David Tua vs Rocky Marciano

Very Dumb statement but I guess its not a race remark if its about Italians...I saw Tua go head to head with Savon and get Ko'd in 1 rd....Lennox rocked him in the 1st and 2nd rd and he decided not to press and survive...Tua was and is slow as **** and 5"10...Tua had trouble with Byrd and he would have had real trouble with Walcott and Charles....he would have been outboxed....It could have been a good couple of rds but Tua would felt power from a short relentless fighter and given the fact that he never won the big ones and Marciano did...I see David getting KO'd...and the only color the Mob cared for was green and a lot of black fighter were controlled by them, no different what King did with a lot of fighter and santioning orgs in recent times and it was the mob that asked Italian Lamotta to take a dive over Black Billy Fox....Marciano was not controlled and would not take a dive...Joe Walcott had connections but I dont think he would have to take that right hand he took in the 13th to make it look real...Marciano was an ATG..Tua was in a different class...

 

First off, I think the people scoffing at the idea of Tua competing here and the people declaring Tua to be some kind of super-Marciano who is superior in every way are both going way overboard. Tua is a fighter who, perhaps, could have been great, had he had more self-discipline the way a man like Marciano did. In spite of the shortcomings of his career, he was still an extremely formidable force at least for a little while, and I wouldn't rule out the possibility that he could have presented a serious threat to anyone. However, Marciano is a fighter who actually did prove himself great in the ring, who accomplished things no other man has been able to do before or since, and whose ability is proven at a much higher level than Tua's- depicting Tua as superior to Marciano in every way is more than a little presumptuous and unfounded, I would say.

Now, looking at some of the direct stylistic comparisons being made here:
Some are saying that Tua was faster than Marciano. Having reviewed film before making this post, it appears to me that the average Tua punch is faster than the average Marciano punch, but that this is mainly because the majority of the punches Tua throws are "stay-busy" shots, not nearly as committed as Marciano's- it's easy to throw quick punches when you're not putting a lot on each of your shots. In his peak fights, Tua sometimes registers a high punch output, but it appears that he is poking and tapping at his opponent for the majority of the round, waiting for the opportunity to land the big one. On the other hand, the majority of Marciano's punches are thrown with very perceptible "oomph" behind them and the evident intention to weaken and hurt, if not knock out, his opponents. In terms of how they move around the ring, Tua looks fairly lead-footed, inching around after opponents. Marciano, while he isn't cat-like quit on his feet in there, seems to move around and cut off the ring better, which, I believe, is one factor that contributed to Marciano's ability to trap and knock out slick boxers in a way Tua could not.

It is possible Tua has a better chin than Marciano did, but I don't see this as a clearly-demonstrated reality. While Marciano suffered two knockdowns, it isn't as though Marciano was in any significant danger of being knocked out or even put down for an extended count on either of these occasions; he was dropped to his knees for flash-counts of "three" and "two," rose and continued unhindered in both instances. And while Tua has never suffered an official knockdown in his pro career, he was put down by a Rahman hook at the final bell while the two were still fighting, and it wasn't a situation where Tua had lowered his gloves or stopped action; he was still in there fighting and was floored by his opponent's punch, though it came a split second too late to count officially. Like Marciano, Tua was not in any serious trouble and would have been up quickly had there been a count, but this illustrates that no man is simply impervious to suffering a flash-count knockdown.

It is also possible that Tua hits harder with a single punch than Marciano did, but as I discussed above, Marciano put more into his shots on a punch-by-punch basis, and he was also a better two-handed and full-variety puncher than Tua, who was very heavily-reliant on his left.

If we're talking about a scenario where both fighters at their peaks are transported to the same era and given time to prepare for each other, I imagine Marciano would be well advised to hit the weights and gain 15 pounds or so. For taking on small, slick boxers like the ones he was fighting and under the rules of the time, with 15 round title fights and less clinching, I think Marciano's actual build/fighting weight may have been ideal, but to take on a tank like Tua who would meet him head on and make a very physical match of it, the extra strength and standing power gained by muscling up to, say, 200 or a little over would probably be a significant help, and I think it would be quite doable- there was plenty of room on his frame for it.

