When did I say Louis wasn’t past prime? Past prime Louis was a legit contender. That’s a fact. And even in that condition, like a much older Larry Holmes, was still better than most prime contenders. And active! He was not dug up. so this “Marciano never beat a prime contender over 200lb” should really read “never beat a prime ATG over 200lb” because he did beat a legit contender over 200lb who was as good as any prime contender at that time. Its just a fact.
"Marciano never beat a prime contender over 200lb". This means the contender has to be prime, which Louis was nowhere near. Why is this so hard to understand?
But even that version was better than most prime contenders. So it’s a weak argument. Tommy Morrison beat Foreman and it’s a feather in his cap. mercer loses to past prime Holmes.
Weak argument. The guy was still better than prime 200 pound contenders. And he was over 200 pounds. And a contender. Legitimately.
Doesn’t fit the anti rockista agenda to admit he was still decent despite not being prime. According to some he was worse then Ali holmes and comeback Frazier. Why is that concept so hard to accept for some? Obviously he wasn’t prime but he was on a win streak and still a decent fighter.
It's not a weak argument at all. Never said he wasn't a legitimate contender, I said he was so shot that we can't learn much from this fight to gauge how he'd do against a prime bonafide HW. He was barely better than the Kovalev who just threw pawing jabs at Canelo. Even if for the sake of argument you want to count this fight as a good measuring stick, Rocky looked pretty bad in that fight. He swung for the fences multiple times and missed by inches or even a foot at times. Louis made him look like a barroom brawler in many moments and didn't start to lose until his gas tank depleted and his old reflexes just couldn't keep up with the non stop pressure and he started getting caught by big shots. And I can name dozens of prime 200 pound contenders who would have steamrolled Louis that night. It was a weak era. Not all top 10 contenders are equal just by virtue of having a ranking. Anyways, I made a very simple criteria that literally every HW champion in history can meet. Very puzzling Rocky had no prime 200 pounders on his record other than a fat Don C and an old gunshy Louis. Louis literally retired right aftereards and was heavily shopworn. He was skilled enough to beat an average guy but was nowhere near good enough for the top in reality. Just didn't have the reflexes, killer instinct, or athleticism anymore. Let me know when you have footage of Rocky beating a prime 200 pound contender.
It's funny how Frazier can show up almost 10 lbs over his best weight, pursue an RnB career, go inactive, look sloppy and unfocused in previous bouts, clearly overlook an opponent he was favored to beat, but people will declare "George beats him without a doubt prime for prime." Meanwhile other HW legends get an asterisk if they cut a fart the day of the fight.
