“Rocky Marciano is hardly more than a second rater”

Eddie Ezzard · Apr 21, 2025 at 7:42 AM

Scammell said: ↑

You can respect Dempsey and still see that a lot of what he said here was emotional, not logical.

Yes, Rocky had real flaws, short reach, clumsy footwork, wide punches, that’s obvious even watching his best wins. But calling him "hardly more than a second-rater" massively underrates what he actually accomplished.

Marciano wasn't beating faded contenders or weak champions, he beat Ezzard Charles (one of the most complete fighters ever), Archie Moore (still a deadly threat), Jersey Joe Walcott (one of the best technicians of the time), and Rex Layne (a top contender back then). Those weren't scrubs. They were high-level operators who could box, punch, and think.

Dempsey also massively overstates how easy it was to hit and beat Rocky. Sure, he wasn't slick, but his pressure, conditioning, and two-fisted power were relentless. You had to survive 15 rounds of a guy who never stopped moving forward and could knock you out late while taking huge punishment himself. That's a brutal proposition even for more "skilled" fighters.

Would prime Louis, Tunney, maybe Jack Johnson have good chances against Rocky? Sure. But Max Baer? Jess Willard? Bob Fitzsimmons? Sharkey? Those guys beating Marciano reliably is pure nostalgia. Dempsey was propping up his own era to make it look stronger.

Rocky wasn't perfect, but you don't go 49–0 at heavyweight by being "second rate."
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Really good post. One of the few to take a pro-Rocky stance that doesn't descend into ridiculous hyperbole but just lets the man's achievements do the talking.

ETM · Apr 22, 2025 at 11:14 AM

Joe Louis was known to be humble in the way he spoke about people. I do know he has been quoted saying esentially Rocky would have been a rough nite at any point in his career.

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“Rocky Marciano is hardly more than a second rater”

Eddie Ezzard Boxing Addict Full Member

ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member

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“Rocky Marciano is hardly more than a second rater”

Eddie Ezzard Boxing Addict Full Member

ETM I thought I did enough to win. Full Member