Anyone read Mike Stanton's new book on Marciano, "Unbeaten"?

WTF! I don' t rate fighters on whether they were nice guys!
Whatever Marciano did or didn't do, has no bearing on where I rate him as a fighter .
FFS Get real for once!

 

Take some things you read about with a shovel of salt. Especially stories that hardened boxing fans and historians havent heard a squeak about in 70+ years from it 'happened'

 

IT's a terrific read. Very well done.

 

No that is a separate incident. There was no court martial for knocking out an Australian in a pub. His regiment went to the D-day invasion. Rocky didn’t. He was a military prisoner for two years. He was initially sentenced to do seven years.

Rocky went AWOL with a bully called murphy on the eve that he was supposed to go overseas with his fellow soldiers and the two of them had drinks in a civilian apartment, robbed a guy, beat him and his roommate up and took their wallets before sneaking back to their tents. He was charged with assault and robbery and spent the rest of the war in Fort Benjamin in Indiana doing hard labour. This is a new story.

 

Well that’s what I thought but the evidence is legit. Rockys regiment participated in the D-day invasion and it has never been satisfactorily explained how he avoided seeing action. Now it all adds up. He was a prisoner sent back to the states whilst his fellow soldiers took part in the invasion.

 

This. I think the author took some creative license on the incident. According to my Coach, who served with Marciano during WW II Marciano had a bad temper and got into fights easily, which is why he got in trouble and why he started focusing on boxing, since fighting in the street and at pubs is asking to go to jail or get stabbed.

 

Everyone in here is acting like this is new...maybe the variation of it but I remember doing a paper on him twenty years ago and knowing about this lol. Although over the years I’ve heard different variations. One was a drunken fight over owed money I believe. Rocky was a follower growing up and was drawn to some shady characters and easy money in his youth (to a degree in adulthood to). He was human and not perfect. That being said i want to know more about his fights. Still wondering if this book had any inside info descriptions of his fights that weren’t well documented.

 

Also he started boxing in the military (to get out of kitchen duties I read). Idk how he would do that from a prison (unless it was in prison?) idk some u answered questions for me.

 

So far I haven’t found any better descriptions of his fights since the author seems to favour Arthur Daley and A.J Liebling reports, two guys I’m not that excited about. His own interpretation of film leaves a lot to be desired from the stand point of boxing in the way I understand it but maybe I am being too picky.

Nobody has seen the mugshots from this book. Nobody has came up with evidence of Rocky being a prisoner for two years of unpaid service. That he missed D-day. This stuff is new. Real bombshell stuff. This is where the credit really comes in. Good work.

 

It’s not creative license when the guy has the mugshot photo and full explanation as to why Rocky did not participate with D-Day landings with the rest of his fellow soldiers. There’s the report from the commanding officer and everything. Officially he was charged and sentenced. Two years unpaid service as a prisoner. It is not artistic license.

 

Possibly? I can’t find anything off a quick google search but I know I knew he was arrested for robbery in the military but I believe the charges were dropped (may not be the case now but it’s what I thought I knew prior) also heard other variations such as drunken bar fight over money and beat a guy and took his money. The other stuff is new to me just not the court martial part or possible robbery. The “jailing” is also new to me but considering he was boxing through out his military career I find it hard to believe . I didn’t read the book but maybe I will one day. Just received Ali “a life” by Jonathan Eig for Christmas have to start that first