At their prime who would win in a fight between Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano?

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by mark ant, Sep 21, 2018.



  1. Cojimar 1946

    Cojimar 1946 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Here you go
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    Holyfield was consistently listed as 6'1 1/4 until he moved to heavyweight in 1988 when he was suddenly listed as 6'2 1/2
     
    Last edited: Sep 28, 2018
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  2. Cojimar 1946

    Cojimar 1946 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Here is another one
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  3. Cojimar 1946

    Cojimar 1946 Well-Known Member Full Member

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    Marciano is often officially listed as 5'11 but one of the military documents lists him as 5'10 1/2 which may represent an actual measurement. So I would be inclined to say that was his actual height.
     
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  4. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    You can be effective if you are smaller at heavy,but you need speed [of both hand and foot]to compensate for that lack of size.This Rocky did not have .
    Tyson had it in spades being one of the fastest heavyweights of all time with his hands .
     
  5. Gazelle Punch

    Gazelle Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

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    I would think a great chin, a lot of power in each hand, a style made for shorter fighters, and great conditioning can compensate for other areas that are weaker. I do think he would have to bulk up more to run with some of the 250 pound guys. The question is wether or not you think he could properly bulk up and not lose flexibility and style. I think he could you probably don’t.
     
  6. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    But he an an adequate, not great, heavyweight chin.
     
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  7. Gazelle Punch

    Gazelle Punch Boxing Addict Full Member

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    Ummm no lol. If you go 49-0 and only were knocked down twice for a total of 8 seconds you have a great chin. Otherwise what in the hell constitutes a “great chin”?
     
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  8. reznick

    reznick In the 7.2% Full Member

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    If Tyson has access to those blueberries I think he has a chance
     
  9. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I don't need to make up measurements. I backed the measurements up. But, I can even pull up early amateur height listings and you'll clearly see that once boxers become relevant on the amateur or professional stage their physical attributes start to get exaggerated. Foreman himself said Frazier was 5'9" and Goldman on many occasions said Marciano was 5'9".

    Also, I said Marciano was 5'9". Most fighters and even most athletes inflate their height by 2-3 inches for marketing purposes. My old football coach knew Marciano very well and told me himself Marciano was 5'9", Jack Dempsey was 5'11", and that Joe Louis was 6'1.5". I've met Bert Cooper, Mike Tyson, David Haye, Wlad, Wilder, and many other fighters when I used to work in event planning and they were all much shorter than their listed height.

    Wlad's 6'6" listing was always bogus. I played college basketball for two years and played against many legitimate 6'6" guys and Wlad was noticeably shorter.

    Wlad's Olympic listing when he won gold was 6'4.5", which is much more believable.
    https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/kl/wladimir-klitschko-1.html

    "Hayden Panettiere looks tiny next to 6ft 4in Wladimir Klitschko during a family day out on the beach in Barbados"
    https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/5645661/hayen-panettiere-husband-husband-wladimir-klitschko/
     
  10. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    I'm not sold on Rocky having a great chin.I think it was a good one but great?
    Which huge punchers did he prove it against?
    I doubt Moore would drop Tyson.
    This thread is Tyson vMarciano. To my way of thinking Tyson's chin is far more proven than Rocky's.
    I don't think extra weight would help Rocky ,imo it would only slow him down and deplete his stamina .
    Whatever Rocky did it would not make him faster of either hand or foot!
    Nor would it lessen his tendency to cut.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2018
  11. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    I found my thrill-----
     
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  12. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Facing big heavyweights ie 220lbs+ class men with proven power?
     
  13. mcvey

    mcvey VIP Member Full Member

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    Who are the three best punchers Rocky faced?
     
  14. Jackomano

    Jackomano Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    Not necessarily, since most 250lb guys have poor inside games and can be made to punch themselves out. Also, Joshua, Lewis, and Wlad were never that effective at 250 lbs anyway and performed much better closer to 240 or less. Chris Byrd made Vitali, who was close to 250lbs quit by using a crouching style similar to Marciano's, but Byrd's defense and counters are very sloppy compared to Marciano's and Byrd lacked Marciano's punching power and durability. Vitali faked an injury to save face, but everyone knew he quit, since Vitali and his team wouldn't even entertain a rematch and never wanted to fight Byrd again. Byrd admitted that on fight night against Vitali that his weight was closer to 200 lbs. Even Lennox Lewis wanted nothing to do with Byrd's style.

    Marvis Frazier, who was 5'10" and at his best between 198-205 was able to beat plenty of talented big man and Marvis wasn't half as experienced, durable, or as good of a puncher as Marciano was. The only guys Marvis lost to was Larry Holmes when he only had 10 fights and Tyson, since their timing and ring experience, which are two things most big men lack today and even back then allowed both Holmes and Tyson to land flush on Frazier. Marvis also had his neck fused, which limited the mobility of his neck and made him extremely vulnerable to uppercuts, but even Joe Frazier said he threw Marvis into the fire fast, since he knew Marvis was injury prone and wouldn't have a long career anyway.

    Frazier was able to beat 6'4" 228 lbs James Broad, who showed up in excellent shape. Not the fat tub of lard that Tony Tucker and Tim Witherspoon beat.

    Frazier also beat 6'4" 234 lbs James Smith. Smith flattened Bruno, but Smith, who also sometimes would fight around 250 lbs had been crushed by an in shape James Broad.
     
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  15. Seamus

    Seamus Proud Kulak Full Member

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    My bad. I misread your initial post. You did say that Marciano was 5-9, which I have also heard. And I do agree with your larger point. Exaggeration is as old as sport itself. If you know bball, you know Charles Barkley was no 6-6 nor was Iverson 6 foot. I met Tyson twice and he wasn't as tall as I am at 5-10. Oddly, of the guys that I met who did strike me as their listed height were Ali and Povetkin. But the Ali thing was a total accident. I walked out into my work parking lot in the early 90's and there was standing Muhammad Ali. It was surreal. He seemed like a giant guy but the circumstances probably added to that. Povetkin seemed pretty big, a thick framed, big-jointed guy who was taller than I had imagined. Anyways, what was the point of all this?