Would Roy the heavyweight be too fast for marciano or would Rocky suffocate Roy with pressure? Rocky was not much bigger than Roy the light heavy so Roy has a great chance
Rocco was a 200ish lb man boiling down to 185 - 188. Roy was what, probably a natural 168 - 175 ish lb fighter who arguably roided up to 190lbs ish. Roy is going to make Rocco look stuck in mud and silly for 90 - 95% of the fight. What Rocco does will be subtle but very telling. He will lean and crouch away from the jab, which is fine as Roy will throw lead hooks and straight rights. He will catch Rocco and possibly flash KD. What Rocco will do that is all wrong for Roy, he will punch with him, at him and through him. The arms, the body and the hips and a RJJ who pulls back in straight lines, closes their eyes and turns their head to brace for impact, it's a matter of time before Rocco drowns him and leaves him in a puddle of his own drool. RJJ is one of my favourite fighters but I don't think he would a) take the fight in the first place and b) if he did, there's a difference between eating the punch of a weight compromised Toney and the punch of a primed Rocco. Roy's chin does a lot better here than he gets credit for but Rocco is leagues ahead in power and durability and he will land.
RJJ will make Marciano look silly for a large part of the fight until the cumulative incidental damage and pace of the fight slowed him down. Then Roy would take a nice victory nap in the ring and count the stars. RJJ might be able to pull it off in an 8 rounder. I feel his chances go down the tubes the longer it goes on.
I think it looks similar to the Chavez/Taylor fight. The speedy guy looks superb in the early rounds landing razor sharp combinations firing on all cylinders. Then the pressure fighter slowly picks him apart gaining momentum before stopping the faster guy late. Rocky would be pretty worn out but gets the job done with his relentless grinding and toughness. Can't favor a natural 175 guy who lacks durability over Rocky.
Marciano KO in 9-12. If Roy didn't wanna fight a poor man's Marciano in Jirov, he DEFINITELY wouldn't want the real deal. Roy has success early, as he's much faster (of hand & foot) - possibly scoring a flash KD in the process. Marciano recovers quickly, regroups & becomes more relentless as the rounds going on. As he gets stronger, Roy gets weaker & slower due to all the body, hip, arm & shoulder shots he'll be taking round after round. He gets pinned against the ropes & caught with a SIZZLING "Suzie Q" that drops him like a sack of potatoes. He's out. The ref could count to 100 & he STILL wouldn't beat the count. Marciano is the victor with another CLASSIC Come-From-Behind-Victory.
This fight only ends in one of two ways: UD by RJJ, or KO by Rocky. I think the likely outcome is RJJ making Rocky look terrible until RJJ tires late on the fight and gets caught.
I can definitely see Roy dropping Rocky early and maybe building a lead on the cards, but the longer this goes, the worse it gets for Roy. That's alot of punishment to take in there. I don't think Roy had the durability to last against someone who literally never stops coming... Like a horror movie bad guy, just never stops pursuing you until he kills you. At some point, Roy wilts. Or gets knocked into another dimension.
A whitewash. Roy wins every round over 12. Roy wins every round over 15. No bullrush stumpy slugger ever gave a prime Roy any trouble. He would play a full 48 minutes at point guard later that night.
I don’t see Roy doing well here. He may look good for a round but if he doesn’t tie up Rocky he’s gonna get clobbered and early. Not sure I know of any examples of him tying people up. Marciano was to good at applying pressure. Harry Matthews was very similar to Roy Jones in style if not a little less athletic. Matthews did have a decent right and foot speed and same style as Roy. Both of their power did not carry over to the heavier weights. Rocky wouldn’t be scared and probably finishes him within 7.
I rank Greb, Langford and Robinson as 1, 2, 3. This is just a bad match-up. I think Marciano beats bigger, more sedentary guys than Jones.