BoxRec

thanx to Dan from CBS. great rare article huh?

a raw horribly inexperienced rocky marciano BEAT the best amatuer in the country who happened to be a powerful skilled 6'3 221lb who was PROMISED to be the next joe louis(even looked like him).

I always thought Marciano's amateur career was a true testimony, to his power and determination. He he was with no more than 12 or so amateur bouts and had won the AAU and Golden Glove tournaments, and was up for the Olympics, but a hand injury kept him out of it.

The Wallace fight, from what I understand, was booed tremendously with people throwing beer bottles and the like into the ring. Even as an amateur, many of Marciano's opponents said they were sure that he would become champion, solely on his power.

One man, whose name escapes me, said "Every time he hit me, I saw a flash of light. If he hit you again, you knew you were gone."

asdf

HomicideHenry wrote:and was up for the Olympics, but a hand injury kept him out of it.

He would have to win the Boston sub-regional Olympic trials, the Albany regional tournament, and then the National Olympic Trials to qualify. That’s quite a few bouts. By the way, in Albany Rocky would have to meet Wallace again.

DaveV17 wrote:Wallace weighed 221 as an amateur? He must have been way out of shape for that fight...He only weighed 198 for his pro debut and most of his pro career he was under 200. Was there an official weigh in for that fight?

I strongly doubt that Wallace weighed this much, he was in pretty good shape (see photo and article). This way Rocky’s near-victory looks more impressive, though.

Here is an article from mid-February:



In December of 1948 Wallace weighed 206 when he knocked out Ernest Jackson in Newburgh, NY.

Several 1948 reports mentioned that Wallace’s win over Marciano was highly disputed, but Jimmy Breslin and Wallace disagreed in their interviews: :)

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Sa ... 8750353270

Marciano as an amateur weighed around 220 for his first bout. Many get the wrong idea that Rocky was always 187, he was very capable of being over 200 pounds. He just trained down to that weight.

HomicideHenry wrote:Marciano as an amateur weighed around 220 for his first bout. Many get the wrong idea that Rocky was always 187, he was very capable of being over 200 pounds. He just trained down to that weight.

Is that the fight when he was totally out of shape and got disqualified for kicking the guy in the groin? Did they actually weigh him? :)

was a knee to the groin...just to point that out.

And yeah that was the fight. Afterwards Marciano said "If this showed me anything, its that I need to be in condition."

Next time he came back, he was in condition. He gave up smoking and various things. He became serious about it.

..re: the "hit you..like a flash of light...hit you again you were a goner.' the flash of light might have been a photograph being taken of the fighter who was being hit while already down. the second one, therefore, would indeed have even more effect.

BrocktonBlockbuster49 wrote:thanx to Dan from CBS. great rare article huh?

Great find.

Thank you.

Still, you can't always go by fan reaction. Recall the setting. "Negroes" weren't universally popular to start with in many corners. You have a mainly white crowd rooting for the under-dog who happens to look like them. He does better than expected. I admire the judges for sticking to their opinions. Too bad it's not on film.

Cap