Marciano in other eras with out the respectfull champs.

Good luck Great A. Just be warned, you are walking on sacred ground.

 

I'm just doing my part to get this thread going, if it will. :good

It's a legit question though.

Holmes's best title opponents:

Ken Norton 6'3, 80" reach, weighed 220 lbs
Gerry Cooney 6'6, 81" reach, weighed 225 lbs
Tim Witherspoon 6'3½, 78" reach, weighed 220 lbs

Marciano's best title opponents:

Jersey Joe Walcott 6'0, 74" reach, weighed 196 lbs
Ezzard Charles 6'0, 73" reach, weighed 185 lbs
Archie Moore 5'11, 75" reach, weighed 188 lbs

Would size matter in this case?

 

well it is funny that the 6"3 220lb Norton was KO'd in 1 rd by the 6" Earnie Shavers and the 188lb Jose Louis Garcia in 8

I remember Witherspoon a few year after he lost the title losing to 5"11 pudgy Everett Martin

and I saw Cooney get KO'd by Light heavy move-up Michael Spinks in 5

and none of those men were in the class of Walcott, Moore or Charles IMO

 

I think Marciano beats most if not all Holmes comp. Cooney could be dangerous. Not worried about Witherspoon for some reason. Nor do I think Bonecrusher would. Holmes comp is really stellar but they are bigger.

 

Which of the four do you think were in their primes?

 

A lot of fighters were KO'd by Shavers. He was a 210 lb man with a terrible punch. The Garcia fight was an inexperienced Norton.

A 35 year old disinterested Witherspoon lost a SD to journeyman Martin but we're talking about a 25 year old peak shape Witherspoon here.

Cooney was a shell of himself at the time he fought Spinks.

What I'm trying to say is that I find it very possible that Marciano would have trouble fighting bigger, if not as great opponents over and over. I'm not sure if he could go 49-0 in the late 70's/early 80's. These are fighters who have as much as 40 pounds on him and a lot in height and reach. Could he consistently overcome those advantages? I'm not too sure.

 

Nutrition came along way since the 50s when Rocky prepared for fights by gobbling steaks and baked potatoes once a day. Maybe Marciano could get Mackie Shilstone to add 20+ lbs of musicle on him like he did Spinks with little ill effects. Rocky would most likely be weighing in over 195 anyway since that was the limit by 81. Ripped and lean at 187 there is no way he's making Light Heavy unless he cuts off his head and the new Cruiser division much like today was a wasteland nobody wanted a part of.

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185+

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175+


I would be more worried for Rocky if his style depended on jabbing fighters with a superior reach or throwing them around with a significant weight advantage.

Even the tallest broad shouldered fighters of the 50s were coming in lighter than the 80s division average. Heavier fighters didn't just magically fall out of the sky at the end of the century, there are variables that should be considered if you want to dwell on size even if they are only theoretical. Would these average for their era 180ish fighters be coming in around 200 in an overall heavier era? I honestly wouldn't doubt it.



Sorry Nino, you'd be a small heavyweight by modern standards, you'll have to fight "natural" cruisers like David Haye to be competitive.

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Don't forget that Marciano was weighing 179-181 pounds when he was 26 years old. 5 pounds from that along with a 10 lb weight gain after the weigh-ins and I don't see why he couldn't make 175, atleast for the beginning of his career. Gerald McClellan was in shape at 190 pounds and he was able to make 160.

Spinks had a 6'3 frame. I don't think it's going to be as easy to add weight on Marciano who was a stocky, solid 5'10, 180-190 pounds.

Did Marciano ever fight a jabber with significant advantages in height and reach? His management worried about Valdes causing a cut on him.

 

I don't think we have any proof that Marciano would deal well with that style because he never fought anyone like that. You don't think that a long jab could possibly cut him up or that fighting much bigger opponents throughout his career could wear him down before getting up to 49-0?

 

I'm not necessarily talking about Michael Spinks though. I'm talking about a natural 6'3, 210+ lb, 80" reach man which is what Marciano would be facing over and over again if he fought in the 1980's.