Is part of Rocky Marciano's legacy related to the fact he was the last prominent white american HW ?

I think it had to do with Rocky Marciano retiring as the only undisputed World Heavyweight Champion, 49-0, 43 KO'S, many wish that their favorites had accomplished that feat.

 

I can’t say that nobody thought like that, but it was the undefeated record and retiring with the title that cemented his legacy.

I’m sure he was a massive hero to Italian-Americans (and Italian-Italians for that matter) but I really don’t think race was a big factor in how his legacy has been perceived apart maybe from that ethnic pride associated with his Italian heritage.

 

I don't know about the movie you mention... but it is well documented that italians like Marciano were not viewed as white, so hardly that was a factor. Maybe today it is, I don't know.

It may sound silly today but it was the reality, back then, even here in my country, italians were not considered whites, not that long ago. We (Im of italian descent) were considered a 'mixed ethnicity' (which is kinda true btw, sicilian, napolitans and calabrians especially are a mix between greeks and arabs).
So, no, no white man from Oklahoma was seeing Rocky as "one of his own"... at least not back then.

 

If we had a black Rocky Marciano and he retire at 49-0, people would say he was Jack Johnson, Joe Louis or Ali great with no argument.

 

I think the skin color aspect of Marciano was more prevalent in the 1960s and 1970s. My dad and others would mention his being white occasionally. As time has gone on and more and more white men have become world champion, Marciano gets mentioned almost exclusively for his record and rarely for being white,

 

USA in general has been doing poorly in the HW category since the 90s (either white or black boxers). The rest of the world has "taken control" of HW. The US was dominant from before Joe Louis, until Evander Holyfield. In the meantime, there were some non-American HW champions, such Johansson, but none of them lasted long until the Klitschko brothers.
In that HW dominance of the USA, Marciano was an anomaly, because he was white, and retired undefeated.

 

Imo a shade has nothing to do with it. Rock set the bar of what a true fighter is and theres no taking away from that.

 

I don't think it has anything to do with color personally.

 

Definitely could appeal to some, but the grit, chin, 49-0, and Suzie Q were much more of a reason. That, and he started his reign with one of the greatest knockouts of all time.

 

I agree. It's the record, the names he beat, his reign, how dramatic his fights were, oh and he fought at heavyweight. 90% of this forum is absolutely obsessed with heavyweights, and couldn't tell you a damn thing about any other division. Pathetic really.

 

I'll go with the flow and say it's the record and how he accomplished it.

Let's do a mind experiment: imagine Mike Tyson had his same record but instead of being known for his KOs he was known for jabbing and grabbing his opponents. For spoiling, outpointing and flim-flamming his way along the judges scorecards. Tyson would absolutely not be lionized the way he was, and is, even to this day.

 

These are "boxing connoisseurs" who (like me) don't know enough about other divisions. I don't know enough about the HW division either.

 

Really? So all other great champions weren’t true fighters. Also do you really think if for example a black fighter went whatever and 0 most boxing people wouldn’t desperately trie to find some sort of fault in that record. As stated Rocky is ATG. But he’s not the best and there are plenty of other fighters who would have beaten him. That also includes cruiserweight.