Peak fight
Posted: 31 Jul 2006, 18:31
stick to the subject only. this is a marciano thread, but its a much different kind of marciano thread than ur used to.
amatoboxing article on rocky marciano interview 1957
marciano says "rex layne was my peak fight"
Recently the first new discovery of an Egyptian tomb was found in the valley of the kings since Harold Carter discovered King Tut back in 1922. Also recently discovered was a rare interview of Rocky Marciano by Ring magazine writer Dan Daniel. During the time Rocky was champ Al Weill his manager stated "Rocky does the fighting and I do the talking", and so it was. So it is particularly interesting to hear Marciano speak freely as this interview was taken almost 50 years ago in May 1957 shortly after Marciano retired and he speaks for himself and the ex champs views are sometime surprising and eliminate many myths. Here are some of the things Rocky Marciano was thinking back in 1957." I have another beef and it is against the rules of boxing. I am conducting a one man campaign to force the announcement of the rulings of the referee and the judges after every round. .......Suppose the umpire in a ball game kept his mouth shut and his hands at his sides while the batter took his turn. Then the umpire hollered your out or take your base. Would the fans stand for that ? Then why keep a boxer in the dark for ten or fifteen rounds ? In my own experience missed round by round verdicts in my first fight with Joe Walcott,and in my first one with Roland La Starza. Goldman kept telling me I was behind. I thought I was ahead. If it's close you always figure you are in front." This is interesting to me as it contradicts the idea that Rocky came of for the thirteenth round with Walcott figuring he needed a knockout to win that has been the stuff of myth. Referring to the real reason he retired Rocky said of all the writers who had theories .""Who actually hit the ball on the head ?nobody.Why did I quit ? Primarily because I could not fit comfortably into a schedule of two fights a year.I invariably made a bad showing in the first one.You remember my battle with Don Cockell in San Francisco ? It was awful . I had trained harder for that contest than any other.I had boxed 240 rounds and had worked for three months. I was in great shape but as a fight it was no fun for me.I was a big favorite. He was supposed to be a bum .I let him stay around much too long.Then I began to worry about losing my stuff .Training became a routine,a tough chore. I found myself telling Charlie Goldman, let's cut down to a couple rounds today. I had been eager. I had been learning. Suddenly the eagerness was gone and the zest for learning went with it..
After the Cockell mess I began to talk to old fighters.They told me that they had retired two fights after they should have.quit. I made up my mind not to let that happen to me ". Marciano is often thought of as almost a machine however in this interview he shows how human he was as his motivation and confidence slipped badly after the Cockell fight. The interviewed continued."My determination, my desire to fight returned strong for the bout with Archie Moore. He had been running a campaign, popping off and getting me sore. I wanted to whip him badly and quickly. I was good for that fight .The experts say it was my best. I liked my work that night but in my own little book, my six round knockout of Rex Layne on my way to the title was my best.Not once that night did Goldman have to coach me. I did everything right by instinct.Charlie kept saying good , keep it up .You are hurting him.My fight with Moore restored my confidence in myself. I knew than that I was not slipping." Marciano apparently felt that no matter how well he did they experts never gave him the credit he deserved and the writer Dan Daniel got this quote from Rocky."After the Moore fight in the dressing room the experts showered me with questions. Nobody asked me about the fight or about my technique.They didn't ask me about if had succeeded in sticking to my plan.I was good against Moore ,even ouboxed him in some rounds. I had to get low to hurt him and I forced him to fight my kind of fight.But how many writers said that ? It was the old story .Marciano can't be good. He is just a awkward champion.They merely wanted to know,.Rocky are you quitting the ring ? " Nat Fleischer in a article about the ex champ had called Rocky "fat". Rocky apparently took offense because he stated."Take a good look at me. Do I look fat as a porker and completely out of shape? I am down to 215 pounds." Asked about Floyd Patterson the new champ Rocky said," a nice kid. He's humble quiet and well behaved. I had to do all the talking in a 20 minute meeting I had with him. Patterson will find ,as I did that two fights a year is tough. He will find that fighting for a living as champion is tough.I was in my camp for Moore ,when Tommy Loughran visited my camp. He said to me , Rocky you work too furiously. You batter your sparring partners. Let up.I said Tommy I cannot change .I have to train that way because I don't get to fight often enough. The greatest experience of my career was when I knocked out four men inside a month. That's how I liked to fight. That was in 1950. I belted out Phil Muscato, then Joe Dominck then a third guy and finally stopped Carmine Vingo." Later in the interview Marciano contrasted this with his inactivity before the La Starza fight." I then sat around without a fight for four months before tacking La Starza .I was bad. I had become stable worn. Let me say before closing out this little talk that I won't return . I want boxing to remember me as I was the night of my knockout over Moore,the undefeated champion of the world." Then Marciano hastened back to his wife and four year old daughter. He pointed to his ear and said "look no cauliflower" then roared off in his car. I was rather kidding comparing the interview to the Egypt find but many,many things have been written about Marciano but how many times did Rocky himself say things ? Not many, so the interview I thought would be good fun and interesting as to insights into the man for readers. - amato boxing.com
nice interview. rocky believes his peak was rex layne.
wuts my opinion?
