again you see how ponderous those guys were late on in fights and I wonder how they'd live with Marciano's punch rate in the 13th round. He wouldn't be holding on with his mouth open, that's for sure.

interesting post

Interesting fact of the day: 60% of Marciano's title defenses were against Hall-of-Famers!




intersting fact of the day # 2: in the ezzard charles-rocky marciano I bout, the referee DID NOT HAVE TO BREAK UP MARCIANO OR CHARLES ONCE IN 15 ROUNDS!

Intersting fact for tomorrow...

from, http://www.geocities.com/Colosseum/Aren ... Rock3.html

Rocky Marciano has 88% ko success rate.

(I he fought 100 fighters, he would kock 88 of them out).

Other greats...

George Foreman 87%
Joe Frazier 84%
James Jefferies 83%
Jack Dempsey 79%
Joe Louis 78%
Sonny Liston 78%
Max Baer 74%
Archie Moore 73%

BTW,

Is Roland La Starza a "hall of famer"?

I'm sure JJ Walcott and Ezzard Charles are...

Where do you get the "hall of fame" list???

Crease wrote:BTW,

Is Roland La Starza a "hall of famer"?

I'm sure JJ Walcott and Ezzard Charles are...

Where do you get the "hall of fame" list???

marcianos title defenses

KO 1 jersey joe walcott- hall of famer

TKO 11 roland lastarza

W 15 ezzard charles- hall of famer

KO 8 ezzard charles- hall of famer

TKO 9 don cockell

KO 9 archie moore- hall of famer

Marciano makes the top 10 heavies of all time imo... about 9 or 10... but the man was not invincible, he cut easily, had a poor defence, was limited technically.... against the likes of Ali, Holmes, Johnson, Liston fOREMAN, fRAZIER, AND a prime Joe Louis Rocky would have little chance and would be busted up and beaten... I would also pick prime Tunney, Charles and Jeffries to beat Rocky.... it is easy to harp on about his courage etc and 49-0 but the facts are that he was 49-0 largely through very shrewd management and the fact that he fought very few true world class fighters... this is a fact, look at his record.

silkov wrote:Marciano makes the top 10 heavies of all time imo... about 9 or 10... but the man was not invincible, he cut easily, had a poor defence, was limited technically.... against the likes of Ali, Holmes, Johnson, Liston fOREMAN, fRAZIER, AND a prime Joe Louis Rocky would have little chance and would be busted up and beaten... I would also pick prime Tunney, Charles and Jeffries to beat Rocky.... it is easy to harp on about his courage etc and 49-0 but the facts are that he was 49-0 largely through very shrewd management and the fact that he fought very few true world class fighters... this is a fact, look at his record.

- rockys defense was a lot better than U think


-charles would never be able to deal with marcianos pressure and power on his best day, and charles put on the best preformance of his career vs rocky and was still thouroughly outpointed. he was also dominated and knocked out in the rematch. elmer ray was a puncher swarmer who fought out of a crouch and he managed to give charles a very close fight and earned the decision. i do think rocky doesnt match up well vs charles and being the true master boxer charles is, he would win 1 out of a 3 fight series with the rock.

- rocky would stop frazier IMO, but it would be close. i favor rockys two handed power over fraziers left hook. rocky was also much stronger than frazier, had a better chin, and IMO better inside fighter.

- i think ali, jack johnson, joe louis, george foreman beat rocky

- holmes marciano is a toss up

- rocky outpoints jeffries, rocky was a much better bigger version of tom sharkey who went 45 rounds with jeffries. rocky was a greater puncher than jeff and better inside fighter.


-rocky knocks out tunney. if a swarmer like 160lb harry greb could beat tunney twice, a much stronger, more powerful, bigger swarmer like marciano would do a lot of damage to tunney.



marciano DID NOT cut easily, THATS A MYTH. only 6 of marcianos 49 fights did he cut. quarry and cooper were far worse cutters.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:...rocky was a much better bigger version of tom sharkey who went 45 rounds with jeffries.

Sharkey's best weight was about 185, essentially the same size as the Rock and he was nothing but solid muscle. The Rock was taller by a few inches, but not really bigger than Sharkey.

The Sailor may have been one of the few HWs who could have matched Rocky's sheer will and determination as well. I do think Rocky was the better fighter, but he was not really any bigger than Sharkey.

..right..like we need another marciano thread.

just two comments:

it wouldn't be a problem for foreman's getting tired after six rounds because he'd get rid of marciano before that.

ezzard charles did NOT...repeat DID NOT fight the best fightof his career in Marciano I

the first of the above statements is conjecture. the second is fact.

The Great John L wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:...rocky was a much better bigger version of tom sharkey who went 45 rounds with jeffries.

Sharkey's best weight was about 185, essentially the same size as the Rock and he was nothing but solid muscle. The Rock was taller by a few inches, but not really bigger than Sharkey.

