Do people REALLY believe...

I think Marciano fighting one of the top heavies of today would be like Corrie Sanders vs Bobby Czyz. Marciano was champ of a less numerous field of much smaller men.

 

wil three hundred pounds be the best heavyweights of the future. Like a guy like goldburg ( not a wrestling fan just think he is a freak) I bet in twenty years the heavy weight champ looks something like him.

 

:good
Fighting today he could be CW champ. As a bulked up HW, he would be ordinary.

 

AD you continue to underrate the recent and current HWs. Tyson was a bigger version of Marciano, and many think he avoided the 40+ Foreman. When Tyson's fire started to fade and he slowed down as he got older - he became beatable. Douglas was the first to show this at/near Tyson's prime. A 38 year old Tyson's performance vs McBride (a big, strong oaf) was worse than Ali vs Homes or Louis vs Rocky.

I'd give Marciano the edge over Tyson in stamina and will to overcome adversity... but no way he beats guys like LL or Wlad - regardless of what some posters think of their chins :yep

And c'mon, Povetkin is a "big" HW compared to Rocky ! But smallish in this era. Let's see what Alex P accomplishes as his career continues. He might do very well - nobody knows for sure.

 

I think the non-prime Roy Jones takes Rock at 175. He'd be way too fast. And at HW, Marciano would have some fun fights before getting hurt. Bad. He was great and you have to evaluate him for his era, but his style would not translate well to the present era.

 

No...but he would be an absolute BEAST at LHW/CW. No doubt about it.

 

Your last sentence implies that you feel the 70's was a weaker era than today.

Or could I be mistaken ?

 

IMO, Lennox and Foreman would beat Marciano. And not because of their size alone (Rocky beat bigger guys than either of them). They would beat him because of their size and skill levels combined.


At 185, Toney might not make it out of the first round. Then again, he could last 5 or 6.

I believe he would stop Holy as well.

 

Shouldn’t we take account that Marciano with modern training would be weighting more than 185 lbs? He could be 215-225 lbs easily. And with that weight he would be more competitive against modern giants.

 

IMO, Lennox and Foreman would beat Marciano. And not because of their size alone (Rocky beat bigger guys than either of them). They would beat him because of their size and skill levels combined.


At 185, Toney might not make it out of the first round. then again, he could last 5 or 6.

I believe he would stop Holy as well.

 

Through my own admission I do believe that guys like George Foreman and Riddick Bowe were better suited to beat smaller men. These were big men who did not abandon their inside game. They knew how to defend themselves in close.

However these big heavyweights have gone missing. Replaced by guys like Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschlo and Waldo Klitschko. All these big heavyweights do is lean in and grab inside. And they are also guilty of falling in behind right hands.

Take a look at the small heavyweights of the past 2 eras. Really take a close look at them. From guys like Michael Moorer, to David Tua, to Chris Byrd. These small heavyweights are all missing some vital components to being competitive against the average big man. It could be chin, it could be power, it could be technique. None of these packages represent what Tyson was in the 80s, or what Rocky Marciano was in the 50s.

A smaller heavyweight who has the ability to throw a hook to the body with an uppercut off the same hand will work these giant clinchers. Just like Mike Tyson did in the 80s. Rocky was only 5'10 true, but the way these big guys fall in and grab he'd have no issues with getting close to their chins. And Rocky had that real short compact right hand that'd get in before those big clinchers could close the gap.

Let's use Sam Peter as an example of the best small heavyweight today. As much as I like Sam Peter, I do not believe he is a good model of how smaller heavyweights with power and chins would do against giant heavies. Sam is horribly inexperienced, and is also a bit slow and thick for the boxing game. The other Nigerian import, Ike Ibeabuchi, was one who would handle these big clinchers with ease. Also consider as crude as Samuel Peter was in the fight with Waldo, he STILL knocked him down 3 times. Imagine if you will had Sam Peter the short right hand of Marciano, or the handspeed and savvy of an Ike Ibeabuchi.

I do believe that the sport needs renewed rules, particularly on clinching. That said, had Rocky Marciano fought Steward's Waldo Klitschko, we wouldn't be talking about Waldo, we'd be talking about Marciano today.

Slightly bigger. My point being that Povetkin is probably the most well rounded, experienced smaller heavyweight that has come down the pipe since the likes of Evander Holyfield and Ike Ibeabuchi.

These guys aren't like Sam Peter. They have the ring savvy and understanding of how to get in on big men and land. Even with the clinching, remember how sharp Evander was on Riddick Bowe. Povetkin has since shown that brilliance of short power shots inside. Those will be instrumental in scoring the upset should he make it to the IBF title fight.

 

One other point to make is that you guys seem to think that from 200lbs to 220lbs there is a significant difference in punching power. After about 190lbs up there comes a point where any clean punch can hurt you, should the thrower have sitten down on it.

True Tyson was a bit heavier than Marciano. That said, Marciano sat down on that right hand no different than Tyson sat down on his. Where Tyson got his power from was the compact accuracy of those right hands. Same place Marciano got his.

Look at Sam Peter. 250lbs, and his right hands really take alot of work to score a KO. Weight has very little to do with power. It comes from leverage, accuracy and gravity. and THEN weight becomes a factor.

 

Well Evander Hollyfield was muscular when fighting in 180 lbs and didnt loose his speed and stamina when he added 35 lbs muscle.
Also today’s Marciano would be naturally bigger because of modern nutrition’s so he wouldn’t have to add that much muscle.
That said I think super heavy like Lewis would destroy Marciano even with added muscle mass

 

Marciano's pressure and persistence would ensure that those big heavies would fall in eventually.

Barring the quick knockout, I don't see any of them keeping up the pace of throwing jab after jab, right hand after right hand. They never do. Especially the Klitschkos who pride themselves on knockouts. They'd spend themselves quickly.

What saved the younger Klitschko is the fact that Sam Peter is not very experienced. Compare the two of them and Sam Peter's experience is non-existent. Had Sam Peter the compact right hand to use inside, he'd have had a strong chance of catching Klitschko falling in. I believe that Marciano would have no trouble landing that punch.

 

I agree.