Larry Holmes Circa 2002 Versus Rocky Marciano Circa 1951

No.

 

Then Shavers. Reading comprehension is important and done better when you put the pipe down. Was a response to a response in regards to Holmes struggles w a B fighter in Shavers

also Rocky’s defense was better than Holmes. This is backed up by Compubox. He certainly didn’t have Holmes range of punches though

 

Ernie Shavers had a foot more reach than Marciano. A foot. That means he could punch at long range and close range, which combined with his use of right hands, uppercuts and hooks, means he had a variety of weapons at a variety of ranges. Not merely when nose to nose with his opponent.

Ooohhh, backed up by Compubox? And I take it that comparing their stats is apples to apples when Holmes was fighting fit and prime specimens like Norton, Witherspoon, Cooney, Bonecrusher and Berbick and Marciano was beating his way through the Geriatrics Ward.

 

Norton was well out of prime. Cooney was another b fighter as well as Witherspoon who was a b+ on good days.

Rocky’s whole style was built on fighting bigger men the reach isn’t a factor in any fight because he controlled the distance and tempo. Shavers wasn’t adept at utilizing his best skill because he didn’t have much of a style and he didn’t impose his will on others. His extra foot in reach didn’t help in his career because he didn’t know how to use it.

 

Gerry Cooney was 26 years old when Larry met him, 6-6 with an 81" reach and could actually box, inside and out.

Tim Witherspoon was 25 years old when Larry met him, 6-4 with a 79" reach and could really, really box.

Ezz Charles had devolved into a .500 fighter, an ex-lightheavy great. Walcott was a perennial journeyman who lost every third time he stepped through the ropes. Joe Louis walked like an octogenarian by the time the IRS forced him to face Marciano. Archie Moore, a 40 year old lightheavy, was Bernard Hopkins with a shaky mandible.

And who has successfully copied that style in the era of real sized heavies? Did he also use his lack of speed to conquer speedier heavies? Did he use his lack of balance to conquer more coordinated heavies?

 

Perhaps a pick em. I stand by the fact that Kenny Keene was the closest thing the modern age has seen to a Marciano.

 

Who has copied Frazier? Any Tyson impersonators? Greats are great for a reason and often can’t be completely replicated. You have people that take bits and pieces. Tua and Qawi took a lot from Marciano. If Tua wasn’t so fat he would have been able to replicate the whole package.

Insulting Walcott, Charles and Archie Moore while hyping up Cooney and Witherspoon…wow lol

left off the solid contender prime Rex Layne I noticed too. Does t fit the narrative even with his slow twitch.

 

What?

 

Tua and Qawi were balanced, had quicks and both were excellent boxers. And both, especially Tua, were stronger than Rocky.

And remind me again, what exactly did Qawi, as above illustrated a better version of Marciano, do at heavyweight?

 

It’s called steroids. Nothing magical there. Marciano was not slow.
They all had a few attributes the others didn’t have. Marciano was far more willing to take one to land one then either. He had better stamina than both. More power than Qawi and better defense than Tua. He also adapted far better than Tua using multiple techniques to close the gap and cut off the ring. Also was a better inside fighter than Tua. Boxing is a science

 

Of course