[1952] Grantland Rice discusses upcoming Marciano v. Matthews fight

Interesting...Matthews retired with a 90-7-6 record.
Going into The Rock fight, he was 81-3-5,


1952-07-28 : Rocky Marciano

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lbs beat Harry Matthews

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lbs by KO at 2:04 in round 2 of 10

• Location: Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York, USA
• Referee: Ray Miller

• Photo #2, Photo #3

Notes

• A crowd of 31,118 produced a gate of $220,000.
• Each fighter received 30% of the gate.
• Marciano was a solid 2 to 1 favorite.
• There was no radio, television or theater TV for the fight.

Thunder In Left Hand
Two Jolting Punches Earn the Brockton, Mass., Slugger a Shot at Heavyweight Title

New York, July 28. (AP) — Rocky Marciano crumpled Harry Matthews, the pride of the great Northwest, with two crunching left hooks to the jaw tonight to score a spectacular knockout win in 2:04 of the second round at Yankee stadium.

Earning a September title shot at the heavyweight champion, Jersey Joe Walcott, 27-year-old Rocky, unbeaten in forty-two straight fights, dumped Matthews flat on his back in his own corner—almost in the lap of his manager, Jack Hurley, with the two thundering hooks.

The 29-year-old Matthews from Seattle, unbeaten since 1943, wore a bewildered expression on his pain-drawn face as he went down with his head against the ropes. Gamely trying to gather his numbed senses, Matthews clawed at the ropes as he tried to pull himself off the deck. As the West coast fighter started to rise, he collapsed over the bottom strand like a limp rag doll. Referee Ray Miller tolled off the final ten.

Weaving low in a Dempsey-style attack, the pride of Brockton, Mass., drove to the attack from the opening bell. A scowling slugger, with mouth agape, the brawny son of a shoemaker beat a crushing attack on Matthews’s jaw. Marciano weighed 187½ and Matthews 179. With an 8½-pound advantagp in the weights, Marciano bulled the counter-punching Matthews around the ring with his wild but numbing punches.

For the first minutes of this battle, fought in 85-degree heat, Matthews’» sharp counters ripped to Marciano’s body and head. Yet they never once slowed the attack of the aroused Rocky. The tipoff came midway in the first round when Harry the Kid struck three straight jabs to Marciano’s fare and then caught him lunging in with a beautiful straight right to the jaw. The Rock from New England never blinked but continued his bull like march.

Another Matthews counter right, short and sharp, thudded home to Rocky’s wash-board tummy but the barrage continued. Just before the bell ended the first, Rocky shot home two stiff right-hand punches that seemed to hurt Matthews. And there was a hurried consultation in the corner between the fighter and Hurley, his mastermind.

Matthews, only four pounds over the light heavyweight limit, simply was not big enough or strong enough to withstand the zinging power of this blockbuster from Brockton. Marciano was made to look like a novice at times in the first as the stylish Matthews, a real slicker, jabbed straight and true while his opponent’s gloves cut only the air. But it seemed all the while, it was only a matter of time until Rocky caught up with him.

Newspaper Articles

• "Marciano Favored To Beat Matthews" By Jack Hand, Associated Press, July 26, 1952
• "Rocky KO's Matthews in 2nd With Smashing Left" By Ray Grody, The Milwaukee Sentinel, July 29, 1952

 

Well it does put the Layne and Louis wins in perspective,

 

Similar things have been written about numerous ATG's over the years. The write ups on Holmes (to name one of dozens) and his opponents were worlds away from what they were later on. Things settle and time judges.

 

Hurley was offered a lhvy title fight with Maxim earlier but he was shooting for the $$$$.

 

Great links .Thanks!

 

Or romanticizes. Grantland would know .. he and his posse essentially created the Dempsey myth, how a talented fighter who had a good and exceptionally well promoted nineteen month run culminating in a beating of a 37 year old , highly inactive champion and then went on to essentially have five fights in the following seven years , avoiding his most dangerous opponents along the way would become an all time icon. As Dempsey himself said, he was a very good fighter but the press made him great.

 

Yes things have romanticized for myriads of fighters, greats included. Holmes, Hagler and Monzon's opponents are considered much better nowadays than they were at the time to name a few. I'm not singling these three out - this has happened with numerous champs/greats but these come straight to mind for a quick reply. Do they deserve to be considered more highly now? Probably yes, no and in between depending. Top pugs in weaker era's can sometimes make the era look weaker than it was.

 

I agree but there are varying degrees .. who is the revisionist plus overall number of fights and quality of opposition and challenges of opposition .. I love and respect Marciano, a great fighter and P4P fighter. That said I have read for fifteen years on these forums men qualify his mythological H2H standing at heavyweight by making more of his victory over a 6'2", 218 pound Louis than it was .. Say what you may about Holmes but he fought men his own size and many larger for his whole career ..

 

Holmes fought guys bigger, smaller and the same. Marciano did exactly the same remembering that he was smaller than Holmes himself and the average heavyweight was smaller back then. Pretty much all of them fought guys bigger, smaller and the same. Just because Marciano fought guys smaller on average than Holmes doesn't mean he didn't meet the full spectrum comparatively vs his own weight.

Holmes and co fought bigger guys on average than Marciano as the boys were bigger then including themselves. I dare say Joshua and co are fighting a bigger average heavyweight than Holmes too. In 10 - 30 years time we will probably be watching a forum 3/4 full of cojimar's or whatever his name is telling us Holmes and Ali fought little men and can't be compared to or spoken in the same breath as the modern day Goliath's. Some try to do it now. You and i know better.

I do think the division improved H2H on the 190 pound champs like Dempsey and Marciano and i also think Holmes and Ali (particularly) would go well against the big boys of the present.

That's my take anyways.