Give credit, Marciano left the heavyweight division ALMOST decimated.

I agree with you in theory, but if I remember correctly, all of the guys Marciano fought were #1 when he fought them, except Cockell who was #2. No champion is required to maintain that level of excellence. Beloved guys like Larry Holmes and Floyd Patterson padded out their title reigns with poor opposition that had no hope of winning, and Holmes famously declined to fight Page when he was #1.

So no fault on Rocky.

That being said, yeah, if there was one more, I much rather would have seen Nino than Jackson.

 

JOE LOUIS
"It hurt to bump into him....He hits harder than Max Schmeling...this kid is tough enough to beat anyone."

"The Rock didn't know too much about the boxing book, but it wasn't a book he hit me with. It was a whole library of bone crushers."

"I had a bad weakness kept hid throughout my career. I didn't like to be crowded, and Marciano always crowded his opponents. That's why I say I could never beat him."


MUHAMMED ALI

“I could have beaten all of those guys, except for maybe Marciano.”


“When I was 14 years old and listening to the radio and I heard the announcer, ‘.and still champion of the whole world, Rocky Marciano..’ I knew I wanted to be champion someday. He was a big influence in the start of my career.”


"Ooo he hit hard. He hit you so hard it'd jar your kin folks in Africa...it'd been rough...I truly think on my best day and his best day I would have beaten him...I think he was better than Joe Frazier, I truly think he was better than Joe Frazier and you know what Joe Frazier did to me...I think it would be even, he may have won. It's just hard...In his heyday, he may have won. It's up to the imagination.


(When asked who would have given him the most trouble)

"Rocky Marciano...He would be the most trouble I think...Rocky Marciano."


ACHIE MOORE

(When asked which punch hurt him most)
"Man they all hurt."

"After a fight with Marciano, it felt like you had been beat all over the upper body with a black jack or hit with rocks."


"He could hurt you sure, but it was the quantity of his punches. He just had more stamina than anyone else in those days. He was like a bull with gloves."


JERSEY JOE WALCOTT
"Joe could take you out with combinations...Marciano was a one-punch artist. He threw every punch like you throw a baseball, as hard as he could. I have to say, with all respect to Joe, Marciano hit harder."

“I liked that title. I didn’t want to lose it to anybody, but if I had to lose it, I’m glad I lost it to you. You’re a good fighter and gonna be a great champ.”


JACK DEMPSEY
"What everyone forgets is that Marciano can punch harder with a right hand than any modern-day heavyweight. In his first fight with Walcott, Rocky needed only one blow to win the title. The power in his right scrambled Jersey Joe's brains at Chicago."

"I've scored my share of knockouts along the way, but more often than not my opponents got up after being knocked down and had to be knocked down repeatedly. The same is true of Joe Louis. But Marciano needs only one solid smash and it's all over. That's why I say Rocky Marciano is the hardest-hitting heavyweight champion I have seen."


GEORGE FOREMAN

I rank “Joe Louis 1, Marciano 2” Marciano retired undefeated. No other heavies has ever done it;


JOE FRAZIER

“Joe Louis is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time. Rocky Marciano is second only to Louis. Where do I rate Ali? Somewhere below me. I beat him, and if I could beat him, no doubt Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano could have beaten him.”



FLOYD PATTERSON
"He was the most determined heavyweight I have ever seen in my life. That man got in the ring and there was no way he was going to lose... Determination is based in the mind. How far can you go? What is your limit? With Marciano there was no limit."

SONNY LISTON
"This man was one of the greatest champions ever. He refused to accept defeat. And nobody beat him."

 

Again, you against the great heavies. The usual suspects coming in and talking out of their assess against Ali, Frazier, Foreman, Patterson, Liston, Dempsey, and Walcott.

 

I have just posted a few on post 22. You have seen them before.

 

And there is is. You are a racist buffoon, as are most Marciano haters.