Could Marciano make 168lbs if he turned pro today?

I'm not sure if Molina really deserves that ranking.

 

No but his ranking is there. Rocky would definitely beat a shot Adamek therefore could earn a world ranking today.

As for Tua, he was successful because he could hit hard, carried his power late and had a solid beard. I see no reason why Rocky couldn't do as well as him. His best victories were Ruiz, Moorer, Oquendo and Rahman. I don't see any of those men being favoured over Marciano.

Rocky would be at his best as a 190 pound fighter, we all know that so the best Rocky exists at CW. He could drain to LHW to try and be the bigger man or bulk to HW and be the smaller man.

As I've said I'd have him at CW and allow him a foray into the division as and when it seems fit. A shot Wlad for instance would be a forray worth taking, or if Povetkin picks up a belt.

I wouldn't advise him to go through a gauntlet of Ortiz, Wilder, Joshua and Fury but that doesn't mean he couldn't score significant victories at the weight.

 

Coming back to this thread a minute.

If we're all agreeing that at worst, Rocky and Dempsey could be LHW fighters today (I doubt anyone seriously disagrees, even if they wouldn't advise it) it kinda makes me doubt the quality f LHW fighters that exist today.

These two men are routinely picked in fantasy fights against HW opposition, some dont even allow them extra bulk.

Why aren't there any LHW fighters today who could enter the ring as a LHW and become HW champ?

 

Exactly. It doubts the quality of LHW today because theoretically a LHW is a 190- 200lb guy on the night. And within that bracket is not just Marciano but Ali, Joe Louis, Joe Frazier and many great classic sized heavyweights.

because even at 198lb on the night these LHW guys are not exceptional enough to give away 50lb. Today they challenge 250lb SHW "heavyweights". It's rediculous. The SHW is not a heavyweight.

 

So you class anything above 250 as a SHW?

 

no I dont class 250 as the starting point for SHW. I mention 250 since this is the size of the champions at the moment. A LHW challenging for a HW title would in fact be taking on Joshua or Klit.

I class anything that cannot cheat the scales at 200lb a superheavyweight. So seeing as a 224 fighter can make 200, it stands to reason that a guy with an "in the ring" fighting weight of 226 is a SHW. It's safe to say a 238 guy cannot make 200 with 24 hour weigh in. So 226-239 and above are SHW.

 

They did not too long ago, how many times did this even happen in the days of sub-200lb HW's?

 

I mean there weren't any back then. Carpientier didn't do it. Conn came close but well short. Moore actually weighed as much as Marciano when they fought. Tunney was about 190 for his heavyweight fights.

I don't think there's been a LHW since Fitz that won the heavyweight belt at 175 or below. Those 10 or 15 pounds are big.

The closest is Ezzard Charles and even he weighed under 180 for just one title fight against a light heavyweight.

 

Good point.

But we're saying Dempsey or Marciano could make the LHW limit today, yet they could also potentially be HW champ today.

That scenario doesn't seem to exist with current LHW fighters.

 

It's a combination of not having a transcendent LHW and none of then having the right style. The top 2 guys at LHW are bangers (Kovalev and Stevenson) and like Bob Foster that doesn't work well against bigger, stronger guys. Ward sort of has the style but he likes to be a little too physical. If he had Toney's chin maybe he could makes some noise.

If Lomachenko was 175 instead of 135 I think he could beat some guys.

 

Found this photo.
Probably as small as he'll get.

better-known-as-rocky-marciano-american-boxer-b-brockton-mass-failing-picture-id110333264

 

Marciano was 5'10 1/2". At least get his height correct

 

One reason is back in the day they used 6 or 8-ounce gloves. Heavies today wear 12-ounce gloves with more padding.

Dempsey in his day made short work of Fulton ( Who could have been a super heavyweight ) and Willard who was, but he had the right style to be effective vs bigger opponents.

None of the champions today are proven outside of Wlad who will 41 soon. I'd pick either Rocky or Dempsey over Wilder. Need to see a bit more of Joshua.

 

Dempsey I'd pick to beat Wlad.
Rocky I wouldn't.

Wilder I'm unsure about still. Same with Joshua.

 

Training hard is only part of it, diet and nutrition is the other part. Then an all in important fat test to see what % of fat, you need at least 6%, 5 and under puts you at risk. Like for instance I have a fighter who fights at 144-145, too small for a WW and too big for 140. He was tested if he made 140 he would be at 5%. They told me with the right diet he could make '40 strong. Rocky would balloon up to 210+ after fights so for him to make 168 might be a little rough. In making weight you have to dehydrate, in other words get rid of the water weight, thats why you see a big difference between weigh in wt and post weigh in wt. They rehydrate, after a tight weigh in you see the corner have pedialyte or gator aid ready for the fighter as soon as he gets off the scales.
Imagine how many titles SRR could have won, with the modern wt classes.