Would be like a version of James Toney vs Vassily Jirov. JT had to dig deep to win this one. Rocky hits harder than VJ and is more busy. Rocky on pts.
A great matchup that makes sense. The Marciano/Foreman replies are mind boggling. I have Toney by late stoppage. Better defense and more durable than Charles. Slightly less pop but not by much.
But Toney didn`t have slightly less pop than Marciano who could bully him leaning off center avoiding most straight and countering them with good speed via the counter as Toney leans forward to catch Rocky because he leaned away from punches as they came.
If Jirov could give Toney such a great fight my money is on Marciano. He was a MUCH harder puncher than Jirov, had similar stamina and was actually a bit harder to hit than the Russian Tiger. Marciano by UD.
As much as I like Toney, I believe he has ZERO chance in this fight. Despite the sharp counters he will undoubtedly land on Rocky, he will lose a battle of attrition, in convincing fashion. He either gets KO’d or barely hears the final bell, while looking a haggard mess. The image of Dave Tiberi troubling a weight drained Toney with a high punch output solidifies my prediction.
But without the knockdown of Marciano and with Toney endeavouring to counter off the ropes,not an ideal place to be against Rocky!