How would the rest of the reign had gone? Had he gone undefeated in this extended reign, does he move up in your all time list? 1953: May- Jersey Joe Walcott KO1 September- Roland Lastarza TKO 11 December- Harold Johnson- ??? 1954: March: Clarence Henry- ?? June: Ezzard Charles W 15 September: Ezzard Charles KO 8 1955: February: Nino Valdes -??? May: Don Cockell TKO 9 September: Archie Moore KO 9 1956: February: Bob Baker - ?? May : Floyd Patterson - ?? Marciano Retires
Based on quantity of fights, sure, but none of these guys really add much as names, taking into account that Patterson and Johnson really weren't who they became, yet. Patterson and Johnson still might have gone on to greatness, and there is butterfly effect, so some of the other guys might have done very well later on in this altered timeline. So yeah, I guess if moves him up, but he just didn't need to beat any of these guys.
I think it's questionable how well he handles the busier schedule vs. high level opposition. For example, one of the reasons for the gap between the Charles rematch & Cockell fight was to allow his nose to heal. For me, absolutely. Seeing him beat a much larger contender like Valdes &/or "young buck" HoFers like Johnson & Patterson would thwart a lot of the doubts/criticism that he faces today.
