David Tua vs Rocky Marciano

Lets not forget that Marciano ruin Layne with that right hand. It was no normal punch, as people said it shaved the limbs of Layne's fronth teeth. That punch took something out of Layne. He was damage goods after that.

 

This is a stylistic nightmare for rocky. the only way to fight tua was to stay on the outside and jab and move. like lewis did.

but rocky cant do it. he´d go right in there and have it out. and there, he cant win.
either tua ko´s him early or after five rounds rocky would be cut too badly to continue.

tua by ko or tko.

 

oh, I don't know, the fact that he's one of the best rated punchers of all time, and that I happen to subscribe to the theory that a big puncher always has a chance of knocking out another big puncher. Does that mean that I think it would happen? No, but I'd say it's worth giving anybody a slight chance.

 

Well, I can't say much about Ike, given that I've seen very little footage of him, but as for Lewis, there's a reasonable explanation. Lennox boxed Tua, and mainly kept him on the end of a jab for most of the evening. Sure he nailed him with some good solid shots from time to time, but it wasn't exactly a puncher's fight. Marciano got within 6 to 8 inches of his opponents and penetrated their comfort zones by more or less swarming them. He was strong in both arms, and could really bust guys up to the point of facial disfigurement. On numerous times in his career he took out teeth, busted jaws, cut guys open, and broke ribs. Roland Lastarza was regarded as one of the best defensive fighters of all time. Rocky couldn't hit him in the face or body, so he proceeded to pound Lastarza's arms, and eventually broke through to score a TKO. Lastarza needed surgary on both arms, and was never quite the same fighter again. Rock was incredibly strong for his size, and was one of the few fighters of his era to use weight training in preparation for a match. A lot of folks make a huge deal about his only weighing 185 Lbs, but rest assured, there wasn't an ounce of excess bagage on him. Although he's known for being a great puncher, he could go 15 rounds to beat you, or he'd knock you out in 1 round if he had the chance. He never showed up unmotivated and he always gave his best efforts. If you ask me, we could use more guys like Marciano today.

That said, I'd still pick Tua, but hopefully I've answered your question as to why an upset isn't entirely beyond the realm of possibilty.

Have a nice evening.

 

Marciano is highly underrated by most. He may have been crude to an extent but he had qualities that are very rare and was a cut above Tua. He fought for every second of every round. The constant pressure he was able to apply throughout the full 15 rounds was just unbelievable, I don't think I have ever seen him get tired. His stamina was on a similar level to Henry Armstrong. He had everything Tua had but in greater quantities, power, stamina, chin, heart. Marciano also had a fairly quick hands, a hell of a lot faster than most tend to give him credit for. I see Marciano taking a narrow points win. The only area where Tua equals Marciano is chin.

 

I just want to point out that Tua is by no means unvulnerable. Sure he has a granite chin, but Felix Savon (I think it was Savon) flattened him in the amateurs with a single right hand. The video is on youtube somewhere. Check it out.

I'm also getting sick and tired of people knocking Marciano's competition. The way some go on about it, you'd swear it was awful.

Marciano KO'd the tough Rex Layne who not only was the betting favourite, but was also regarded back then as the brightest prospect in the heavyweight division. That's a fact.

Against Carmine Vingo, Rocky had to fight an established Garden fighter who was highly thought of. Marciano took him on in his own back yard and knocked him out.

Harry 'Kid' Matthews was a small heavyweight, actually a light heavyweight, but still only a few pounds lighter than Marciano. He was a fine technical boxer with only 3 losses in over 90 fights. Rocky flattened him with a double left hook in 2 rounds.

Oh, and there was LaStarza who was 37-0 when he faced Marciano, and another heavyweight who was very highly regarded by the sports press.

That's a pretty impressive resume for a young up-and-coming guy. Not too many fighters have fought genuine prospects or world-class fighters on the way up.

Then you have his title opposition.

Say what you want about Walcott. You can laugh at his record or his age, but I'll challenge anyone to name a 37-year old who looked better than Walcott at that age. Maybe Lewis, but that's it.
Truth is, old Joe was absolutely brilliant the night he fought Marciano and most regard it as his best fight. People who comment on his age or whatever most likely have not seen the whole fight and have watched only snippets.
Watch the whole thing and tell me I'm wrong about Joe Walcott in this fight.
He would have beaten any other heavyweight in the world that night.

People also say Charles was an over-the-hill light heavyweight. Yes, his best days were behind him but he was still a very good fighter. Once more, many who saw the Charles fight commented that this was the best heavyweight version of Charles they had ever seen, because he came to fight instead of skitter around the ring as he normally did. Carles put up an unusually spirited resistance only to lose on points.
However, he clearly still lost and those who claim Rocky needed to win the last round to retain the title are false. Marciano won comfortably enough, and the rematch was one-sided but for the cut Marciano suffered in a clinch.
The fact that Charles barely managed to win a fight after the Marciano bout is a testament to how much those fights took out of Charles.

Don Cockel was in all fairness a 'soft touch' but he was still a world-ranked contender and the fight was really a test run to see how Marciano's nose stood up in the fight.

Then we have 'ageless' Archie Moore who after the Marciano fight was still to be a heavyweight contender for many years until Ali finally retired him. He was also coming off a win over the highly touted Nino Valdes and was Marciano's no. 1 contender. In addition, his legendary fights with Yvon Durell for the light heavyweight championship were still to come.

Seriously, that's not a half-bad resume all in all for Maricano. It stands up to the quality of most heavyweight reigns.

I find it ronic how Senya questions the quality of Marciano's opponents, yet Roy Jones who he fiercely defends has a reputation for fighting bums and tomato cans and avoiding the best fighters.