Marciano v RJJ..

Roy Jones lead hook KO in the 4th.

 

He spent the majority of those fights as a club circuit fighter in the NE, fighting 60% of his fights in the same town. When he finally matriculated for what qualified as elite heavies in that depleted era, there were only old men, former lightheavies and some hype jobs to oppose him.

 

Yeah I agree, but how could Roy avoid being hit by Marciano throughout 15 rounds? That's impossible. Rocky could K.O. Roy Jones with a single punch of his like he did to Walcott.

 

Do you think that Roy will not get hit by Marciano throughout 15 rounds? That's so ridiculous! Marciano was a real pressure fighter and you know that. Roy could be KTFO by Marciano's single punch.

 

Yes, but this is just some guy on the internet talking out of his ass. Let's hear what the greats have to say about Rocky Marciano:

JOE LOUIS
"It hurt to bump into him....He hits harder than Max Schmeling...this kid is tough enough to beat anyone."

"The Rock didn't know too much about the boxing book, but it wasn't a book he hit me with. It was a whole library of bone crushers."

"I had a bad weakness kept hid throughout my career. I didn't like to be crowded, and Marciano always crowded his opponents. That's why I say I could never beat him."

"He's a good fighter. Better than most people realize. He's strong and young and hard to hit."

"Rocky was a very deceiving guy. He was not easy to hit."


MUHAMMED ALI

“I could have beaten all of those guys, except for maybe Marciano.”


“When I was 14 years old and listening to the radio and I heard the announcer, ‘.and still champion of the whole world, Rocky Marciano..’ I knew I wanted to be champion someday. He was a big influence in the start of my career.”


"Ooo he hit hard. He hit you so hard it'd jar your kin folks in Africa...it'd been rough...I truly think on my best day and his best day I would have beaten him...I think he was better than Joe Frazier, I truly think he was better than Joe Frazier and you know what Joe Frazier did to me...I think it would be even, he may have won. It's just hard...In his heyday, he may have won. It's up to the imagination.


(When asked who would have given him the most trouble)

"Rocky Marciano...He would be the most trouble I think...Rocky Marciano."


ACHIE MOORE

(When asked which punch hurt him most)
"Man they all hurt."

"After a fight with Marciano, it felt like you had been beat all over the upper body with a black jack or hit with rocks."


"He could hurt you sure, but it was the quantity of his punches. He just had more stamina than anyone else in those days. He was like a bull with gloves."


JERSEY JOE WALCOTT
"Joe could take you out with combinations...Marciano was a one-punch artist. He threw every punch like you throw a baseball, as hard as he could. I have to say, with all respect to Joe, Marciano hit harder."

“I liked that title. I didn’t want to lose it to anybody, but if I had to lose it, I’m glad I lost it to you. You’re a good fighter and gonna be a great champ.”


EZZARD CHARLES:
"Rocky numbs you all over. Wherever he hits you, he hurts you; on the arms, the shoulders, the neck and the head."


JACK DEMPSEY
"What everyone forgets is that Marciano can punch harder with a right hand than any modern-day heavyweight. In his first fight with Walcott, Rocky needed only one blow to win the title. The power in his right scrambled Jersey Joe's brains at Chicago."

"I've scored my share of knockouts along the way, but more often than not my opponents got up after being knocked down and had to be knocked down repeatedly. The same is true of Joe Louis. But Marciano needs only one solid smash and it's all over. That's why I say Rocky Marciano is the hardest-hitting heavyweight champion I have seen."


GEORGE FOREMAN

I rank “Joe Louis 1, Marciano 2” Marciano retired undefeated. No other heavies has ever done it;


JOE FRAZIER

“Joe Louis is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. Rocky Marciano is second only to Louis. Where do I rate Ali? Somewhere below me. I beat him, and if I could beat him, no doubt Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano could have beaten him.”



