Donald Curry vs Nino La Rocca - P4P Excellence & The Knockoff Italian Ali

Discussion in 'Classic Boxing Forum' started by Russell, Jun 10, 2018.


  1. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    A blast from the past for all of my friends on classic. Enjoy, gentlemen.

    Also, I've long been intrigued by La Rocca (I actually accumulated several of his previously widely unavailable fights and shared them on Youtube even...) especially his seemingly extensively manufactured record... He really sticks out as one of the first fighters with a sensationally over the top record. Sure is a great looking resume on paper though, right? Between that and the way Nino tried to fight it was almost like you were drunkenly watching the real Ali perform through a distorted fun house mirror.

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    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
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  2. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    The two men headbutting each other at the end of round one is one of the funnier high profile fight incidents I can think of. At least Curry only reciprocated the headbutting that Nino started.

    Not quite Bowe bowling people over the top rope, but still pretty good.
     
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
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  3. greynotsoold

    greynotsoold Boxing Addict

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    I love how Curry wasted nothing, how he kept the pressure on without risking much at all.
     
    greynotsoold, Jun 10, 2018
    greynotsoold, Jun 10, 2018
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  4. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    :applaudit::ARMS1::Saeufer:Bravo to you Russell! Great thread subject, great thread title (part of being the Ruben Olivares of thread starters, I guess)....and great seeing a personal favorite of mine when I was a fledgling boxing fan back in the late 60's, & early, early 70's...the real Nino,...Benvenuti, that is.
    When I get back from the salt mines, I will return to this thread. Again,..:yaay:ARMS1::ARMS1::clap::clapclap::clap2:
     
    red cobra, Jun 10, 2018
    red cobra, Jun 10, 2018
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  5. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    The salt mines! :lol: That's a funny mental picture, you punching your card at the salt mine. :risas3:

    How highly do you rate the real Nino Benvenuti, cobra? How can you see him doing in a more modern 154 lb scene? Was he a great fighter? Love to hear some input on a topic you're passionate and knowledgeable about.
     
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
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  6. Saad54

    Saad54 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    La Rocca could fight. Curry's combination of handspeed and fundamentals were too much for him.
    KO's take: "Curry too good for even this quality challenger."
     
    Saad54, Jun 10, 2018
    Saad54, Jun 10, 2018
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  7. Russell

    Russell Loyal Member Full Member

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    How good was he, in your opinion? What was his ceiling, and how would he have done in a more competitive era, or even if he had been matched tougher in his own?
     
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
    Russell, Jun 10, 2018
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  8. Tin_Ribs

    Tin_Ribs Me Full Member

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    It's hilarious in retrospect how heavily hyped and backed La Rocca was in Italy in comparison to someone genuinely excellent like Kalambay. He looked like he learned to box just by watching Ali fight footage, similar to Kirkland Laing. Athletically talented with speed, but with other glaring fundamental flaws imo that would've always caught up with him. He was like a deer in the headlights against Curry and woefully out of his depth.
     
    Tin_Ribs, Jun 10, 2018
    Tin_Ribs, Jun 10, 2018
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  9. Rope-a-Dope

    Rope-a-Dope Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    I remember kind of buying into the hype at the time....until the fight started. It didn't take long to see that Larocca had no chance at all.
     
    Rope-a-Dope, Jun 10, 2018
    Rope-a-Dope, Jun 10, 2018
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  10. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    Me too greynotsoold,...I sure thought the world of prime Curry back then..I thought he was the real deal.
     
    red cobra, Jun 11, 2018
    red cobra, Jun 11, 2018
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  11. red cobra

    red cobra Loyal Member Full Member

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    Well Russell, I was a fan...he and Ken Buchanan were tops in my books by October 1970...of course the next month would usher in the greatest middleweight champ of all and Nino would be deposed for good...no winning any rematches anymore. The important thing about Nino was that he rescued boxing from the doldrums in April 1967..after Ali was forced into exile....but you'll read more about all that in my upcoming Nino thread.
     
    red cobra, Jun 11, 2018
    red cobra, Jun 11, 2018
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  12. Saad54

    Saad54 Boxing Junkie Full Member

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    He looked outstanding against guys who were slower of hand and foot than him.

    But, like others have said, he lacked the fundamentals to cope when he faced a guy (Curry) who had much better fundamentals but equal hand speed.

    He was carefully matched and hyped, but I think a good, competitive matchup for him in his prime would have been Colin Jones.

    He was certainly a legitimate top 5 contender.

    I don't buy the reasoning that , "Oh he got destroyed by Curry, therefore he was all hype."

    Curry just happened to be something special in his prime.
     
    Saad54, Jun 13, 2018
    Saad54, Jun 13, 2018
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  13. JohnThomas1

    JohnThomas1 VIP Member

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    Agree with this. It would have been nice to see a little bit more substance on his record prior to Curry but he was a pretty good fighter.
     
    JohnThomas1, Jun 13, 2018
    JohnThomas1, Jun 13, 2018
    #13