The Sailor may have been one of the few HWs who could have matched Rocky's sheer will and determination as well. I do think Rocky was the better fighter, but he was not really any bigger than Sharkey.

yea but sharkey was weighing in in the 170s a lot. in 1899, he weighed in at 173lb when he fought kid mccoy. this was RIGHT BEFORE he fought jeffries for the title.

rocky in his prime was always in the mid- high 180s while sharkey weighed in the 170s

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:yea but sharkey was weighing in in the 170s a lot. in 1899, he weighed in at 173lb when he fought kid mccoy. this was RIGHT BEFORE he fought jeffries for the title.

rocky in his prime was always in the mid- high 180s while sharkey weighed in the 170s

In his prime Sharkey fought mostly in the mid 180's. In his early 20's he often times weighed in the 170's, but his prime years were 180+. He may have trained down to 173 for McCoy to help his speed, but by this stage of his career that was not the norm for Sharkey. Either way, Sharkey may have been one of the p4p strongest fighters ever, possibly stronger than the Rock.

The Great John L wrote:

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:yea but sharkey was weighing in in the 170s a lot. in 1899, he weighed in at 173lb when he fought kid mccoy. this was RIGHT BEFORE he fought jeffries for the title.

rocky in his prime was always in the mid- high 180s while sharkey weighed in the 170s

In his prime Sharkey fought mostly in the mid 180's. In his early 20's he often times weighed in the 170's, but his prime years were 180+. He may have trained down to 173 for McCoy to help his speed, but by this stage of his career that was not the norm for Sharkey. Either way, Sharkey may have been one of the p4p strongest fighters ever, possibly stronger than the Rock.

yes sharkey was one of the strongest, however not stronger than rocky. rocky had godly like strength for his weight. rocky may be the strongest heavyweight outside of foreman and jeffries.



i think people today overate rockys stamina and underate rocky's strength

heres a rocky marciano tribute for you all to see

http://s56.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1R6V ... HFYZ6DZDEP

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:

silkov wrote:Marciano makes the top 10 heavies of all time imo... about 9 or 10... but the man was not invincible, he cut easily, had a poor defence, was limited technically.... against the likes of Ali, Holmes, Johnson, Liston fOREMAN, fRAZIER, AND a prime Joe Louis Rocky would have little chance and would be busted up and beaten... I would also pick prime Tunney, Charles and Jeffries to beat Rocky.... it is easy to harp on about his courage etc and 49-0 but the facts are that he was 49-0 largely through very shrewd management and the fact that he fought very few true world class fighters... this is a fact, look at his record.

- rockys defense was a lot better than U think


-charles would never be able to deal with marcianos pressure and power on his best day, and charles put on the best preformance of his career vs rocky and was still thouroughly outpointed. he was also dominated and knocked out in the rematch. elmer ray was a puncher swarmer who fought out of a crouch and he managed to give charles a very close fight and earned the decision. i do think rocky doesnt match up well vs charles and being the true master boxer charles is, he would win 1 out of a 3 fight series with the rock.

- rocky would stop frazier IMO, but it would be close. i favor rockys two handed power over fraziers left hook. rocky was also much stronger than frazier, had a better chin, and IMO better inside fighter.

- i think ali, jack johnson, joe louis, george foreman beat rocky

- holmes marciano is a toss up

- rocky outpoints jeffries, rocky was a much better bigger version of tom sharkey who went 45 rounds with jeffries. rocky was a greater puncher than jeff and better inside fighter.


-rocky knocks out tunney. if a swarmer like 160lb harry greb could beat tunney twice, a much stronger, more powerful, bigger swarmer like marciano would do a lot of damage to tunney.



marciano DID NOT cut easily, THATS A MYTH. only 6 of marcianos 49 fights did he cut. quarry and cooper were far worse cutters.

Jesus Brock, look at Rockys face after most of his fights!!... didnt cut easily!!.... had a great defence!!... maybe he was cutting himself then!... how many heavyweight champs have almost been parted from their hooter during a fight??..... sure Cooper and Quarry cut badly... but we're not saying that they could have beaten any heavyweight ever in history are we?....

silkov wrote:Jesus Brock, look at Rockys face after most of his fights!!... didnt cut easily!!.... had a great defence!!... maybe he was cutting himself then!... how many heavyweight champs have almost been parted from their hooter during a fight??..... sure Cooper and Quarry cut badly... but we're not saying that they could have beaten any heavyweight ever in history are we?....

BB didn’t say that Rocky had a great defense, he just said that it was better thank you think. Whatever that means.

I think what he meant was that Rocky’s defense was pretty good, and certainly better than many give him credit for, and I think I agree. While he could be hit, he wasn’t easy to hit with a solid punch, and that helped to explain why he never seemed to really be hurt badly in any fight. He was KD in several fights but he never really seemed to be hurt badly. At least not in any of the fights I’ve seen.

As far as cutting, I think getting cut in 6 out of 49 fights (if that’s correct) doesn’t exactly make him a bleeder, but some of the cuts he suffered in his title fights certainly looked pretty bad, and that seems to be what people remember about Rocky.