Heavyweight Fight of the Week #11: Rex Layne, a Double Header...

You should definitely thank whoever recommended this, they're probably cool and an underrated boxing historian and a prodigy of pugilism at roughly the age of 18

 

Layne vs Satterfield:

Round 1: 10-8 Satterfield. good clipping shot, surprised Layne got up so quickly, Satterfield has notorious power. Layne had a good rally at the end of the round. Satterfield is in amazing condition.

Round 2: 10-9 Layne (19-18 Satterfield). Layne has an underrated jab and sense of distance. Braddock/Foreman esk deceptive jab. Good right cross too, keeps Satterfield away from the inside. Marciano critiquing Layne's balance is hilarious considering the source. Also something that looks like a cellphone is in the top left of the ring and its bothering me, though i suppose time travelers from the future must wish to know about the mighty Rex Layne's conquest.

Round 3: 10-9 Layne (28-28 Even). Layne's movement is very unorthodox, it must be frustrating for the very orthodox Satterfield. Layne has decent head movement at 11:42, slips 2 of Satterfield's punches. Layne was the aggressor this round and it showed.

Round 4: 10-9 Layne (38-37 Layne). Difficult round to score, Satterfield started throwing more, but mostly landed on Layne's guard. Layne uses a rudimentary shoulder roll at 14:50. Layne working the jab less for some odd reason. Could easily see this scored as Satterfield's round. Both are hungry.

Round 5: 10-9 Layne (48-46 Layne). Again a close round, though this one a little more clearly in favor of Layne. Satterfield's head movement was improved at the beginning of the round but diminished as time went on. Layne once again edges a round on his jab and defense against Satterfield's clean inside punches. I'm still surprised Satterfield was up after 18:00. The punch was clean and he looked out of it. Layne seems to be tiring, the jab is less snappy as it was in earlier rounds.

Round 6: 10-9 Satterfield (57-56 Layne). Layne has pretty much abandoned the jab at this point. Layne slips Satterfield's quick jab at 18:57, good head movement there, Layne is clearly competent on a lowered guard maneuvering. 19:10 Satterfield returns that with his own Dempsey-esk bob and weaving, slipping 2 of Layne's jabs.

Round 7: 10-9 Satterfield (56-56 Even). Part of the round is missing sadly. Layne is a tough son of a *****, just LOOK at the absolute slugfest that ended that round. This crowd got their money's worth, this round is one of the best rounds of 1951. Satterfield had him hurt but Layne was still standing his ground and managed to land shots of his own, though Satterfield clearly outclassed him there. Arguably 10-8 round.

Round 8: LAYNE TKO. Satterfield came storming out, determined to finish Layne, but Layne's right hand fixed that mindset. Satterfield is tired by this point, he spent alot of energy trying to finish Layne in the in the 7th. Layne does the smart thing and goes back to sticking behind his jab. He pushed Satterfield out of the clinch with his farmboy strength and stalked him with the 1-2. Satterfield made one last desperate attack before Layne grazed him with another right and it was all over from there. Layne lands a JOLTING straight right on the jaw of Satterfield, knocking him down. Nobody expected Satterfield to get up, he was flat on his back, but this is what true contenders are made out of. Satterfield proves his heart by getting back up. Layne throws some sloppy, inaccurate shots, clearly excited by the prospect of finishing Satterfield, but he doesn't even need to, Bob is out on his feet. The ref stops it. Satterfield was a good contender, but Layne was a great contender.



Layne vs Marciano:

Round 1: 10-9 Marciano. This round... How can you even score it? They both must've thrown 50 punches minimum, neither fighter held back or retreated, all out infighting and brawling. Rocky lands an explosive 3 punch combo at 2:45. Imo Rocky's cleaner shots are what won him this round.

Round 2: 10-10 Even (20-19 Marciano). Good action on both ends, couldn't decide who to give it to.

Round 3: 10-9 Marciano (30-28 Marciano). Again with the high pace slugging, but this time Marciano lands devastating, explosive combinations that crack Layne. Layne is tough and game to take those. Dominant round for Rocky. Layne also leaned on Rocky, i thought leaning was invented by Wladimir Klitschko? Either the modernists are wrong or Wlad is some long descendant of Layne. Considering both gassed within 6 rounds, this is probably the case.

Round 4: 10-9 Layne (39-38 Marciano) Marciano shows why some call him the Brockton Strongboy and throws the larger Layne to the canvas, Rocky is an intimidating force to reckon with. Layne has good body work. Marciano misses quite a few Suzie Qs, Layne is doing better on the outside. However, the mistake has been made. Marciano has already dug a mineshaft into Layne's stomach.

Round 5: 10-9 Marciano (49-47 Marciano). Marciano pressured Layne hard this round. Layne is clearly tiring. 11:30 Layne takes a massive overhand right from Rocky, I don't even know how he's still standing. Rocky's defense is very clearly still being developed. His defense was much more solid in the Savold fight, and flowed with his offense better. The puncher from Utah needs to pray for a miracle, the body shots and pressure have taken too much of a toll.

Round 6: Marciano straightup murders Layne. Layne never recovered from this knockout. Not only was Layne beaten, but he was broken down methodically, sparked cold, and had his front teeth knocked out.


I must say Layne controlled the pace better in the Satterfield fight than the Marciano fight. Against Bob, he was able to stay behind his jab and use head movement. Marciano's pressure must've made Layne forget about what little defense he had.

Many fighters would've hung up the gloves after what Marciano did to Layne. I only wish Layne had retired for good after that fight, or at least perhaps after his series with Ezzard Charles. After that he was just a fat lard of broken dreams used by midwestern nobodies to get a famous name on their ledger. A tragedy for the once great contender.

 

Love Rocky's commentary!