How Good is Rocky Marciano’s Resume Actually?

All heavyweight champions built their record fighting low level talent.

LaStarza was a well known amateur star in New York winning one amateur tournament after another. As a professional he became a top five heavyweight contender for 3-4 years during the early to mid 50’s.

Thus LaStarza was a very well known and respected commodity in the hub of boxing in those days, New York, both as an amateur and a professional.

 

LaStarza lost to Cockell enough said.
Rocky’s my 2nd favorite of all time but I’m not delusional. He’d struggle to be a sparring partner for Usyk Lennox Lewis or Fury.

 

Cockell won ten consecutive bouts to climb to number 2 heavyweight contender to get his title shot vs Marciano. He defeated a number of the top heavyweights of the time, including Roland LaStarza, Harry Mathews (three times), Tommy Farr, Freddie Beshore, Johnny Author, Jonny Williams and Uber Bacilieri. As a Light Heavyweight he defeated top contenders such as Nick Barone, Albert Yvel, Lloyd Marshall and Albert Finch. Cockell won regional titles in both weight divisions.

Cockell is not a fighter that should be derided.

 

Tommy Farr? That’s like saying he beat Jim Braddock. It was a weak division and the couple good fighters he fought stopped him.

 

LaStaraza was a hypejob fighting nobodies who got the best of Marciano the first time out and then waited 4 years fighting more nobodies (tho losing to Bucherroni and Rocky Jones), squeaking out a decision against a shot Layne and then collecting his fee upon the return with Marciano. Without the association to Marciano he was a non-entity.

 

Cockell was ranked #3 by the NBA. He was an unattractive, but good fighter.

 

Untrue. He was a boxing star in NY. Very well known through the amateur ranks and then as a professional. In those days NY was the hub of pro boxing. If you were well known in NY you were well known everywhere.

 

Earnie Shavers lost to the likes of Ron Stander and Bob Stallings I very much doubt he goes 49-0.

Ron Lyle didn't win a single round vs Quarry, Young, over 34 rounds in 3 fights. He's not beating tricky elite skillful fighters like Walcott or Charles.

Jimmy Young had a 3 year window where he was very good. Outside of that he was an up and down fighter who was losing a fight every other year again very unrealistic he goes 49-0.

I think your estimations are way off or you're overrating some of those fighters.

 

But he wasn't any good. He was featherfisted and protected. Contemporary writers referred to him as "limited" and "bereft of talent".

 

Many held LaStarza in high praise. He was an amateur star in the toughest environment in the nation and a top 5 heavyweight contender for 3 years as a professional.

 

LaStarza was the #2 ranked NBA fighter and had respectable wins over Layne, Bucceroni, and Brion. There isn't any question about who he was.

 

Layne, Bucceroni, and Brion would all be KOd by Quarry or Bonavena.

 

That is your speculation, and you are welcome to it. Fighters are judged by what they accomplish IN THEIR era, as anything else is speculation. I think its pretty obvious that Braddock and Galento would be KOd pretty easily by guys in the 70s you've never heard of...it doesn't mean that Louis is less because they gave him good scraps.

 

Layne was shot. He never beat another fighter of note. He beat only one winning fighter after Lastarza going 11-11 to the finish line of his career. He was a name only. And he wasn't that much to begin with.

As far as hype job Brion..."Two young heavyweight hopes, Roland Lastarza and Cesar Brion, nearly filled the Garden, but fans who had hoped to see the next champ in action were disappointed by their ineptness." New Orleans Times Picayune

I think Joe Williams put it best in the NYT.... "Roland Lastarza of the Bronx is a nice, earnest young man went as far as he could with what little he had."

 

Layne was about 8 months off the win against Charles. We've gone on and on about the legitimacy of it, but it was clearly a fight in which Layne pushed the action throughout the fight and got the win in Dempsey's eyes.

Brion was a ranked fighter who had good wins on his record.

The endless reductionism doesn't work.