What one ability distinguished Marciano...

A lot of stuff he trained like a demon to achieve. Every man in that division should be a big puncher so I wouldn't say it's that neither.

I think it's his awkwardness, I'm sure the top guys of his day saw him as this crude brawler they could outbox, I imagine they would have been disheartened when they found their shots grazing and falling short. Rocky took the heart of his opponents. His tenacity, strength and conditioning allowed him to finish those opponents off.

The man was a fabulous great and I believe were he around today he'd have the cruiserweight division sown up and could take the hw crown if his shot was timed right (say when Byrd, Jones and Rahman were champions).

Or maybe today with vitali, povetkin and an inevitably aging wlad.

I think someone like rock will achieve greatness whenever they're born.

 

Ring stamina is also a big part mental.

The ability to breath every second, some fighters get too concentrated on other things and forget to breath for a few seconds.Doesn't sound significant but those few seconds every time become minutes after a few rounds, you need every bit of air you can get.

Not getting frustrated will also allow you to stay efficient.

Being relaxed will also keep you on the efficient road.

So many things are all just mental.

 

He could also fight as a supermiddle or if he becomes like Chavez Jr and has a "healthy" dose of diuretics he could make middleweight.
But if he has trouble sweating off that much, lightheavy is an extremely plausible goal.
Minimumweights can sweat 10 lbs, so can Rocky.

If he lived today

p4p a great fighter Marciano was.

 

his offense/defense combination. staying low, always moving his head and never a still target, always throwing bombs from every angle consistently. a normal sequence for him would be big left uppercut on the inside, dip to the right, then out of that dip throw an overhand right, dip to the left, left hook. Everything he did, the short goal was always to nail you with a hard shot directly after he did it, whether it was slipping a jab, stepping in to set up for a lead hook. so he was always in position to punch and counter. never smothered himself on the inside, wouldn't half-ass a shot. everything he did, he was trying to get you or himself in position to nail you. he always stayed lower than his opponent, if his opponent was low he got lower. and of course he was always moving forward in all of this.

 

Sex appeal.

 

That everyone who fought him expected to be able to outbox him. Marciano was crude but unbelievably effective in equal measure.

 

Well aside from physical prowess (of which he had much of), talking more about method, it was his awkwardness. Often talked about but never elaborately; part of it was him leaning down and away from punches but retaining the threat of a big right hand (ever fought someone who keeps loading up on that? Quite daunting, can't set yourself for fear of being demolished), and using that tremendously sneaky and underrated left uppercut on the inside.

 

Just spit it out you old ****

 

two handed power, top workrate and an iron jaw?