FLOYD PATTERSON
"He was the most determined heavyweight I have ever seen in my life. That man got in the ring and there was no way he was going to lose... Determination is based in the mind. How far can you go? What is your limit? With Marciano there was no limit."


ROLAND LASTARZA
"In defense. It was harder to get at him ... Rocky fools you. He doesn't take as much punishment as it seems. He looks easy to hit inside but he isn't."

"I would throw a hard punch, then he would throw a hard punch. The difference was that Rocky would throw 10 more. He just never stopped throwing punches."


CHARILE GOLDMAN

"He ain't as easy to hit as they say. Rocky rolls under punches and he weaves under punches ... He protects his belly by blocking with his elbows.


ANEGELO DUNDEE

"Rocky was a very deceiving guy. He was not easy to hit."


KNEENE SIMMONS

"He fools you. When you look at him from outside the ring he seems easy to hit ... But if you're in the ring with him you find this isn't the case ... His head is bobbing and he's crouched low, so low in fact that you can't get a clear shot at him."


"Marciano is a good puncher and he's hard to hit. He has a funny style."


HARRY "KID" MATHEWS
"He was a great puncher, one of the best of all-time. He just threw one punch after another, and all of them were hard."


PHIL MUSCATO
"Dan, I can still feel his punches. He kept punching me in the upper arms until I could no longer hold them up to defend or throw punches".


BERNIE REYNOLDS
"He had amazing strength. Any time Marciano hit you, he could hurt you. He didn't do much flicking; every punch was a knockout punch."


DOC KEARNS
"Marciano hits harder than Jack Dempsey did"


FERDIE PACHECO
"He was chastised by the press every time he fought as being a Neanderthal, no concept of boxing, who was going to get beat as soon as he got in with someone who could box, who was gonna make him look silly…It took a long time for the boxing scribes to realize they were in the presence of sheer power."

 

So on one side, we have Ali, Frazier, Dempsey, Walcott, Charles, Moore, Patterson, Dundee...

and on the other, we have Seamus.

It is probably best just to ignore him. He is simply and demonstrably wrong, and his wildly delusional opinion of Marciano pretty much demonstrates that he does not know anything at all about the sport.

 

So now that we have established Jones would have outclassed Rocky, would Toney have done the same?

 

^^^ This

 

Then there's the flip: RJJ made one of the best defensive fighters of all time look like a rank amateur.

Roy made many talented fighters look ordinary.

 

Marching forward and throwing 1000 of punches isn't being smart about getting your shots in. Swinging yourself off balance, forgetting your trainers teachings and having so poor fundamentals that he swings wildly and makes punches up on the spot isn't being a clever fighter.

Having a bunch of guys who were wrapped up in nostalgia wax lyrical about Marciano's defence (which is underrated, but still not actually very good) isn't enough to be called a clever fighter.

The fact Marciano's own trainer said he didn't want to let Rocky out of the gym for long as he'd forget what he was taught should tell you he wasn't a smart fighter.

 

Marciano wasn't. It was said by everyone at the time. His own trainer, news reporters, opponents ect.

Where were these beautifully timed shots? The Walcott KO? I'd hardly say that's the most beautiful/perfect punch I've ever seen at HW. It's a great KO sure, but not some feet of insane ring IQ.

Marciano's style was simple. Go in there, throw 1000s of punches, and have a brawl. He wasn't a sophisticated fighter.

 

RJJ was without doubt much more skilled and much faster all round than Marciano. Jones could pretty much do it all: defence, offence, move around ... you name it. He could do it all ... except take punishment.

And Marciano would punish him. Oh, sure, if it was a 4 or 6 rounder I'd take Jones. But there comes a point in a fight when the reflexes start slowing, the feet drag and that sharpness is gone. Part of that is simple exhaustion, and part of that is what the opponent does to you. I think Marciano would have landed enough on Jones to slow him down by the midpoint. When that moment came, RJJ is doomed. I don't think, all respect to Jones, that he hit hard enough to take out the bigger man. Marciano KO 7-10 is my guess.