Rocky Marciano or Jack Johnson who was the greater fighter?

[cotto20]

Well??????????????????

[janitor]

I would be minded to say Johnson based on his depth and longevity.

You could argue it either way though.

[McGrain]

Johnson by a shade.

[JudgeDredd]

Johnson narrowly because he was more versatile

[PetethePrince]

I'm not too high on Johnson's comp. But the man had skills. H2H I think I'd favor Rocky though.

[essexboy]

I have Johnson ahead of Marciano all-time heavyweights. Not by much though.

[Ste Hawkins]

You really think Marciano could do what Langford couldn't do? Johnson in his prime could go for 30 rounds without getting hit clean. Marciano had the heart of a lion and had warrior strength but Johnson is an ATG and shades it.

[Bokaj]

It would probably be Johnson. I think it would be fait to say that he has the far higher number of wins against would could be considered top 10 ranked opponents. He also has more losses and draws than Rocky, of course, and a worse title reign (if you exclude the "coloured" title reign).
Defintely not a give, but I'll go with Johnson.

Would be very interesting to see a fight between the two, since Johnson would in some ways be considered a tough brawler as well if he was active in Marciano's days. My money would be on Rocky, though.

[SuzieQ49]

Depends. Do you favor Quantity or Quality?

If you favor Quality, Rocks resume is the clear choice

If you favor Quantity, Johnson is the clear choice


I will make one point: Rocky cleaned out his era and ducked nobody. The same cannot be said of Johnson.

[djanders]

I favor Johnson in this matchup, but not by much!

[Mendoza]

I suppose the question here was who was the greater fighter, not who would win in a fantasy match up.

As a greater fighter its Rocky by a mile. Rocky showed guts, and pretty much gave all the top ranked contenders title shots. Johnson quit, low blowed DQ'd himself once after getting rocked in the first round by an in-experienced Jeanette, quit in a title fight with an arm injury vs a journeyman, and has a laundry list of excuses as to why he did not look so good.

[Muchmoore]

Rocky was disqualified for kicking a fighter in the nuts in the am's when he was losing.

And before someone says it's the amateurs, boxing was different in the early 1900's from now. You didn't have the internet with everyone knowing about "quit jobs" and you fought much more often in much harder circumstances.

[Mendoza]

Originally Posted by Muchmoore

Rocky was disqualified for kicking a fighter in the nuts in the am's when he was losing.

And before someone says it's the amateurs, boxing was different in the early 1900's from now. You didn't have the internet with everyone knowing about "quit jobs" and you fought much more often in much harder circumstances.

In terms of toughness, intangibles and the wiliness to fight, its Marciano via landslide. The amateur fight means little. Sources vary. Some say Rocky kicked his opponent in the stomach.

[Muchmoore]

Johnson winning the HW title in that era takes more than a little bit of toughness, in my view at least

[Grebfan9]

Hi Mendoza,

As usual you are a wealth of boxing knowledge. I am a Joe Jeanette
fan. Could you let me know where I could get a copy of the Johnson-
Jeanette DQ fight writeup. I didn't know that Jeanette had hurt Johnson
in the 1st round. Thats very interesting.

Years later, Johnson steered clear of Jeanette and refused to give Jeanette a title fight. Of the three top heavyweight contenders back then - Jeanette, McVey and Langford, I feel that Jeanette had the right STYLE OF FIGHTING to potentially whip Johnson. Not saying that Jeanette was a better fighter than McVey or Langford - but styles make fights.


Grebfan9

Originally Posted by Mendoza

I suppose the question here was who was the greater fighter, not who would win in a fantasy match up.

As a greater fighter its Rocky by a mile. Rocky showed guts, and pretty much gave all the top ranked contenders title shots. Johnson quit, low blowed DQ'd himself once after getting rocked in the first round by an in-experienced Jeanette, quit in a title fight with an arm injury vs a journeyman, and has a laundry list of excuses as to why he did not look so good.