If Marciano had carried on, how much longer would he have ruled?

If he carried on Marciano would have declined and like all declining fighters this leads to losing to lesser fighters.

Fighting just two times a year against the next generation of fighters he would have slipped up between 1959 and 1962. Remember there could only have been time for one outdoor fight in 1956 since there was no obvious opponent for an early summer fight when he announced his retirement. Rocky would have got rustier and lost ground with each fight after then.

Patterson would have beat Moore like he did in 1956 but for the lightheavyweight title. Floyd would have challenged Marciano 1958 at the earliest unless cus still did not want Floyd to take that fight. Marciano might still even win that one, a showdown between light heavyweight and heavyweight champs then retire at that point. Even a declining Rocky was good enough to beat Floyd's challengers until 1958.

Liston was never getting a shot before 1960 because Ingo would still beat machen like he did and that win always eclipsed anything Sonny did in 1958.

An old tired Marciano is not getting past Liston in 1961. Wrong era. He gets beat before then. Could be Ingo or Floyd in a rematch in 1959.

I think the challengers from September 1956 would have been Pastrano or Baker then Jackson, Roy Harris, Brian London, Floyd Patterson and Ingo Johannson.

Machen and Foley missed out on a title challenge because in real life they drew their eliminator and #3 Harris took their shot. If it happened that way for Floyd it happens that way for Marciano.

 

Marciano was one of the most courageous fighter ever and one thing he would not have is fear of Liston. You can say style wise you think he could beat Rocky but when it comes to a question of who would have the fear I think it is proven that Liston had the fear not Marciano. Liston suffered from the bully syndrome and Tyson also had this qualification. Liston quit and tanked

The question would be if Marciano traded with Sonny and kept coming and actually landed some of his own fire how long it would take Sonny to take the LOW road

I dont know how long Marciano had left in his career, my guess is 2-5 fights and at 2 fights a year that would have given him another 2-2 1/2 years more and in 1957 Liston still was not a fighter of contention In fact Liston did not fight in 1957 his last fight was in 1956 a win over Marty Marshall but Liston only had a 13-1 record and did not start again until 1958 and win a title till 1962

So while you make these statements about fear I think you should check the facts and the dates so you would not seem so poorly informed.

We all have our mishaps but the Classic is for the better informed posters

 

He beats Ingo and Patterson but should get out before Liston destroys him.

Rockys standing would have greatly increased because he would have beat who was necessary and had wins over the future kings of the division ala Lewis

 

Of course a champion does not have a crystal ball to see who the future kings of the division are.

They tend to see their job as being done when they have rounded up the last of the old guard, and I think Lewis saw it this was as well.

 

The nose injury in the second Charles fight kind of ruined Marciano. He wouldn't have bene able to carry on much longer. The stamina was there in teh Cokell and Moore fights but he was on a decline as a puncher, he was just slowing so down so much.

Had he stayed at his current rate of 2 defenses a years against the top guys, this would likely be his contenders.

Age 33

56:
Baker
Patterson

Age 34

57.
Jackson
Machen

Age 35

58:
Harris
Folley

Age 36

59:
Ingo
Liston

 

It depends. If the claims about him suffering back injuries were truly enough to inhibit him to train properly for fights, then the answer is " no further." If the back pain injuries were exaggerated or somehow fixable then he might have reigned for another two to three years until some of the would be talents of the 60's started emerging.

 

He might have beaten a green Patterson in 1956. But I doubt he beats Patterson or Ingo by 1959 which was when those two guys were battling back and forth over the title. Rock would have been diminished by that point where as they would have been prime.

 

true, i guess its easier for us to comment with the benefit of hindsight.

but i guess its to good to nip in the bud a young prospect.

 

Liston beats two Marciano's of any age. Wrong match-up stylistically.

 

Seeing what an ancient Joe Louis's jab did to Marciano makes me think Liston's telephone pole left would bust him up pretty badly before he even got into range .Marciano would not be frightened of Liston, but even a prime Rocky would lose this one ,imo.

 

Let's look at this scientifically...

ROcky kept himself in great shape & was diligent about getting problems fixed. He would fanatically follow all new advanced fitness technology. Also get a great chiropractor if he was not being robbed & agreed with the wife not to fight.
Look how good he was against Ali even sparring after looong retired & lost tons of weight for the filming. Ali said then he was greater than Frazier.

Unrivaled endurance, toughness, great 2 fisted power & subtle skills...

he would only be 91 now. Any fading that COULD have occured over the last decade would be compensated for by the relative weakness of the HW era.

I will say a 62 year title run. And counting.

 

This is a fair assessment because it is your opinion based on styles. For me I am a believer of intangibles and I see a big crack in Liston somewhere based on his history quitting and tanking against Ali and when older after dropping Leotis Martin (who was not considered a puncher) Leotis got up and went at Sonny and took him out on the inside, I give a lot of guys like Charles a good chance at beating Sonny because of there inside game.

So while I used to be big on Liston my opinionchanged based on Sonny's history I can not be certain that his crack would not split when put in with a man with no fear and the will to win. I seen Evander and Buster do it to Tyson and Ali to Liston and Foreman and to be honest I did not give Evander or Ali a chance.

As far as Marciano I think his swarming style and work rate, training,hitting 300lb bag, rock training,swimming punching (may have helped him, running extreme would have gotten to him and IMO he gets out before 1958, Liston was not in the picture then but Marciano would eventually slip to someone that he normally beats or he would get out before he could no longer do it in the gym.

Some fighters put their reputation and pride over the $$$, Lewis did it rather than rematch Vitali for an extraordinary sum. Marciano negated a comeback with Ingo because he did not love it anymore. Call it class or call it smarts but it is part of what makes certain fighter greater for knowing when to retire.

 

finally a comment with sense

 

The Ali fights will always be shrouded in mystery.The Martin scrap was not a tank job or a quit ,Liston was doing well after flooring Martin, but began to run out of gas, his age and lack of conditioning contributed to that.If we take his offical age he was a couple of months off 39 but was likely older.
I shudder to think of Marciano facing a good boxer puncher at the age of 39.
I think Martin was a good banger,I saw him stop Thad Spencer in a terrific fight, a year before he met Liston.Nineteen stoppages in thirty one wins is pretty decent.

It was a great shot that levelled Sonny.
Martin killed Sonny Banks.

Liston had a good inside game himself and the smarts to retreat when required, in his prime he was a good boxer , not some forerunner of Foreman and his" Mummy "stance
.Liston's fault was the inability to cut off the ring , he just followed his man around.
That would not be a factor here because Marciano would have to come to him.
The 1960's Liston brutalises Marciano.imo.

 

yes, and then he would clean the era of holmes he knocks tyson out and he retires happy like a hero... get out of here, troll eat ****