Marciano in other eras with out the respectfull champs.

thumbsup

 

I just don't agree with this at all. Boxing isn't bodybuilding. If you put on 30 to 40 pounds to your natural fighting weight, you're going to lose your stamina and speed. Why did Marciano train down to 185? Because that was the best weight for him and he knew it. He would not be a 220 lb mountain of muscle even if he fought now, unless he wanted to be another slow, plodding fighter with no stamina like many others today.

Marciano didn't have great stamina at 210 lbs, he had great stamina after training through hell and being down to 185 pounds.

 

The average American height and weight has steadily increased since the WWII generation. This is believed to be a result of more readily available better nutrition throughout the years. It has been concluded that since just 1960 the average American is over an inch taller and 25 pounds heavier! Not really a surprise the average athletes got bigger too.

With the exception of non-Americans Valdez and Hoff, the bigger American fighters of the 50s just weren't consistent top 10 material either. And despite Valdez being regarded as a big excellent jabber with a dangerous right, he still lost critical bouts to exceptional Light Heavy punchers Johnson and Satterfield. Would the talented but similarly flawed big men of the 80s Witherspoon, Thomas, Coetzee, and Page meet a similar fate to the great small men of the competitve 50s without earning a title shot? Would Moore lure them into bouts and feast on them before they could get a fight with Marciano? Very likely.

In the 80s, Rocky would probably fight less frequently than Holmes but in more meaningful fights against better established contenders. Cobbs, Witherspon, Frazier, and Cooney probably wouldn't even get a shot at him. He would have to face Norton of course, perhaps a rematch, I could see him defending against mabye Weaver who would be the best established contender by that time after taking out Tate and Coetzee, maybe Page, would Mike Spinks have to beat a Pinklon Thomas before getting a go at Rocky? Interesting thought.

 

Well I have not seen an active 15 rd heavyweight fight between 2 heavyweights since Ali/Frazier and a few others after. Even the Tate Weaver fight was a case of not too much fighting until the 15th but Weaver we know was a weight bulilder but was 207 lbs for that fight vs the 232lb Tate.

Heavyweight in the 40's and 50's were trained for stamina and in was ingrained in there mind to go in at a lower weight. Marciano killed himself to make 188lbs. he ran from 7 to 15 miles a day from the start to finish of his training. Rocky had a heavy frame and he was 5"11. With modern ways of muscle gain it is not to hard to add muscle. Mike Tyson went from under 200lbs to 215 when he turned pro and it looked fine on him.

I am not saying we could parachute Marciano from the 50's to today and get him ready in a month nor could we do the same with the fighters from the 80's and expect them to fight 15 rds.

Tomasz Adamek went from 175lbs to 222 in his last fight( I think he should be no more than 205-210...but he put it on with eating...

Marciano was a big eater but its a matter of modern training methods as opposed to the older mentality

Change the championship rounds back to 15 rds and few guys that can acually fight the full 15 at a frantic pace and you will see a lot more seriously trained fighters (Heavyweights) The Wide boys will be reduced to the 4 rd fights and the 15 rd Champions will emerge.

 

I think in any other era, Marciano would still be dangerous and would still hold a belt at some point but he would NOT be dominant. He did have several all-time great attributes despite not being an all-time great boxer talent wise. Along with Joe Frazier, he may be the best conditioned heavyweight ever. He also had one of the better chins ever for his weight class despite his lack of compe.tition. These attritbutes alone would make him a contender , at the least, in any other era and a belt holder(not unified) during the early 60's, Late 70's, Early 80's, and after currently as he was no match for the massive heavyweights of the 90's(Lewis, Bowe, Foreman) .

 

Lewis and bowe would share the fate of buster mathis against frazier and marciano equals fraziers deeds IMO. forman struggled with former light heavy peralta and was decked by lyle with a rock type right. Rock hit harder than lyle and wallcot hit harder than ali and young.

 

some good points

 

Yes its true with one title, you pick your spots and fight the best and with Marciano's style and training,so called easy fights are a pain because Rocky trained his ass off either way but needed a challange...I can see why he fought the number 1 contender 5 out of 6 times..Let them fight it out and fight the winner. Meaninless defences and Split titles delute the domination of a champion. Rocky may have retired on top with less fights or the same. Let us Remember George Foreman got a Padded build up before he fought Frazier....I think Rocky gets his shot earlier and has more defences but unifies the titles and goes out on Top with Al Weil making most of the Money