I no hardly anyone(especially my pro marciano fans) share this same opinion but its my opinion that the joe louis fight in 1951 was marcianos peak. he was 28 full of youthness and firepower. his handspeed looked faster in this fight than in some of his later fights. all his power was here. he was a fighting machine. he went right after louis the whole fight. he completley dominated and outphysicaled a much bigger dangerous skilled opponent. he was using both hands throughout the fight and marcianos was getting his full power into every shot. the knockout through the ropes, NO ONE EVER DID THAT TO JOE LOUIS. that was a deadly finish as ever, he knocked louis out cold. that was a hungry lion finishing off his prey. he also the whole fight prevented louis from really unleashing on marciano. besides a couple hard left hooks and his powerful left jab(the best jab in the division), marciano kept louis from unleashing on him the whole fight. louis still had a hard left hook he hit marciano flush at the end of the 1st round and marciano stood there and took it. the punch obviousely hurt, but then all of a sudden marciano fires a fast powerful overhand right as the bell rings buckling louis knees! marciano even did a bit more bobbin and weaving in this fight than any other fight. even if marcianos crouch wasnt fully refined yet, i believe marcianos physical tools and power overlapped his defense. marciano physically was at his complete best. there was nothing stopping him. this was his peak.goldman got too cocky. he polished rocky up so much by 1951-52 that he thought he would be able to keep going and make him even more polished. so wut did goldman do? he changed marcianos style thus making him lose power. by 1955 marciano was actually becomming an arm puncher. i didnt like the change in marcianos style at all. he was hitting charles, cockell, moore repeadtley but they werent going down. marcianos power was not there anymore. he was more methodical and aging, he didnt unleash his deadly firepower and didnt put guys lights out like he did in 1951-52.i think 1951 joe louis fight was marcianos peak, but hey thats just my opinion.
so both I and rocky are in agreement 1951 was his peak, though we both have different opinions on which fight it was against
amatoboxing article on rocky marciano interview 1957
marciano says "rex layne was my peak fight"
Recently the first new discovery of an Egyptian tomb was found in the valley of the kings since Harold Carter discovered King Tut back in 1922. Also recently discovered was a rare interview of Rocky Marciano by Ring magazine writer Dan Daniel. During the time Rocky was champ Al Weill his manager stated "Rocky does the fighting and I do the talking", and so it was. So it is particularly interesting to hear Marciano speak freely as this interview was taken almost 50 years ago in May 1957 shortly after Marciano retired and he speaks for himself and the ex champs views are sometime surprising and eliminate many myths. Here are some of the things Rocky Marciano was thinking back in 1957." I have another beef and it is against the rules of boxing. I am conducting a one man campaign to force the announcement of the rulings of the referee and the judges after every round. .......Suppose the umpire in a ball game kept his mouth shut and his hands at his sides while the batter took his turn. Then the umpire hollered your out or take your base. Would the fans stand for that ? Then why keep a boxer in the dark for ten or fifteen rounds ? In my own experience missed round by round verdicts in my first fight with Joe Walcott,and in my first one with Roland La Starza. Goldman kept telling me I was behind. I thought I was ahead. If it's close you always figure you are in front." This is interesting to me as it contradicts the idea that Rocky came of for the thirteenth round with Walcott figuring he needed a knockout to win that has been the stuff of myth. Referring to the real reason he retired Rocky said of all the writers who had theories .""Who actually hit the ball on the head ?nobody.Why did I quit ? Primarily because I could not fit comfortably into a schedule of two fights a year.I invariably made a bad showing in the first one.You remember my battle with Don Cockell in San Francisco ? It was awful . I had trained harder for that contest than any other.I had boxed 240 rounds and had worked for three months. I was in great shape but as a fight it was no fun for me.I was a big favorite. He was supposed to be a bum .I let him stay around much too long.Then I began to worry about losing my stuff .Training became a routine,a tough chore. I found myself telling Charlie Goldman, let's cut down to a couple rounds today. I had been eager. I had been learning. Suddenly the eagerness was gone and the zest for learning went with it..
