against who (atg) would you favor marciano to beat?

I think marciano has a 50-50 chance at worst with the best. Ali, holmes, joe Louis Tyson deserve to be favored over rocky but are not guaranteed to win. Jack johnson would force himself to be Disqualified. A fired up Tyson would be trouble for rocky early. a fast starting Lewis who came out blasting against golota would be bad for marciano also, but how often did he do that? I don’t think Frazier is a problem, its not easy but I think marciano is way better than bonavena and chuvalo who did very well and were of a similar ilk. Ali and Holmes have a even chance against marciano. 60's Ali was very hard to catch. Joe Louis was perfection. Peak Louis was so sharp he would have an edge and be closest to scoring a stopage over rocky IMO.

 

Only fools deal in absolutes. :good

 

On the basis of coming along together, each developing in analogy to how they developed in their own time:

Sullivan -- would favor just a little over Rocky
Jeffries -- don't know
Johnson -- would slightly favor Marciano
Dempsey -- would slightly favor Marciano
Tunney -- would slightly favor Marciano
Louis -- don't know
Liston -- don't know
Ali-- would slightly favor Ali
Frazier -- would slightly favor Marciano
Foreman -- would slightly favor Foreman
Holmes -- don't know
Tyson -- don't know
Holyfield -- would favor Marciano in a 1950's fight; not sure about 1990's.
Lewis -- would favor Lewis a bit in a 1990's fight, not sure about 1950's.

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On a just as they were at their best basis, would make following changes

Rocky over Sullivan
Rocky favored a little over Jeffries
Rocky favored more over Johnson
Tyson slight favorite over Marciano
Maricano vs Holyfield, Lewis -- Holyfield, Lewis's chances are improved

 

I agree with most of this post but for one glaring error....Rock Marciano does not stop a prime Joe Louis. If there is a stoppage in this one it's Louis doing the stopping after some scary moments early on. Don't let thier fight in '51 lead you to believe that Rocky would've done the same to the Louis that stopped Baer and Schmeling. Louis in '51 was a shell of his former self and was still able to bust up Rocky's face before his legs went...Imagine a prime Louis in there?

 

you watched ted gullick against your man george yet?

 

Gullick lost because he did not punch as hard as marciano. George won because Gullick (who terry daniels had already KOd) did not have a chin comparable with marciano.

 

I am a big fan of Marciano and a lot of that is from speaking with knowledgeable ring guys like Freddie Brown, Tommy Gallagher, Lou Duva, Al Certo, Smoking Joe Frazier, Ali and Larry Holmes...among others...

I can agree with most of your picks and would not argue if you picked Joe Louis or Dempsey or one of the bigger guys but I can see Marciano also beating everyone of them on a given night.

I see it as you do vs Foreman and Liston although it is not popular opinion for most, Marciano's heart factor big over Liston and his stamina big over Foreman.

I love Marciano's chances over Holmes and think that he would be a hard fight for Ali and tougher than Frazier was for Ali...Its funny but Ali and Holmes agree that Marciano would be the toughest for them....Marciano is a tough fight for anyone.

Guys like Louis, Dempsey, Ali, etc. all present a tough evening but Marciano with his will to win, power,stamina and subtle defense is not an easy fight for any of them...When it comes to the all-time greats I think its hard to be certain...

I think the problem for Marciano is that his style would only offer another 10- 12 fights at the most before his body gave in, not his heart where others because of style not condition would be able to coast through a few more fights...anyway If Marciano was not forced to retire and he fought another 6 times over top contenders Valdez,Baker,Satterfield,Jackson,Patterson,Johanason or Machen depending on how his body held up if he could fight 3 times a year for the next 2 years he would have been 55-0 with 49 KO's but as we know that is easier said than done....boxing is a tough business and 49-0 vs top contenders is hard enough

 

I agree marcianos style would only ever offer 10-12 wars, his record was a masterclass in timing so that he was already at the top when when the harder fights came along. Thats not to say he did not pay his dues, he did, and some. Its just that there is only so many wars in any fighter and he was closing in on the limit at his retirement. if too many wars hapen too early the well can dry out later on. marciano was not near drying out when he reached the top. many fighters are near drying out when they get up there and their resume suffers.

Marciano got out before a decline, as you say he was still too much for the next wave of contenders but by 1959 he would not be the same fighter. We can still measure marcinao against other great fighters faverably because he had the perfect record. It was hard to knock.

 

It's a point of view I'd give consideration to but part of me just wants to hear more and more from him It is a fact!!! :rofl

 

so hard to pick this

Marciano was a smaller guy with short arms and was short as well

but he could hit and he could take he also bobbed and weaved effectivley

though he did cut easy

Id say in the eras with smaller guys like the early 1900's late 1800's he would be more lieley to win though bare knuckle is way different the 1950's pro boxing

As for him against the best tall rangy guys like Louis Ali Holmes Lewis Foreman I have a hard time giving him the W