How many heavyweights can you think of who would have beaten Marciano?

less than 40.

 

At least a few hundred. But this is heavily slanted towards recent decades where Marciano would struggle to get a single win at the high regional level. More like 50 or so pre 1960. Those 50(give or take) are mostly packed in the 30 years between 1915 and 1945.

On the flipside there are under 5 guys who peaked before 1905 who would even have a punchers chance of beating Marciano. With the 4 I'm thinking of being Fitz, Goddard, Bob Armstrong and Peter Jackson. And these are all hypothetical peak versions.

 

The only Marciano fights I've watched so far are his two bouts with Walcott. From what I ascertained, Foreman and Liston would be stylistic nightmares for him.

 

Before Marciano, surely Jack Johnson, Jack Dempsey and Joe Louis.

 

After Marciano, quite a few.
Liston
Ali
Frazier
Foreman
Holmes
Tyson
Holyfield
Bowe
Lewis
Klitschko s

 

I highly doubt that, to be honest. Hate to be that guy, but a guy in the 180s—especially one who wasn't particularly fast—would have a very difficult time giving up 40+ pounds to modern heavyweights. At that size, he wouldn't even be competing in the heavyweight division today.

 

All of the 70s greats, Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Norton
Many from the 90s, Lewis, Bowe, Holy, Tyson,
He's struggle against Usyk, T Fury, probably even Kaybayel.
A small fighter against the giants can sometimes work but the guys of the 70s who were teak tough athletes used to going rounds would demolish someone that small, he simply wouldn't size up well and his power and resistance would all dimish as the size factor comes into play.

It's probably a better question as to what light heavy's could stand up against him and beat him.

 

Hundreds. The majority of the top ten at any time in the past 40 years.

 

No. Any puncher with modern training should get Jeffries out of there. And even if Jeffries is the most durable man on earth Marciano would shut him out.

At least Fitz and Goddard have the historic power and Armstrong and Jackson the build or skills that could translate paired with modern training. Besides Jackson maybe these are tangible things. Jeffries doesn't have anything that suggests he'd be an elite fighter in another era. People claim that Jeffries win condition would be wearing people down but he couldn't weardown Tom Sharkey in 45 rounds and regardless the rules aren't giving him the rounds to try. Marciano couldn't be Marciano in any other era but he could have been a successful MW or HW.

Jeffries's game and resume was too predicated on the 1800s. I believe by 1905 the best 175s and 160s all beat him. If you look at when the guys he beat accomplished the things they accomplished to become names that mattered its a big bubble.