After the Cockell mess I began to talk to old fighters.They told me that they had retired two fights after they should have.quit. I made up my mind not to let that happen to me ". Marciano is often thought of as almost a machine however in this interview he shows how human he was as his motivation and confidence slipped badly after the Cockell fight. The interviewed continued."My determination, my desire to fight returned strong for the bout with Archie Moore. He had been running a campaign, popping off and getting me sore. I wanted to whip him badly and quickly. I was good for that fight .The experts say it was my best. I liked my work that night but in my own little book, my six round knockout of Rex Layne on my way to the title was my best.Not once that night did Goldman have to coach me. I did everything right by instinct.Charlie kept saying good , keep it up .You are hurting him.My fight with Moore restored my confidence in myself. I knew than that I was not slipping." Marciano apparently felt that no matter how well he did they experts never gave him the credit he deserved and the writer Dan Daniel got this quote from Rocky."After the Moore fight in the dressing room the experts showered me with questions. Nobody asked me about the fight or about my technique.They didn't ask me about if had succeeded in sticking to my plan.I was good against Moore ,even ouboxed him in some rounds. I had to get low to hurt him and I forced him to fight my kind of fight.But how many writers said that ? It was the old story .Marciano can't be good. He is just a awkward champion.They merely wanted to know,.Rocky are you quitting the ring ? " Nat Fleischer in a article about the ex champ had called Rocky "fat". Rocky apparently took offense because he stated."Take a good look at me. Do I look fat as a porker and completely out of shape? I am down to 215 pounds." Asked about Floyd Patterson the new champ Rocky said," a nice kid. He's humble quiet and well behaved. I had to do all the talking in a 20 minute meeting I had with him. Patterson will find ,as I did that two fights a year is tough. He will find that fighting for a living as champion is tough.I was in my camp for Moore ,when Tommy Loughran visited my camp. He said to me , Rocky you work too furiously. You batter your sparring partners. Let up.I said Tommy I cannot change .I have to train that way because I don't get to fight often enough. The greatest experience of my career was when I knocked out four men inside a month. That's how I liked to fight. That was in 1950. I belted out Phil Muscato, then Joe Dominck then a third guy and finally stopped Carmine Vingo." Later in the interview Marciano contrasted this with his inactivity before the La Starza fight." I then sat around without a fight for four months before tacking La Starza .I was bad. I had become stable worn. Let me say before closing out this little talk that I won't return . I want boxing to remember me as I was the night of my knockout over Moore,the undefeated champion of the world." Then Marciano hastened back to his wife and four year old daughter. He pointed to his ear and said "look no cauliflower" then roared off in his car. I was rather kidding comparing the interview to the Egypt find but many,many things have been written about Marciano but how many times did Rocky himself say things ? Not many, so the interview I thought would be good fun and interesting as to insights into the man for readers. - amato boxing.com
nice interview. rocky believes his peak was rex layne.
wuts my opinion?
I no hardly anyone(especially my pro marciano fans) share this same opinion but its my opinion that the joe louis fight in 1951 was marcianos peak. he was 28 full of youthness and firepower. his handspeed looked faster in this fight than in some of his later fights. all his power was here. he was a fighting machine. he went right after louis the whole fight. he completley dominated and outphysicaled a much bigger dangerous skilled opponent. he was using both hands throughout the fight and marcianos was getting his full power into every shot. the knockout through the ropes, NO ONE EVER DID THAT TO JOE LOUIS. that was a deadly finish as ever, he knocked louis out cold. that was a hungry lion finishing off his prey. he also the whole fight prevented louis from really unleashing on marciano. besides a couple hard left hooks and his powerful left jab(the best jab in the division), marciano kept louis from unleashing on him the whole fight. louis still had a hard left hook he hit marciano flush at the end of the 1st round and marciano stood there and took it. the punch obviousely hurt, but then all of a sudden marciano fires a fast powerful overhand right as the bell rings buckling louis knees! marciano even did a bit more bobbin and weaving in this fight than any other fight. even if marcianos crouch wasnt fully refined yet, i believe marcianos physical tools and power overlapped his defense. marciano physically was at his complete best. there was nothing stopping him. this was his peak.goldman got too cocky. he polished rocky up so much by 1951-52 that he thought he would be able to keep going and make him even more polished. so wut did goldman do? he changed marcianos style thus making him lose power. by 1955 marciano was actually becomming an arm puncher. i didnt like the change in marcianos style at all. he was hitting charles, cockell, moore repeadtley but they werent going down. marcianos power was not there anymore. he was more methodical and aging, he didnt unleash his deadly firepower and didnt put guys lights out like he did in 1951-52.i think 1951 joe louis fight was marcianos peak, but hey thats just my opinion.
so both I and rocky are in agreement 1951 was his peak, though we both have different opinions on which fight it was against
