And he was gassed for that first fight, and he returned to the amateur ranks and came back to start his career in earnest at 25. By your logic, perhaps he could have. Or do you consider Marciano a better fighter, LB4LB, than Duran?
[url]https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2016/06/04/muhammad-ali-fight-by-fight-career/85341622/[/url] That gives Ali's weight fight-by-fight
Also you’re thinking of his first amateur fight that he got gassed when he got home from the military. He wasn’t gassed for his first pro fights form what I’ve read. If you’ve read differently please post it.
One of Lewis' losses was pre Steward.Goldman worked with several fighters of different dimensions including Brion,Gavilan,Ambers,Archibald,Walcott,Alongi,Zivic,Ortiz,Calhoun,Risko,McCoy. None of whom boxed like Rocky. Your theory about expertise just flew out the window! Goldman boxed as a bantamweight ,not many of them are that tall!
Believe he felt best at 188. He also gained weight to fight schkor at what 191? He ranged in the 185-190 area for his career. Because he felt best at that weight
Yes, and at 25, Ali was 212. At 25, Marciano was 185. That's how you compare these things, not comparing a 19 year old Clay to a 25 year old Marciano.
Agree fully, I met Ali 3 times and he was huge. I find It very odd that a couple on here insist he was 6'2".... that is ridiculous.
You're correct. For the Rocky Mack fight against the novice Lee Epperson Marciano was still training for baseball and was not yet committed to boxing. He left for Cubs training camp shortly after the fight, where he promptly washed out. The bottom line is that Marciano did not begin his pro boxing career in earnest until he was 25. And he debuted, in actual training for a pro fight at 185, a weight he would keep close to for his entire, albeit short, career. Is everyone satisfied?
This is off topic, but I shook hands with Joe Louis at Caesar's Palace and with Jack Dempsey at Dempsey's Broadway Restaurant in the early 1970s and they both looked huge to me, much taller than their listed weights. Interesting. I was 6'0" then, now I'm 5'11". I'm not at all sure about their listed weights and heights. I know that Marciano's walking-around weight during his fighting years was over 200 and that he trained down to 187-8 or so for his fights. Fighters then trained down even when they were heavyweights. Now they train up. It's a whole different philosophy. I bet they had more stamina then and were better off cardiovascularly, so to speak. Now they trade that off for strength and size, I guess, but I admittedly am not up on such things.