[CLIP] Rocky Marciano was a refined boxer by the time he met Joe Louis in the ring

There is actually no such thing as an overachiever. It's not possible. Just like you can't give 110%. It's a nice compliment though. Rocky certainly got the most out of what he had. You mentioned the self belief. That was profound. Rock had that in spades. Some fighters talk about wanting to win. Marciano was from the 'he wants it but I needs it school'. In a deep water sometimes that is the difference.

 

Spot on! And it works in reverse. "That guy had so much potential but wasted it." No. "That guy" realized his exact potential. We all do.

 

Certainly, Marciano was a diamond-in-the-rough but he could close the distance, throw
and land from wicked angles and beat the guy in front of him like few other fighters, ever.
Phenomenal stamina, as fighters say, "Nobody trained like Marciano." On paper, Marciano
never should have been a contender, much less a champion. But fights aren't won on paper.
Marciano was far more skilled and clever than his detractors have ever given him credit for--look
at the double left hook that he used to knock out Moore. Moore was looking for his big right
hand, the "SuzieQ" punch, all night. Meanwhile, Marciano's first punch of the fight was a left
hook lead, and his last two punches were left hooks. Clever wins.

 

You're most probably right.

 

Im referring to a 5'10, short armed slowish guy ,without natural boxing ability who cut easily and didnt box till comparatively late Becoming heavyweight champion and retiring undefeated.If you want to be pedantic about it then say he"maximised his potential" Okay?

 

Makes no difference to me. I just said that he was a good athlete and you said "all boxers are athletes right?" LOL. Maybe paying Rocky a compliment took alot out of you. Don`t need to go down this rabbit hole.

 

Joe Frazier and Mike Tyson came close and Marciano was an inch taller but at 188 light, with muscle training instead of the heavy cardio, like a Mackey Shilstone trainer Marciano could easily gain 20-40 lbs of muscle. I gained 40lbs of muscle with less cardio and lost a lot of the muscle with more cardio. Tyson fought in the 200lb & under in the olympic tryouts (he lost to henry Tillman) Frazier was 206 in the FOTC beating Ali) but Frazier had a short prime. Marciano was a super strong man and very Athletic strength wise, Power in every punch and unorthodox. Today is a different game where added muscle & muscle adders are common. Today Langford & Greb would need to find a division more than likely like Ward. These videos tell me I would not want to be the guy in the ring with Marciano

 

Marciano was not 5'11".
I don't deal in mythological chimeras I judge fighters as what they actually were.Tyson was appreciably bigger than Marciano as a pro and so was Frazier.Atlas said Tyson was 200lbs when he began working with him as a kid.

 

I've paid Marciano more compliments than just about any poster on this forum.
"Great fighter,great champ,modest,unassuming,fine man.excellent boxing commentator,ducked nobody "are just some of those I remember and can be easily verified by anyone who isnt too lazy to trawl my posts and is instead,content to jump to uninformed conclusions.See you later Bunny.

 

I know people that met him said he was about 5"11 because they were 5"10 but everybody lies about their height, maybe they were also. They make tall people taller and short people shorter.

I dont think that matters much because it takes a lot to be great & we have seen only a few real great ones who fought the best of their day and times have changed. Marciano had tremendous heart,strength,determination,and power he was also very smart & well trained by Charley G.

I do like some of the current Super Heavyweights Joshua & Wilder but I think Joshua has the will & discipline as long as he stays focused. Wilder is a threat & so is Povetkin and a current crop of guys with 4-5 fights look promising.

I am also very impressed with the top batch of Cruiserweights especially the final & I think a potential matchup with the Super Heavyweight above 225lbs with be very interesting I see skill in Usyk, Gassiev, Briedis, and a few others and it adds to heavyweight pool of fighters.

 

No it doesnt matter but some one took the trouble to correct me on it and also imply I find it hard to give Rocky any credit.. If I remember correctly when he was introduced to Eisenhower and Ike said," I thought you would be bigger" Rocky said no ,that he was 5'10."

 

I believe that Marciano was transformed into a sort of "machine"in that Moore bout...something more relentless and "controlled" if you will, and yes, almost "not human" in a way. He was at his best IMO,...from round 5, 6...especially 6, until the end...again, IMHO.

 

I believe that Marciano was transformed into a sort of "machine"in that Moore bout...something more relentless and "controlled" if you will, and yes, almost "not human" in a way. He was at his best IMO,...from round 5, 6...especially 6, until the end...again, IMHO.

I agree 100%...he became a "machine" in that round.

 

you are spot on

 

A human juggernaut!

As to him being," a refined boxer by the time he fought Louis"
Here is a write up of his second Lastarza fight,2years and 7 fights later.

• Life magazine reported: "Trying to knock the challenger out with one punch, the 29-year-old Marciano was over-eager and awkward. He lunged, butted, hit below the belt, on the break and after the bell. Once, he swung so wildly that he missed and slipped clumsily to the canvas. Outboxing the champion and avoiding his blows, LaStarza managed to win four of the first six rounds.

A few Rockista's complain we are always down on Marciano.
Maybe if they didn't make such absurdly outlandish claims on his behalf we wouldn't feel the need to put the record straight?
Marciano was a modest man,he knew how good he was, but wasn't given to boasting.His motto was," don't talk about it do it."
I think he would be embarrassed by these claims of great defence, refined boxing ,etc,made on his behalf