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In this scenario, I would say a Marciano UD is the most likely outcome.

 

Epic fail, my little friend. :nono

 

This is just silliness. Whether we favour one or the other the comments above are ludicrous.

 

Guys there are reasons why weight classes exist and even though both guys here are technically heavyweights, there is a 45 pound weight disadvantage in a terrible style wise match up for Marciano ...

Rocky was a small, short limbed 185 pound fighter who was a great cruiserweight and based on style and match up may have done well against many of the much larger men who followed. He did have limitations based on his size and physical handicaps ...to not acknowledge this is to live in a fantasy world ...

A prime David Tua would have tremendous physical advantages combined with a style mismatch and KO Marciano early ...he was much stronger, faster, harder hitting with a better proven chin in a match up of two bulls going head to head ...

 

I've said it once and I'll say it again Tua is close to the most overrated fighter on this forum.He lost every meaningful fight he had,including the Ibeabuchi fight.

So we're expected to believe this fat little bloke is going to finally rise to the occasion against a Spartan/like machine in Marciano.

Bull****!

Tua would again find a way to lose by being an onlooker whilst Marciano's incredible workrate leaves him languishing for a comprehensive UD loss.

Tua's power is a non-factor against this crowding,clubbing,swarmer and the only thing that keeps him on his feet is the only thing about him that's not overrated-his great chin.

 

Bingo!! He never got it done in his own era. We have no reason to believe he could beat an ATG. I think he runs a close second to Tony Ayala in the overrated category.

 

Cheers mate.
Don't get started on bloody Ayala either.

Seriously I think I'm missing something if a bloke who struggled against Hasim Rahmn,David Izon,Oleg Maskaev and was schooled by Lennox Lewis and Chris Byrd is suddenly capable of beating a wrecking machine like Marciano.

Based on all available evidence it couldn't happen,and to say otherwise is just wishful,nuthugging thinking by Tua fans IMO.

 

That is a bit like arguing that Tony Galento would beat Marciano because he had a 45 lb weight advantage.

 

How do you see Tua vs Dempsey going?

 

I'd have to favor Marciano who has proven himself over and over. I am not sure whether or not he could knock out Tua though. Although Raahman put him on the canvas so there would be a chance of a late ko.

 

Check

:yep

 

Tua would destroy Rocky within 2 rounds.

Im sorry but he is bigger (waaay bigger), he is a bigger puncher ( waaay bigger), he has a better chin (waaay bigger) and his stamina is good as well.

Rocky is an all time great but Tua would win this.

 

Janitor: No. I did not say every guy with a weight advantage beats Marciano . If that were the case he would have lost to Cockell ...

Young Griffo: Not true. He destroyed John Ruiz like no one else did after him. IN mine and many opinion he deserved the verdict over a prime Ike in an exceptional and brutal bout . He knocked out a prime Rachman. He knocked out a coming back Michael Moorer . His fight with Chris Byrd was a razor thin loss at best. To me the only real losses he had were to an excellent Lennox Lewis and out of shape to Rachman in a rematch. Tua has never been pounded, never been beaten on. His biggest crime is losing focus and poor conditioning in the second part of his career. Underachieving, yes.

I think he would have been an extremely dangerous opponent for Dempsey who would be giving up forty pounds of muscle in a bad style match up ... I love Dempsey but do not see him slugging with Tua ... watch the punches Tua took against Ike and how he came roaring back ...

Big , strong guys outboxing Tua, yes ... I just don't see 185-190 pound guys surviving slugging with him ...

 

Anybody else remember what Tua's face looked like after Byrd worked his body?

Ibeabuchi didn't punch the body like Marciano did. Nobody did, really.