Prime Joe Louis Beats Rocky Marciano --- Convince Me

I was trying to make the correction ,without being smug.
we both know who the BBB of C is and the BBC for that matter .

 

I'll tell you Maxim was an iron chinned cutie I'd have liked to see Marciano fight more than Louis ... He could not have hurt Rocky if his life depended on it but he might have made an interesting style match up based on boxing ability, speed and durability ...

 

Correct. The division in those days lacked talent. You'd see guys like Savold as the #2 contender. While this era of heavyweight boxing isn't the best, you would never see a Savold, or a Galento ranked as the #2 man.

 

Agreed however Galento was younger and on a career roll going into his shot at Louis while Savold was clearly at the end of the road ... in addition, Louis dominated from 36 - 48 (obviously excluding the war years) and that covered a ton (no pun) of territory so if Galento was selected strategically to make multiple points it is not a dead on analogy ..

 

The 50's certainly was not a golden age for heavyweights ,but neither is today.
When the current Ring ratings have a 37 year old man at no 10 and a 36 year old one at no 8,with a 37 year old Champ and a brother who is 33 holding the other version, there is no justification for complacency.
Add to that the rest of the ten are untried East Europeans or a novice at the weight Cruiser, things are pretty dire ,once you get past the top 2.

 

Hopefully it's the calm before the storm. I'm beginning to wonder though...

 

I meant that Louis may have been even with Marciano after 6 rounds. Seemed like both of them had won three rounds at that point.

Here are the official scorecards at the time of the stoppage:

Ruby Goldstein 4-2, Joe Agnello 5-2, Harold Barnes 4-3

So Joe must have been 3-3, 2-4 and 2-3-1 after the first six rounds.

 

Louis did knock down Mauriello with an impressive left hook but that was 5 years earlier.

Savold was beaten down, the pictures show that his face was a mess at the end of the fight. Louis first caught him with a hard right and then finished him off with a big left hook.

Louis was not shot but he needed someone like Savold in front of him to look good at that point of his career.

 

Murray Warner Computer Tournament

Louis-Fitzsimmons post fight interviews
(plugging the Marciano-Baer contest)

Comments begin at 1:03:15 (as found on the
Ali-Marciano Superfight dvd extras:
Aidio Fights -- Marciano/Baer)
http://www.amazon.com/Superfight-Marciano-vs-Ali/dp/B000A7DVO0

Interviewer: Joe, what about a fight between Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano?

Joe Louis: Well, I could say that very easily. Marciano beat me . . .

Interviewer (interupts): Oh, yeah, now that wasn't when you were at your best. I'm talking about when you were at your best, twenty-eight years old.

Joe Louis: Oh, I don't know. Marciano's the type of fighter I think is good enough and strong enough and takes a good enough punch to fight anybody.
I don't think that no one, (unclear word) either Dempsey or me, could say "I could beat Marciano".
I think the fight could be . . . It's close, it'd have to be a close fight, because he's too strong, and he could take a good punch, and he just . . . you just can't say that I could beat him.
I'd like to say that I'd fight him, alright, but who would win, I wouldn't know; but I'd like the pay for the fight -- I think it would draw money, though.

-------

I suspect Louis's 'could' -- "you just can't say that I could beat him" -- should be understood as meaning 'would'. His statement "I'd like to say that I'd fight him, alright, but who would win, I wouldn't know" strikes me as supporting such an interpretation; unless Louis meant "I'd like to say (but I can't)" -- which I think is a less likely interpretation, though not impossible.

 

Louis seemed to tiptoe around the issue. It's interesting and all, but I'm not sure how much stock one can place in what fighters say sometimes.

 

How weak could it be when you had fading but dangerous greats like Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott.....Followed by Young Prime Studs like Harold Johnson, Clarence Henry, Bob Baker, Nino Valdez, Rex Layne, Roland Lastarza.

 

I dont know why people write off Lee Savold. he has one hell of a resume, and if you watch him on film vs Louis, you could see he had very competent boxing skills. One poster here called bruce woodcock "limited", but savolds 4th round stoppage deserves all the credit in the world. Woocock was a top ranking contender who was considered a serious opponent for both joe louis then ezzard charles crown. I have seen Woodcock on film. he is big strong and had a whale of a right hand.

 

Speedwise: Maxim was not fast. he would have been there to be hit by the rock. His Iron chin would have been penetrated by rocky's ATG heavyweight power.

I think harold johnson is a much tougher matchup for Rocky. Johnson was faster crisper and had much better combinations and jab than maxim.

 

I called Woodcock limited ,and I think he was, he was European level imo.
Joe Baksi dropped him 5 times in 7 rds before the referee rescued him ,slow Jack Gardner kod him
Woodcock" big and strong "? A shade over 6 feet and around 190lbs prime.
Ive been in his pub ,he wasnt very big ,certainly not by todays standards. Bruce had a decent right but is best known for landing it on Freddie Mills to Uk fight fans.

 

Wocock was something of a terror at British level and many of the top level commonwealth grade fighters were genuinely afraid to face him. He was having trouble finding oponents in Britain.

More was expected of him when he stepped up to world level.