One punch KO's require accuracy. One punch power is simply that... power. I asked who had a better 1 punch KO track record over ranked opposition than Marciano. Did Foreman even have many 1 punch KO's over sub 200 pound journeyman... let alone over ranked fighters. How do you want to be remembered here if you happen to do the deed (I know, you don't)?
You are absolutely right about accuracy. Too often the one punch kayo is simply chalked up to physical force generated, when the speed, sharpness, and accuracy are really the most imporant. I don't think Rocky was the most skilled heavy, but people who say he could box need to watch him against Walcott. That is a beautiful shot, perfectly timed. Those dont happen by accident. And honestly, if your going by current ranked opposition, like who was top 10 in their era, Wladimir Klitschko has as many if not more one punch kayo's than Rocky does over top 10. He just never did it to a fighter like Walcott.
Not his fault He can only drop whose in front of him. They are still top 10, and he still does it every other fight.
This fight was a war, and according to the announcer Charles stuns Marciano more than once. While Charles did not have the best heavyweight chin in the world ( he was down 30 times in his career ), he was mentally very tough. Marciano could hit, but he was mostly a wear you down attrition type. In this fight, Charles did not wear down enough to be taken out.
Rocky had a bit more direction,and strategy about his punches than is generally assumed ,imo. Here is an extract from his thoughts on tactics. "Take the second Walcott fight .Willie Wilson ,one of my sparring partners, had Walcott's moves down very good. He'd feint me and pull away, he'd pull down, and try to tie me up. The big problem was to figure out what I was going to hit him with for a second punch, and one night,Ali and I were talking about it,walking about 45 minutes after dinner ,and then we talked it over with Charlie and Al. We decided to try my right hand uppercuts after a left hook,and I practised it a lot on the big bag, and then against Wilson. As it happened the fight went less than a round ,but the 3d movies showed why very well. I hit him with a hook, but,as he ducked to take it high on the head , he moved right into the power of the uppercut, because with an uppercut then power is right after you start it". " For the second Lastarza fight ,the one with my title on the line,we knew he carried his left high,and allways brought it back high. I had to bring that hand down to get at his head ,so I practised throwing right hands to the heart. Finally, along around the tenth round ,I got his arm down ,and stopped him in the eleventh". This shows the importance of good sparring partners,and, the method in his seemingly random swings, imo.
A big mistake is it to assume that a brawling swarmer doesnt know how to box. When you win a championship, you know your craft. You just use different things to suit you. Rock's style was what he needed to be to be the best he could be. Same for everybody. You hear people call folks ****, and bums, and say they lack boxing skills, but this is just ignorant. A pro fighter who gets to the top 20 of his division can ****ing box. At that point, its all relative.
I totally agree. I have never called any man who fights for a living a bum. As to boxing skill ,I watched a fat 38 year old David Tua on Euro Sport last night, he gave Demetrice King, a lesson in left jabbing, that I did not think was within his capabilites a short armed stocky 5'10" left hooker ,showed there was more to his game than I had ever suspected. If you get to world class, you have the fundamentals.
Not to mention, the long, long process of conditioning has given you the explosiveness, speed and muscle memory to call upon your tricks faster than somebody lesser. Give me two men, with the same tools, in peak physical shape, and have one of the men trained for 3 years and the other for 5. Its a one sided shutout for the veteran. Boxing education isnt all about learning the skills; Its way more about becoming comfortable with what you favor, and learning all the different ways you as an individual win a boxing match. A man with confidence and rounds in the bank of his past can easily outbox a novice with literally all the tools. Knowing how to win is as important as knowing how to jab.
geting back to charles, he was the same age as ali was when he won the title from foreman, the guy was still great. Its hard to knock out great fighters.
Its not so much your age as it is how long you've been fighting. Quarry was washed up at 30. Norton was prime. I love the Rock, he overtrained for their first fight. But Ezz hung tough and lasted. Rock got him in the re-match (after the nose ) Few would argue that Charles is the better ATG pfp'er...
Charles had a good heavyweight chin. "30 times" is terribly misleading since 16 of those knockdowns happened in a TWO fight span when he was 21 years old because he kept getting up, and most of the other knockdowns occured in the late 1950's when he was completely washed up. How many times was charles floored from 1946-1954? I bet I can count it on one hand. He fought a lot of punchers during this span too. Marciano pre 1954 was a one punch knockout artist. This point is irrefutable.
Marciano was very smart about boxing, he had obviously been taught well, but I wouldn't say that he put all of that knowledge into his work in the ring, much like Dempsey. He had his own style and it worked out for him. Sometimes pure aggression and strength can make up for cleverness, as seen in the Marciano-Charles bout. Rocky just outworked him completely in the late rounds despite a game effort by Charles to withstand the onslaught.