Why was Marciano so successful?

Charles and Moore were all time great fighters,at light heavyweight. not heavyweight imo. Marciano's wins over Louis ,Moore, Walcott ,and Charles were wins over past prime fighters ,again,imo.
No one was ever in better condition than Marciano,and none needed to be more.
He had unlimited courage,will to win, excellent power which he carried into the later rounds ,and an absolute refusal ever to be discouraged. I think he benefited from the era he rose to the top in,post WW2,not an absolute **** era but a time when the best fighters were slightly past their sell by date,and also a time when there was a dearth of big prime heavyweights with real ability . Of course this was not Rocky's fault ,he basically fought everyone who deserved a shot, but it is a fact.
Would Marciano have beaten the Charles and Walcott of a few years earlier? We simply don't know.

He is the poster boy for over achievement imo.

 

Amazing raw power, incredible mental strength and toughness and natural fighting instincts coupled with a weak era.

 

Primary reasons.....

Fighting heart/will to win/killer instinct. Intrinsic reason for AT greatness that you either have or you don't.

physical conditioning. You would need to go back to the days of Jeffries to find a hwt champion so well prepared physically. He could punch non stop for 15 rounds.

Style perfection. Rocky perfected his very low crouch making him a difficult target. Great boxers like Moore and Walcott made it known they would hit Marciano at will. In the ring it never happened.

 

Point is all these men were sharpshooters. They felt based on watching Rocky that he was easy to hit (like those in this forum). In the ring they found it was not an easy task.

 

Good timing in both his career and retirement. Got in at a true nadir in the division. Got out before more athletic fighters took it over.

Of course, he had to do the work in the meantime.

 

Marciano was just a slower and smaller Butterbean,lucky to fight in the worst era ever against smaller men that were taller and heavier than him.

 

Butterbean would never beat Charles or Walcott.

Stop exaggerating.

 

Consistent constant movement, not just a little before standing up right and brawling.

Effective feinting that made up for his lack of speed.

A servicable defense and awkward stance that kept him from taking unnecessary punishment. He was aggressive, and he took shots but not as many as your typical brawler, and usually to land a more damaging punch of his own.

Freakish two fisted power with a variety of punches that didn't need to land clean or set on to hurt. He dropped men with arm punches.

Stamina, great corner and trainer. Intelligent and always knowing what he needs to do to win.

 

It isn't that Charles and Moore were small it's that their greatness was at175lbs and that Rocky never had to contend with big young heavies with skills.
Not his fault, he defended against who was around.
Walcott was 37 ,Moore said he was 39,his Mother said that he was 2 years older .Whatever ,no one is prime at that age,imo. Charles was beat by Rex Layne 2 years before he challenged Marciano,what was he if not a wild brawler? Marciano wasn't hard to hit either , but he was hard to hit with a heavy punch.He was cut and required stitches in his first Walcott fight,the Simmons fight, both Charles fights and cut against Louis and Moore.

 

Charles was a great middle weight with every physical advantage over true heavyweight Marciano.

Walcott was a journeyman who lost to Age Simon.

 

You pretty much nailed it, but Rocky's incredible will to win and overcome adversity were legendary. He would not wilt or take the easy way out in any round or moment in time.

A man who never quits is tough to beat, and if he's got power and never ending stamina, the other guy even if he's winning at the moment will have a heart check.

I don't think Rocky would do well vs a super heavyweight with skills and power though.

 

Punching power
Stamina
Tenacity
Great chin
And his refusal to lose.

P4P one of the best ever!