Rocky said he had 2-3 fights left in him when he retired. By 1961 Rocky is 38 years old! Possible matches with Tommy (Hurricane) Jackson, Floyd Patterson, or Roy Harris could have been made in 1956 and 1957. Beating Patterson would have boosted Marciano's legacy, and possibly taken a bit away from Liston's.
All depends on how Floyd's career panned out following that loss. If Marciano gave him a good beat down, it might have changed the trajectory of his whole career and sending him down the path of obscurity, which means he'd be remembered as another Roy Harris. Then again he might have benefitted from the experience and been better..
He would have knocked out Patterson in 56. The young fragile Patterson would have tasted power he never felt before and gone into a shell. I agree tho, by 58 Marciano would have been cooked and ripe for the taking
I am inclined to think that Patterson would always have been something. His sheer longevity as a contender alone could have made him a standout.
Patterson humiliates rocky in 1956 and he realises that his time is over so listón would not have to destroy him
I think that he would have got a short term stay of execution, simply because the available opposition would have got weaker. The lack of a strong potential opponent, was a significant part of his reason for retiring. 1955 Rocky Marciano, Champion Archie Moore This content is protected This content is protected John Holman This content is protected Nino Valdes Johnny Summerlin Bob Satterfield Young Jack Johnson Ezzard Charles 1956 Floyd Patterson, Champion This content is protected Archie Moore Harold Carter This content is protected Eddie Machen Bob Satterfield Ingemar Johansson Bob Baker Zora Folley Wayne Bethea
True. Liston would always have been wrong for Rocky so at 37 it would have been a ridiculous match for him. Marciano was one of the wise ones knowing the absolute right moment to go. He would have beaten Floyd had they fought in 1956.
Marciano's management was way too smart not to allow him not retire undefeated. None of the above scenarios would have happened, with the possible exception of a Patterson defense. Does anyone honestly think Weil and Goldman would allow a 37 year old Rocky with a bad back and scar tissue to get in the ring with Liston? Rocky himself was too smart. Give those guys some credit. They managed him brilliantly.
That is why he will never be considered for greatest of all time, I'm a fan of Marciano but seems like people like putting him on this pedestal. They seem to forget the destruction Joe Louis was causing just a few years earlier. A few losses can sometimes just make a legacy all that much sweeter. IMO a Prime Joe Louis, Ali and Tyson all beat Marciano.
Except that he has been considered for just that. Different fighters become popular in different eras, and Marciano seems to be on the outs right now. Who knows how his legacy will be re-defined in the next generation. Right now Holmes and Liston are wildly popular beyond anything that they actually accomplished in the ring. Both went through phases when they were considered not great or barely great fighters. It is the zero. He earned his place on that pedestal. I don't see a single poster who has forgotten that. He has his own pedestal. Joe Louis had his jaw broken and was stopped in his physical prime. This makes his legacy sweeter? Because he got the revenge? I guess I see the logic but do not agree with it. The argument can be made, but can be made the other way too. Some might say that Marciano would never had struggled with tub of lard like Galento or got knocked out by Schmeling. They both have remarkable legacies, Marciano for the zero, Louis for the 25 defenses (27, by my estimation, by the way). I would think Ali easily, but again, it is problematic. For one thing, Ali himself said that Marciano was better than Joe Frazier and would have been a tougher fight. Maybe that was the Greatest being gracious. Maybe it was a back-door insult of Frazier. One thing is clear: Ali thought an awful lot of Marciano. Some might try to say that no 185 pound man could beat Ali...except that Angelo Dundee has admitted that they had to cheat with the split glove to prevent Hank Cooper from kncoking Ali out. So again, no pedestal. This is all persepctive, and Marciano has earned the consideration he gets. I would almost think it goes without saying that prime Tyson would have crushed him, as the Rock would not even be a heavy today, but a crusier. In fact, I think quite a few bums from this era could beat Marciano. But Tyson does not have the ephemeral quality of "greatness" to be mentioned in the same breath. He lost the most important fights of his career. I would think Corrie Sanders or Tony Tucker could probably beat Marciano. Does that make them more important to history? Fighters are properly judged in their own era.