The Quality of Marciano's Opponents

Frazier and Holmes would get hit plenty if they fought Rockys competition and wouldn't look impressive in numerous fights even if one would expect them to win every one. I wouldn't expect either to blow out Charles, Moore, or Walcott even if they won. What are you suggesting that they kayo everyone early or sweep every fight 12-0 because I don't see it.

 

Prime Larry Holmes would make a mockery of Rocky's opponents surely. None of them had ever seen a heavyweight with those dimensions, speed, and ability to put punches together. Holmes was also as tough as they come and would have fit in just fine in any era.

Frazier would stop them, too. Frazier loved rolling downhill when he had a size advantage or an evenly sized matchup. You had to be able to withstand his physicality, who in that group could do that? Is there an Ali there, a Foreman?

 

An ancient Foreman became champ in Tyson's era. A version that was losing to Tommy Morrison and Axel Schulz (who would have been lineal champ had he gotten the decision). You don't think that reflects poorly on the era? Seriously?

 

You are pretending Rocky's opponents were in better condition than Tyson/Holmes' opponents even though Rocky's opponents were older and more worn out on average. You do this in every thread instead of admitting the obvious.

Now do the rest of Tyson's opponents. Was Spinx a shopworn old man dug out of retirement? Berbick? Bruno? Ruddock? Yeah, I didn't think so. Name all of the young, prime, athletic fighters Rocky beat...?

 

What value is there in saying Archie Moore was shopworn? Did you read the title of this thread? We are evaluating the quality of Rocky's opponents. If the majority of his best opponents were all shopworn, the overall quality of his resume goes down.

And no, it isn't my opinion. Either a guy is in his athletic prime or he isn't. Walcott being 38 and having over 70 fights (including 20 losses) is shopworn as ****, especially given that he immediately retired after losing to Rocky despite having just won the title. If he really thought he had anything left, he'd have continued.

If you were a boxer able to organize your own career in advance, and you cared about proving you have the best resume, would you want a bunch of prime, athletic 25 year old contenders, or a bunch of 38 year old veterans with poor health who had been KOd 6x...?

 

If you honestly think prime Frazier and Holmes get hit as much as Rocky against the same opponents, then I'm not going to lose anymore brain cells responding to you.

 

It was a 4 belt era and Foreman didn't beat Tyson for the title. He beat Moorer who just barely managed to beat a sick Holyfield. If Foreman was on a rampage knocking out Tyson, Lewis, Bowe, etc, it would make them look bad. And that's basically what happened in Rocky's era. You had a bunch of old guys even more shopworn than Foreman knocking out all the young contenders, and then Rocky went life and death struggling with those old guys.

 

I thought the argument was that they would dominate Rockys competition, if we are merely talking about punch stats than sure someone like Holmes has the potential to get hit less.

 

They cherry pick the “worn” names to and leave off the prime guys like Layne who beat the would be champ Walcott and Satterfield. Or Matthews who beat a whole host of guys some good some mediocre. Or Lastarza. It’s always the guys who were a little older even though they were winning before they Met. Archie continues to successfully fight for like seven years after lol but he had no legs at all and must have sucked

 

It was 24% was a misquote. But that still blew away Holmes numbers. Also Holmes fought much worse competition so that’s saying something

 

Walcott, Moore and Charles were so shop worn that I can’t think of a single guy Tyson or Holmes beat in title fights who would have beat either of them.

Walcott, Charles and Moore go undefeated against anyone Tyson and Holmes beat in title fights. Can you see Walcott lose to Tysons Tony Tubbs or Larrys Zannon?

 

So what you are saying here is you think, even Though Charles looked fantastic recently blasting out Satterfield and Wallace, that Tony Tubbs, who’s trainer walked out on him in the week of the Tyson fight for being in no shape to fight, would have been far too much for Ezzard?

 

U know what the ironic thing here is Marciano’s opponents average age was lower than both Tyson’s and Holmes…they can’t live to their own critics no fighter can.

 

He was 38…and the average age of Rocky’s opponents was younger then that of Holmes and Tyson were all their opponents shop worn? Ali’s were older r all his opponents shop worn all of a sudden? Y the double standards. All fighters fight old and young

 

And Tyson and Larry challengers beat less good opponents who were relevant at that time. It makes them less proven.. The guys their challengers fought were certainly not all operating at world level. These challengers were not climbing the ranks, paying their dues so much as the earlier challengers had.