I recall read reading in a British newspaper some years ago that Marciano was considering a comeback in the early 60's. Apparently he undertook 3 bouts behind closed doors, one against Wayne Bethea another against Bill Neilsen , don't remember the third opponent. However he realised that he was no longer as effective as before & abandoned the idea. Anyone have any confirmation of this ?
He toyed with the idea of coming back for Ingo ,but could not get into shape.Never heard about him considering it in the 60's.
That article also states that Marciano was offered $4 million to fight Ali in 1966. As much as Rocky loved money, I'm surprised he didn't take it. $4 million was a huge amount of money in 1966.
He tried training in late 50's I believe to fight Ingo but after a couple months decided he couldn't train like he used to and scrubbed the comeback ideas all together. I doubt he reconsidered seriously in mid 60's, was probably just old man pride getting the best of him and he wanted people to know he thought he could beat some of the guys that were coming up. Would have been interesting to see him fight again but might have ruined his legacy trying to comeback and end up losing. His entire style was based on outlasting his opponent through will and amazing stamina, may not have the same fire as he did as a younger man and may have payed for it
Never a serious possibility. He loved tormenting Weil and Norris by tantalizing them with the notion of a comeback while D'Amato and Patterson were shutting IBC HW contenders out of title opportunities. (When Floyd died, he'd lived long enough that he and D'Amato were memorialized and credited for their role in breaking the IBC as a service to boxing, rather than criticized for ducking IBC contenders.) Bottom line I suspect was he had that seriously bad back, and a style which demanded a massive amount of conditioning, discipline and self deprivation. Letting his body go to indulge freely in the pleasures of food and drink with good buddy Mario Lanza had to be heavenly for both of them. He was no fitness enthusiast in retirement like Patterson was. With his back, it had to hurt, as it must have hurt Frazier with his arthritis. He may have been showing signs of sliding in his final two defenses during 1955, and he was already 29 when he won that title. Getting into the shape he did for the staged Woroner match with Ali that was released posthumously was an astonishing achievement when you realize he somehow managed to train off, what, over 50 pounds from that 5'10" frame? (He was then the same age Foreman was when George had regained the HW Title in real life.) He also must have had an idea in his own mind then that the best possible condition for Ingo wouldn't have cut it years earlier. (Unfortunately, he didn't live long enough to express his experience of sharing the ring with what would have been an Ali at his athletic peak if actively competing.) Patterson was far more serious about wanting to face Ali a third time when Muhammad regained the HW Title from Foreman. Floyd was running the Miami Beach sands, interviewed about his desire to make a third attempt, and did not officially announce his retirement until the marathons he was running with Ingo started raising questions about a fourth bout between them in the early 1980's. (Maybe Patterson wouldn't have contemplated Ali III if Muhammad had just eliminated him ASAP in 1972 instead of trying to give the fans their money's worth as usual with a few rounds of action, but at least Floyd didn't come back this time.)
I know I read about Ali's people looking into fighting Floyd and instead fighting Leon Spinks. However, I have not been able to find anything to confirm it confirm it.
Lou Duva told me a few years back that Marciano seriously considered coming back against Ingo. Duva was to manage/train him. Business distractions kept cropping up and Rocky s****ped the idea. Also Cus D'Amato had locked up a rematch and Cus made it clear Patterson would never face Marciano.
Marciano, in his own words went into training secretly by himself to see if he still had the drive. When he realized he did not have the proper drive he halted training and therefore his comeback.
Marciano was a very intelligent man, once he felt the drive was gone he knew it would be hard to get back into his spartan regiment of training that he used to love. He said if Louis could not comeback successfully he would not try to do so. He did contemplate it against Ingo, Patterson would not fight him but at his age and with his style requiring incredible fitness it would have been a difficult attempt. IMO he would have beaten Ingo but to continue on to the rest of the line up at his age would have left him vulnerable and his undefeated record fighting the best was an accomplishment. Money could not lure him back once the desire to train was gone....smart decision because he respected himself and his accomplishments
