Who is greater Marciano or Johnson?

Good Lord, man, "greater" is a loaded term. Do you care to define your criteria? Obviously, both guys are ATG's but would fare differently under different contexts for judging.

 

Marciano is greater in any context unless upsetting a whole lot of white men is part of your criteria for greatness.

 

****. Its my number one criteria which makes this one so close.

 

It is a tempting reason to rate Johnson higher. He was a bad man that openly flaunted the white women he dated in public. That has got to count for something. Marciano was a little too clean cut and 1950's. I'm sure Marciano cheated on his wife, but I expect Johnson banged far more quality women in his day for my money's worth. If that's not apart of a criteria for greatness then what is?

 

Longevity? Dominance - beating all coloured contenders for the coloured title and beating all white contenders for the 'world title'. Marciano took on everyone too but over a shorter time

I think Marciano's era was better though and rate the level he was fighting at as higher

 

Head to head,I'd take Marciano to win in modern times. His resume was also better than Jack's. Johnson was by far the best of his own era though.

 

The Rock....Johnson has nothing to keep him away...

 

At their peak, I like Rocky a bit more for the 15 round or 20+ round eras, but not necessarily in the 12 round era. On the other hand, I doubt Marciano could have been a quality fighter for as long as Johnson.

hth, I like Marciano a bit in 15 or more rounds; but Johnson might win if he's able to make it like a low-scoring, 9-6 football (i.e., 'hand egg') game. Then, too, if they fought five times at three-year intervals, I'd favor Johnson to take three out of five.

 

It comes down to whether you place a higher premium on depth and longevity, or consistency and thoroughness.

 

In the close distance I think Jack would control Rocky with his clinches......

 

I thought Marciano was one of the most technically flawed HW champions ever, then I watched Jack Johnson's footage and I must say Rocky is a gifted technician compared to him.

 

I don't know who wins H2H. Different eras and fighters had different styles. There is not nearly as much video on Johnson that I've viewed to see if there were fighters that he went up against that forced the fight up to a higher pressure level on par with Rocky. How does Johnson deal with that kind of pressure and attack ?
However, then you have to factor in that when fighters were scheduled for very long bouts where rounds could go past 15 rounds like in Rocky's day...the pace of the bout may have been slowed. I would have to look into it more. A lot of factors to think about.



But Johnson's "Legacy," inside and outside the ring is greater because of ALL the factors that were involved. From his birth, his skin color, the era, etc. that's not an easy task to reach the level he did.
He had the Brains, the skills, the balls, and the longevity.

Now It's not Marciano's fault that he wasn't placed in the same position but its just the way I see it. In the "Test of Life," Johnson had the much harder test and its not up for debate.
Not everyone can handle what Johnson had to go through and be the Man he was. I'm not even sure who can other than Johnson. I would have to think about it and even then...few.
Tough to say. As Ali said..That Man was "Crazy."



both are Great Champions.


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It's interesting to think about but it depends. Rocky has the ability to throw punch after punch. Maybe not in blistering combinations like Louis, but the Man is coming at you with thunderous hammers. You may get away with clinching someone that throws one punch at a time, maybe two...but a puncher that can continually throw like that seems a bit dangerous. Especially with Rocky who knows how to lean back and deliver punches.

Having limited footage of a fighter makes it tough to decide.

One thing I don't doubt is that Johnson was incredibly smart so he may be able to adapt.