Power - Has there ever been a HW...

[radianttwilight]

Originally Posted by Russell

Everyone you mentioned sans Frazier had more fights than Marciano.

And THAT'S the point.

Eight years doesn't speak very highly of his longetivity, and I've got zero doubt Marciano would of failed stopping plenty of fighters if he'd fought for twenty years like Ali, or even longer like Holmes and Foreman.

He got out without slipping, hanging on too long, having delusions of being capable years past his best.

Plenty of fighters could of looked equally "unbeatable" if they packed it in during a given time.

Foreman was 40-0 with 37 knockouts when he lost to Ali. His decision wins were over three seperate guys. I don't see all that much seperating him from Marciano in this case. In championship fights through the end of his reign he was 3-1, with all four fights ending in knockout.

The question was "has there ever been a HW who ran into someone he failed to knock out?" Marciano has the second best knockout ratio in total fights among these men (behind Foreman 1st career), but his title reign was better (he didn't lose).

Marciano was 7-0 (6) in title fights. Foreman was 3-1 (3) in title fights.

Argue as much as you want that "Marciano reigned short and didn't have enough fights". At the end of his reign he had more fights than Foreman did when he lost to Ali, and he never lost.

If you want to argue ratios and say that Foreman's was better than Marciano's, then you can. We can put Marciano at #2 behind Foreman...that's quite an accomplishment by itself.