Marciano's Thoughts on Sonny Liston

He grant, I was in the Garden for the Shavers/ Ellis fight, I had Ringside seats but I was also back again to see Quarry/Shavers a few months later. Ellis was at the end of the line and after hurting Earnie went in and got caught. I never said Earnie could not hit. The fact is the Norton Ko was his best...He did drop Mercado,Holmes,Lyle and Hurt Cobb and Stander but they all went on to KO Shavers. This was Earnies next fight at the Garden I was sitting ringside. I also saw Shavers/Ali live. Earnie did have a 3rd rd KO over 7-3 Jimmy Young but they fought to a draw (most felt Young won) in the rematch.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEpVPBH12Ik[/ame]

 

Like I said, Shavers rushed in, got careless and got taken out by an outstanding, iron chinned counter puncher ... Shavers was a killer hitter ...

 

Janitor, what other common opponents gave Rocky the nod? I've only read Walcott ... keep in mind they must have fought an older Louis as well .. the shots that creamed Carnera, M. Baer and gang were brutal ... the right hand that flattened Uzcuden is supposed to be an all time great shot but have not been able to see it ... I read it was a beauty ...

 

The power was still there, it was the delivery that was slipping. Louis showed he got still deliver some very hard shots considering the chopping punches he took Walcott out with in the rematch.

 

While I can appreciate Marciano's grit and determination, the fact of the matter is - the man quite simply had no clue about the art of boxing. He was fortunate to have come along when he did to compete in the weakest of HW eras. The man [and his 49-0 record] is WAY overrated.

 

No clue? He knew a lot about the art of boxing.
He was not some oaf that had power. He had a highly underated defense.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b0yHvw-vW0[/ame]

 

Louis was never the same puncher post initial retirement. Look at his record of bouts, the lack of both KO's and knockdowns. Any comparison by opponents is pitting a prime Rocky v.s. a watered down Louis ..

 

This is some great footage of Rocky Marciano. I always thought that he would never be able to handle Sonny Liston in the ring. After watching this I don't know if Liston could handle Marciano or not. There was a whole lot more defensive skills there than most people would give him credit for. Those along with the punching power would prove a tough combination for Liston to overcome. It would take someone IMO who was alot quicker than Liston to beat Rocky Marciano.

 

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVvVkVsOqk0&feature=related[/ame]

Look at 7:12 mark ... see his face post Walcott 1 ... no one said he got hit very time but let's not confuse him with Jack JOhnson yet ...

 

Great clip, It shows that Charlie Goldman taught Rocky much about the art of Boxing,,,It had to be tailored to his body type and style but Rocky had some very subtle defencive manuvers....This was no Crude Caveman...His defence and offence and Rhytym breaking style were well thought out and designed

 

Marciano said that he would beat Liston by taking away the Jab and that he knew how to avoid it...Liston never faced a puncher of Marciano's magnatude and the stamina and relentless aggression would be a problem as the fight went on.

 

That's because he was slower and couldn't land the same types of shots anymore. The power itself was still there. Joe Louis's delivery and accuracy is what made him such a fearsome puncher, more so than his raw power, which he obviously had plenty of. Joe wasn't hitting people with shots they didn't see comming anymore, and he wasn't hitting them in the vital areas anymore. These factors will lead to less KO's when you're the type of knockout artist that Joe Louis was.

 

He obviously wasn't a defencive great, but it was very hard to whack him hard and clean with more than 2 punches in a row. Hitting someone clean and hitting them and 2 different things.

 

Well i'd like to see Jack Johnson fight Walcott. He never faced someone with his modern skills and his combination of counting ability and sneaky right hand power... you could argue Langford, but he didn't even make the middleweight limit when they squared off. Whether he beats Walcott or not, he's going to ship some hard punches, just like Marciano and every of his opponents did.


I like that defensive highlight by the way. :yep

 

Jeannette was at least as quick, tricky and hard hitting as Walcott ... much better chin and stamina as well ...