please, people, bring some insight or anecdotes that have not been repeated ad nauseum... not even Bert Sugar would find this enlightening.
Your constant referral to Skhor as a "clubfighter" is misleading. Skhor cracked the Ring Magazine top 10 ratings in 1947 for a few months after his win over top contender Tami Mauriello. He also defeated Rusty Payne, who was near the top 10 at the time. He was no world class fighter, but he was a lot better than a clubfighter. I would classify him as a tough 1st teir journeyman.
I would imagine a third fight with Terrell and other possible big fights that may have followed would have improved his standing. Instead he was shot and spent the rest of his career as pretty much a punching bag. It's easy to say that he was "overrated" and only had one good win, but there were reasons as to why he was highly regarded in his time. On film, he looks undeniably talented at his best. He had speed, he could punch, he could box a bit, he didn't have stamina problems, only his chin was somewhat suspect but then only Liston KO'd him or even knocked him down in his prime.
mauriello didnt need to acomplish anything more, he continued winning until that point which proves he retained the world class form that earned him the crack at the title. no decline had set in since tami was unbeaten since his title fight. how was he finished? it apears that way dosnt it, but there was a lot of good fighters around. he still KO'd one "in form" contender just like williams.
The win over Mauriello looked good but on hindsight it only proves that Mauriello was finished as a top level fighter after the Louis fight. Payne also was very beatable as proven by Al Spaulding who beat him numerous times. Anyway, I have nothing against Johnny Shkor but I'm tired of seeing his name pop up in these discussions over and over. He was 6'4, 220 lbs, but he was also mediocre at best and shouldn't be compared to every single big heavyweight that Marciano is put up against in fantasy match-ups.
Mauriello beat a couple of nobodies since the Louis fight and it somehow proves he was still at his best? No it actually proves nothing either way. But him losing to a Johnny Shkor proves that he was finished at top level, considering that Shkor was never truly world class.
When have you ever seen me bring up Johnny Skhor in reference to how Marciano would do against Big World Class heavyweights? I don't. The only heavyweight I bring up when discussing how Marciano would do against big heavyweights is his fight with Joe Louis, who was much bigger and rated # 2 in the world.
Well, I was talking to choklab in the first place. It's not the first time we've argued about Johnny Shkor.
Marciano was too smart to try hooking with Cleve, who would discover like Moore that Rocky wasn't as easy to hit with a hook as he appeared on film, or from ringside. To land it, he'd also be placing himself in range for that overhand right. With the stature and upright stance of Williams, Marciano would be free to tee off over the top with abandon. Sooner or later, he'd connect as needed to facilitate a stoppage, and wouldn't stop coming until he succeeded.
shkor's name deserves to pop up whenever marciano is assessed in fantasy matchups with other superheavyweight contenders who also only beat one real contender themselves. personaly i think shkor was a real handful who gave some of the best heavyweights a run for their money. he was a main event fighter with a local following in boston, not a clubfighter.