1949 article claiming Lowry took a dive against Marciano

Marciano has definitely been overrated by his biggest boosters. That said, I love Marciano but I recognize his weaknesses and many flaws.

Undefeated? Yes, but 31 of his first 35 fights were against 3rd and 4th raters. Lee Canalito retired undefeated and it means NOTHING because he fought absolute setups.

In the minus column, Marciano was too light, short, and alligator-armed to deal physically with the comparative giants from Liston on. He’d had to have plunged in face first to reach a lot of the modern fighters. He missed about 3/4 of his punches and got marked up pretty easily.

In the plus column were his unmatched conditioning, courage and durability. He was always the better conditioned fighter; he had to be because he was so limited in skill. He also demonstrated true one-punch KO power several times and his relentlessness put far more skilled fighters off their game. Many opponents started strong against him and ended up being drawn into a brawl, fighting Marciano’s fight.

But when I watch the Savold, Cockell and Moore fights I see a guy missing 3/4 of his punches against relatively stationary targets. I also see a guy who never got discouraged and kept punching until he got the job done.

I love overachievers. Marciano was the biggest overachiever in boxing history, right up there with Joe Frazier. But to call him the greatest heavyweight ever is, to me, a fantasy.

 

Why did Canalito retire or at least fight a name?

 

Ted Lowry's pro career consisted of 75 wins with 68 losses and 10 draws according to boxrec. He won less than half his total pro fights. Rocky's career was 49 wins with 0 losses and 0 draws. Sorry Mr. Thomas and Mr. Sullivan but I'm not buying that Rocky needed Ted in the tank in order to win.

 

Exactly. The Marciano hate/jealousy is quite palpable. Lowry got to fight Marciano TWICE and couldn't win either time. Starting a fight well, and then getting fatigued or worn down happens. Marciano did it to a lot of guys. Not a surprise. He was no great amateur. He had a pro style perfect for the long haul. Lowry was one of those guys with ability, who could shine in certain rounds, but was too inconsistent; hence the number of losses. You put a guy like that in with a relentless heavy hitter with conditioning, it's not a shock when the judges give the latter more rounds.

 

As for Marciano's competition:
https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/the-quality-of-marcianos-opponents.719428/

As for his size, all competition between eras is speculation. Marciano beat what was in front of him, and that is because 6'3" guys like Valdes, Bucceroni, Ten Hoff, and Baker couldn't get in pole position to fight him. He bossed HIS era, and that is why he was great.

 

Is this like Liston taking a dive against Ali?