In what weight class would Marciano fight today?

No the cruiserweight divison. Stop making up your own rules

 

Marciano was trained down to the lowest weight he could get to, he would blow up when not training. Joe Louis I heard was 230lbs when he KO'd Nino Valdes in 1 rd in an exhibition fight but trained down for a defense of his title.

Ali at 215 vs Frazier was his perfect weight but he weighed less coming up.

If fights were back to 15 rds, you would see a lot of weight shed.

Today there is a more advanced weight and muscle gain methods. Tyson fought in the under 200lb weight class and Evander fought in the light heavy division in the amateurs but there are more advanced methods & medicines to blow up with muscle these days so if Marciano was around these days he may benefit from the new stuff.

 

Excellent point including Byrd. Here is Byrd explaining why he fought at heavyweight.

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Also, Marciano would've always fought at heavyweight. Marciano had to consistently put in a lot of road work and also watch his diet to show up under 200 lbs.

When Rocky wasn't in training he was well over 200 lbs.

Rocky showing his naturally thick frame outside of training
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/2009_0605_wwrocky.jpg

Marciano starting training.
http://www.fighttoys.com/Marciano 1954-5-10a WP.jpg

Marciano with his student Billy Ryan, who was a light heavyweight. Ryan's frame is nowhere as naturally thick as Marciano's
http://www.josportsinc.com/item_images/1237836925.jpg

 

What we have now is the dreadnought division they tried to create for Primo Carnera sized guys in the 1930s, except it’s still called the heavyweight division.

It isn’t the heavyweight division anymore because there aren’t any heavyweights in it anymore so it should be called Superheavyweight as it is in the amateurs.


The cruiserweight division dosnt have any cruiserweight fighters anymore because they are all over 190 in the ring. Therefore these are the heavyweights. This division should be called heavyweight as it is in the amateurs.

Heavyweight as it should be called is where 95% of the greatest big men in history fought. This is where Marciano would fight today too.

 

Oh so you admit that cruiserweight covers 180-215/220 sized guys?

What percentage of the best heavyweights from history were within that bracket before PEDs?

Were those guys incorrectly called heavyweights? Or are the guys that size today incorrectly called cruiserweights?

More importantly are the new guys that came along (that are bigger than that) should they correctly be called heavyweight when in the amateurs they are first called Superheavyweight?

 

It depends how he performs in the ring. Almost all top fighters south of HW these days have to make a trade off between boiling down to the lowest weight their bodies can safely get to with the aid of diuretics and other drugs, and competing in a more comfortable division against men that they know will be significantly bigger than them on the night. It's not an exact science, and depends a lot on individual factors. Brandon Rios would physically torture himself just to get a few extra pounds over his opponent on fight night because that benefitted his style. Mayweather would regularly cut minimal weight to maintain sharpness and speed and not feel too drained.

As for Rocky, obviously his options to play around with weight are a bit more limited. At LHW he would be facing men his own size, but may lack power and/or stamina depending on how easily he makes weight. At CW he'd be undersized and facing men with significant reach advantages over him, but would still be able to compete as the Rocky we all know and love. Considering he was undersized throughout most of his HW career, the second option does sound the more viable, but it could also result in a lot more wear and tear and a shorter career. He'd also be more likely to pick up a few losses along the way, which would impact his marketability. At LHW he has a greater potential to remain undefeated.

 

Or people can stop thinking of Cruiserweight as a dirty word. A lot of the stigma the CW division faces is due to the skewed perceptions of ignorant and disrespectful fans who are happy to consider fighters like Louis and Ali bonafide heavyweights (they were), but look down their nose at modern cruiserweights as undersized midgets (they aren't).

No one's ever going to rename the CW division, of course, but the more casual fans become aware of what a red hot division it is the more interest it'll garner, which will lead to more money and more incentive to fight there. It'll likely never get out from under the shadow of HW, but it can certainly become a highly respected division in its own right. That's the most that can be hoped for, really.

 

I would like a name change.

For a generation now Amateurs who fight in a Superheavyweight division turn pro, get bigger, and are fighting in a professional division called heavyweight when they are no smaller than they were as amateur Superheavyweights. That’s wrong.

So long as boxers are recruited from Amatuer boxing this makes absolutely no logical sense.

For as long as Superheavyweight and heavyweight exists in amateur boxing nobody is ever going to know what cruiserweight is. For that reason cruiserweight will always be a dirty word. And the heavyweights in that division deserve more than that.

If it’s not a Superheavyweight and it’s not a lightheavyweight then it is a heavyweight.

Cruiserweight as a word is redundant.

 

Maybe he fights at cruiser for a lot of his career. But in my mind zero chance at LHW and he def moves up to HW for a chance at the title at some point. If not fighting his whole career there. I’m confused as to why people think he would have a problem against modern cruisers lol that’s basically the height n weight he knocked out most of his career mixed in w a few SHW and small heavy weights

 

This.

 

Why zero chance he fights at light heavy? He was still hitting 180 during same-day weigh-ins halfway through his career. I don't see any reason why he couldn't easily drain another 3-5 pounds if he had 24 hours to rehydrate.

 

Because Rocky was already cutting 25-30lbs to get in the 180lb range. To an everyday guy cutting an extra 3-5 lbs is nothing, but for a highly trained athlete that’s already trained to the bone it can spell disaster. Remember when Chad Dawson thought he could just cut a few pounds and fight at 168 to get a shot at Ward? It was just 5-6 lbs, but Dawson’s body crashed within the first couple of rounds and he took a one sided beating.

It also takes a fighter or any athlete a while to find out where their body is most comfortable. Marciano’s comfortable weight range happened to be 185-190. For the bigger guys like Shkor and Bill Wilson, who were 220+ Marciano came in at 190, but against more mobile opponents he came in around 185. My coach’s son was at the fight with Ted Lowry and said Marciano gassed, since he came in too light at 180 and was lucky to get the decision.

Here is Archie Moore talking about the difficulty of cutting down from 197lbs to 175 lbs in 50 days and how it drains his strength. Moore would’ve likely had a lot more success at heavyweight if he would’ve stayed around the 190 range, since playing around with your weight too much can ruin your body.

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Cruiserweight. Rocky fought generally between 184 and 188, but he was already cutting down to get there from weights of around 200 between fights. It would be much easier for him - and much more sensible, too - to add a little extra bulk to make himself a solid Cruiser than it would be to boil himself down even further (not sure he actually could) to squeeze himself down to 175. With modern-day weigh in practices, he might theoretically be able to drain himself down to 175 just to get on the scales, but I suspect it would detract from his performances. He was just too broad and stocky to be a Light-Heavyweight.

Small-ish Cruiserweight it is, then.

 

What the other guys above said and the fact that Rocky was obsessed with making it. He knew where the money was and in my mind he really doesn’t fight at cruiserweightnt long. He’d want the big money. Same reason Byrd fought at HW Marciano would. Now could Marciano be as successful at 210? Who knows w modern training but I think it would affect his style.

 

Not sure he possessed the athleticism to compete in the sport today, no matter the division.

He would have been a fine poster on this board, tho.