Is Marciano the Greatest the Sport has Ever Seen?

You lost? Impossible ...

 

Marciano was far more than a better than average puncher. Louis stated Marciano hit harder than Schmeling. Schmelings right hand was considered to be one of the most powerful of his time. Fleischer who sat ringside watching Dempsey, Louis and Rocky fight and train stated that Marciano as a puncher was on the same level as both Louis and Dempsey. That's quite a hard puncher. I am no huge Marciano fan but there is no mistaken that he was one of the greatest hwt champions ever to live. He had all the characteristics of a great fighter. No one (of any note) during his time or to this day stated he was the greatest. He would have given very tough fights to most every other past champion and that includes Ali and Louis both of which are typically rated one and two all time.

 

Marciano beat guys he wasn't supposed to beat on paper.

 

Which fights was he considered the underdog in?

 

Louis and Layne off of the top of my head. My meaning was more towards if Marciano hadn't fought Walcott and Charles would you pick him to win in a fantasy match up? Not rationally.

 

Layne should have done something on paper.

It was a classing slugger vs. swarmer fight!

 

You could make the argument for Rocky being the best ever.

I would disagree.
He doesn't have the legacy fights of Ali, nor the longevity of Louis

 

I don't understand the scorn Marciano gets heaped on him on this site at times.

Whether or not he was the best ever or not or whether he could beat the giants of today is moot in my view. This stuff can't and never will be proven one way or the other and doesn't matter anyway. Rocky proved he was the best of his time and that's all anyone can ever hope to be.

What he was, was a guy who overcame some pretty extreme physical limitations (height, reach, speed) to rule and dominate one of boxing's glamour divisions in the era in which he competed. To do so he climbed off the floor to win, came from behind to win, fought back from the brink of defeat with horrendous cuts to win. In fact all he ever did was win.

He should be the poster boy for getting every single thing out of yourself, what hard work can achieve and how you don't have to be the body beautiful or an athletic specimen to succeed in this most brutal and demanding sport.

Time was a guy like Rocky was celebrated for what he accomplished and the chapter he wrote in boxing's history but now there seem to be some who want to take a hatchet to everything he achieved for what ends I don't know. I reckon it's a pretty shabby way to treat a guy who exhibited every trait we ask from a great fighter especially when its being administered by people who haven't achieved a single thing that is comparable nor risked what Marciano did.

 

I wasn't referring to you specifically although I do believe this thread will bring out the disrespectful, negative, naysayers whether you intended it or not.

Rocky definitely possessed some of the qualities that Robinson, Greb, Langford et al possessed especially in the areas of courage, will and determination, absolutely. He falls well short in number of fights, depth of resume and probably all round ability (although we don't have any visual evidence of that in Grebs case). Rocky went 49-0 which is great. But Robinson was 128-1-2 at one point, and Greb went 45-0 in a single year FFS!

Rocky deserves to rank high amongst the all time heavies and amongst sub-200lb fighters I struggle to see anyone beating him. He was a beast. But he simply falls short of the all time p4p elite in my view for the reasons previously stated. He was great but he isn't amongst the p4p best and there's no shame in that.

 

Marciano is awarded every attribute he required to win in the situations he did win just like everybody else is.

There has long been a fetish to knock marciano using only comparisons from incomparable times using a modern world view where greater emphasis is put upon futuristic benefits that are beyond all proportion.

Seems to me folks only defend Marciano when others are being promoted at his expense.

 

Marciano is great with a fairly limited set of natural gifts. He had a great combination of stamina, chin and power. Not many match him on those 3. However he could be outboxed ala Walcott until he ate that Suzie Q.

Ali's chin would have allowed him to outbox Rocky at range for a points decision. There may be other granite chonned slicksters with a chance but he would take out most bangers.

 

Great Griffo!...Very well said! Marciano cannot be judged merely by what you can see!!!

 

Let's not pretend Marciano had done something that thousands over thousands over thousands of boxers haven't been doing, by working very hard in training and overcoming physical or other limitations.

 

Its the 0 on his record that makes him a polarizing figure amongst boxing fans. Some worship him for it others resent him for it.