Why didn't Lastarza fight; Valdes Moore Baker Walls Neuhaus Gardner Williams Baksi Charles Walcott Sys Oma Jackson Harrison Satterfield Holman Slade Wallace Henry ??????
Because he had an excellent manager. Reminds me of a modern fighters resume when he got up there . Just one or two good strategic wins to get ranked never fight a real threat till u get a title shot. Today’s recipe. Manager was ahead of his time
Because he was the Canelo-Mayweather of his time. Or because he understood his limitations. And yes, we know that he fought Marciano. Twice. First one was a split decision which many though he had won. Are these facts what this thread is about?
Yes, he was resting on his laurels as the fighter who had lost a split-decision to Marciano. No one else could claim that at the time. Until then he had pretty much treaded water. He won a close decision against Layne, but split a couple with Buonvino and Rocky Jones, none of whom would have been a top contender in most other eras. He certainly didn't prove himself as dominant over other contenders. Another very important factor, usually overlooked when discussions occur about fights in New York, is that he was a New York homeboy with a long history of both amateur and pro fights extending back to 1944. So he was a draw in NY, an extremely important factor to consider in the era when the live gate was virtually the only source of revenue for a major title fight. Other fighters who benefited from this phenomenon were Joey Archer, Johnny Persol, Doug Jones, Ruben Carter (from across the New Jersey border), Lou Ambers, Melio Bettina, etc., etc. These are off the top of my head. Some were good fighters, but they all had an edge because they were local boys.
They are about Lastarza being a protected fighter and a very astutely managed one.His manager turned down several offers of good money to fight some of these guys and parlayed a controversial loss to RM 3 years earlier and a split dec over a diminished Layne into a title shot he didn't merit imo.
Neither Buonvino or Jones were ranked contenders when he fought them. In fact I don't think either was ever ranked. Your points are well taken and accurate.
Because he was a marginal talent, for getting as far as he did! His management did well enough for him! There were high hopes for him going into the Marciano fight, because he was younger than Walcott and Charles, and he seemed to be on a roll. Marciano got a lot of credit, perhaps undue credit, based upon that win!
When Lastarza beat Rex Layne it made him the number one contender and logical challenger to Marciano. Roland was fortunate that Layne was recently awarded a close decision over former champion Ezzard Charles because this meant that at that moment Rollie is ahead of Ezzzard without fighting him. Why does Rollie have to fight Charles if he’s just beat the guy with the most recent win over the ex champion?? If Roland has a disputed loss to the current champion and earned a win over the highest placed contender there isn’t much more he can do. He’s not going to disregard this lofty position to take on lower rated guys is he?
I dispute that Lastarza was ever ranked no1. he had won 2 of his last 3 fights .One over a journeyman light heavyweight who floored him and split dec over Layne who was damaged goods. Bottomline Lastarza did not earn his ranking or merit his title shot. Why does Rollie have to fight Charles? Why did Valdes have to rematch Charles? TOUCHE!!!!!
LaStarza was rated #2 by the NBA after beating Layne, Charles was #1 however just before LaStarza fought Marciano Charles lost to Valdez and as I recall this elevated LaStarza to #1. When he lost to Marciano he was dropped down to #3. Valdez had won two of his last seven fights so he was placed at #4 instead of taking the top spot when he beat Charles. Its worth noting that the field was considered so weak after Lastarza lost to Rocky that the NBA left the #1 slot vacant.
He avoided all those guys so that when the day came where he fought Marciano and lost, it would make Rockys achievement look worse. He did it for the people, and we should never forget that.
LaStarza was #1 when he lost to Jones. Not sure where he ended up after winning an immediate rematch and then beating Layne. Layne was ranked #2 by Ring at that time.
He avoided them because he and his manager Jimmy DeAngelo were far from confident he could actually beat a live contender! He said in a Ring interview that they passed on several fights because fearful of being knocked off and sidelined.
