If Marciano hung around and fought Patterson?

I think if Marciano never retired and fought Floyd in '56 or '57 then he stood a good chance of losing. The Moore fight was Rocky's last stand and he went out in grand fashion beating Moore in a great fight but it's no surprise that it was his last fight as well. Rocky was no fool. He knew the toll his brutal training regimens were taking on his body. The way he fought demanded that he come into each fight in peak condition. Take 2 to land 1 until the other guy drops. That particular style doesn't lend itself well to a long career. Against a Cockell like opponent Rocky might be able to ease up a bit in his training and get away with it. Against Patterson he couldn't so the question then is whether Rocky's body could handle more spartan like training camps in preparation for battle. Rocky answered that for all of us by retiring. The Marciano of Walcott I and Layne would've eaten Floyd for breakfast. The Marciano that would've taken on Floyd a year or two after his war with Moore could very well have tasted defeat.

 

Anytime up to a year after his fight with Archie Moore,Rocky knocks Floyd out. Floyd would be favoured if it went into two years or more.

 

The Rocky that fought Moore beats Floyd down ... he would take serious licks over the first few rounds but Patterson would be caught and badly hurt somewhere along the way ...

Ive never understood Patterson .. the style he developed so did not fit his chin .. why he did not fight more as a boxer is beyond me ... he had the speed, build and power .. like Wlad K., he should have had a style that maximized his strengths and minized his vulnerabilities ...

 

From what I remember D'Amato said that if Marciano had hung around D'Amato would have held Patterson back from challenging from the HW title because he didn't think Floyd was ready for Marciano - I think that answers the question.

My opinion is that at that point in time ('55 or '56) if the bout had taken place Marciano would have knocked Patterson out.

 

Marciano's physical abilities would have to have slipped quite a bit for Patterson to win.

A Marciano at or near the form he displayed against Moore would wear Patterson down and Ko/stop in in the middle or late rounds. Patterson would almost certainly look good for a while, but good ol' Rocky would come storming back, as always.

Does Patterson have the durability and mentality to beat Rocky? I think he comes up short on both counts.

 

Marciano had a fight penciled in for June 1956...but he called it quits in April...think of it this way...the"Suzie Q" against Floyd's chin...Marciano by KO...

 

Marciano knocks out Floyd as soon as he warms up which may be quick, Floyd did not have the body,head or chin to stand up to Marciano's 2-fisted power

 

marciano would have retired Patterson

 

i think marciano was starting to fall apart by then, i think patterson could of got to him. but floyds style would bring him close to the danger zone. but i think they way floyd can combo on the backfoot might just play to him. rocky comes in stalking while floyd jabs and circles. as rocky begins to let off some punches floyd would throw combos when rocks thrown his shot...

but to be honest i think floyd cant do that long enough. floyds chin wasnt THAT bad it was just a style i think shouldn't of suited him.

he could drop marciano, he could outbox him for most of the fight. but could he last long enough. patterson had very good stamina. don't think he ever puffed in the later rounds. but an older marciano might of.


just because marciano could ko him i dont think thats enough evidence for a marciano win. and thats it for me. floyd faster, priming, has power to keep rocky respectable. and has the hunger a young fighter has for his first world title fight. agaisnt an aging, slowing battered fighter. who retired...so would he have the heart to stay there all the way?



floyd ud 15.

 

good post.

for my two cents, I think floyd would have a much better chance after he came back after the title loss. the chuvalo era patterson I think COULD take it

 

Anything could have happened, but If forced to choose, I think Marciano still had enough left in the tank to beat a very young Patterson... Floyd looked great against Moore, but he was still very young and green.. He would also have a recurring problem of getting decked by lesser fighters throughout his career...

 

I think it would have been a really fun fight to watch, but at the end of the day Marciano wears him down. Too munch nonstop pressure and two-fisted attack by the heavy handed Marciano. Rocky just kept punching hard all the time, and he pressured everyone and made them work and fight hard all the time. As Marciano advanced, he dipped and rolled punches too, and immediately advanced firing vicious blows. It wasn't just his punching ability, but his ability to advance constantly and fairly quickly while eluding more blows than people realize, as well as absorb well the ones that did land, without being discouraged, and to keep pounding on a man.

But Patterson was fast enough and had enough power that he would land some nice ones too before it was all over, which would make it an entertaining bout. I think Floyd's heart is being underrated here, and perhaps even his chin, slightly. Sure he got dropped, but other than Liston who had such massive power that he just took him out, and the first Johansson fight, when he was perfectly timed by that brilliant right, Floyd always got up and fought back hard, and even against Johansson, he kept getting up even though he was totally out of it. He got decked in several other fights, including one of the Johansson rematch fights, and came back to win. He was tough and fairly durable and had that blazing fast crisp punch. But yes, with that at least semi-suspect chin, one has to question his ability to take Marciano's blows.

Odds would be that Marciano would get him and finish him, but like I said, I don't think he just blows through him without a scuffle.

 

Cus admitted he would never put Patterson in against Marciano, but if it had happened, I think Floyd's speed and sharp punching gives him an advantage in the first couple of rounds, but I can't see him taking out the Rock or going all 15 without getting worn down.

Marciano by KO, mid to late rounds.

 

I think that Marciano would have lost around this time, but that Patterson would probably not have been the man who would have done it.