Rocky Marciano vs. Muhammad Ali

I favor Ali anyway, but the cuts part is especially intriguing -- in Marciano's day, they tended to let fights go on regardless, while later referees and fight doctors got more cautious. So the impact of that changes with when you set this mythical fight.

 

Nonsense.

Marciano has less than nothing to cause a prime Ali problems.

 

Ali thinks otherwise. And he's good at sizing boxers up!

 

I don't completely buy into Ali's recorded appraisal of Rocky Marciano.. I think he was being respectful and during a time when he was already walking on thin ice with the public ( Holmes probably should have followed his example. ) And claiming that The Rock was "better than Joe Frazier" could have also been a thinly veiled knock at his all time archrival whom he loved nothing more than to antagonize.. Muhammad was both confident and c0cky.. And he no doubt has seen footage of Rocky getting out boxed, out pointed and cut up by Charles, Walcott, Lowry, etc.. If those guys could do a number on the Brockton blockbuster than Ali surely could have taken things a step further and I think Muhammad knew it.. This next bit won't mean anything to people who aren't from America. But NBA basketball star Lebron James has said more than once that old school stars like Larry Byrd and Magic Johnson were better players than he is.. Yet you'd be hard pressed to find an "honest" fan or expert who would pick those men to beat Lebron in a one on one game.. I certainly wouldn't...

 

Rocky seemed confident that he could beat Ali but then again Rocky thought he could beat anyone.

 

This^

 

I love BF24. Nowhere else could I necro a 9 year old thread and not get my ears boxed for it ... but actually elicit discussion

 

I disagree. I think that is a reach. It`s debatable between Frazier and Marciano. I`m fairly certain that had Joe Frazier fought in the late 40s early 50s against Rocky`s competition he would`ve gone undefeated perhaps won some of those fight easier than Marciano did.

 

Marciano was an ATG hwt with two fisted ko power with coordination to put both his left and right together in combination to head and body. Frazier lacked this ability. It's all hook. He never knocked out or knocked down anyone of note with a right hand ( in fact it is difficult to find any opponent he knocked down with a right hand). At an ATG level one handed fighters have a tough time as At this level fighters know how to negate the offense that comes from just one side.