Jersey Joe Walcott Quotes Before The First Rocky Marciano Bout.........

"If I don't beat Marciano take my name out of the record book."

Walcott also referred to Marciano as being crude, clumsy, and easy to hit.

Walcott was defiantly confident and apparently the underdog in the fight.

 

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On paper yes but largley because many of his Brockton neighbours bet all their life savings on him.

He was verry much a markey led favourite.

 

Done.

 

Yep Foreman can be thinked for that I suppose.

 

Most uncharacteristic of the gentlemanly Walcott to speak so disrespectfully about another fighter like that. I know that he probably felt pretty foolish afterwards...that is, when they told him that it wasn't a truck that hit him.

 

Walcott pretty much change his mind on Marciano after there first fight.

Louis was pretty much the same way with him walking out on the veiwing of one of Marciano's fights, and the media going so far in the Marciano Louis fight if Rocky won, it would be by mistake. Rocky was pretty much look down in regards to his skills in his own era.

Rocky got a review skill level wise in the 60's and 70's up today. But at the time, it was caveman, crude, master of no defense. Which of couse non of it was true of couse.

Even Ezzard Charles said Rocky was better than you guys make him out to be.

Even once mention Rocky's feiting skills. He feits with his feet and he feits with his fist. He looks like he is about to thown a left and your chin gets hit by a right hand.

 

Does anyone know what JJW had to say after the fight? Does anyone know what he said before the 2nd fight?

Given that JJW is thought of very highly as a boxer/puncher, a phrase I think Bummy recently used to describe him, what does that tell us about the tendency to sell Marciano short?

It certainly seems as though Marciano can be thought of as amateurish or easy to hit, but when very skilled boxers fight him they eventually lose.

What aspect of Marciano are they missing? Whatever that is they are underestimating about Marciano, why are they doing so and why didn't they recognize this fact?

Perhaps Ali, who had some limited experience with an old Marciano in the ring, knew perfectly well what he would be getting into if he had to seriously fight this man?

 

I couldn't give you exact quotes, but i've read him saying several times that Marciano proved to be a lot harder to hit than he initially thought, when going into the bout.

That, and the fact that he looks goofy made (and still make) a lot of people underestimate him.

And then they got in the ring with him.

 

Walcott thought he fought bums and thought he had limited skills. Thought he was very amateurish and a sloppy crude slugger that would be easy to hit and walk through. Basically he had no respect for Marciano or what he had accomplishment and felt he was completely hyped up.

As for Ali, he didn't think too much of Marciano. He said he was a great champ but once he got in the ring with an aging Marciano he got his arms so busted up and sore that he gained and immense amount of respect for him. So did Walcott, even more so for him.

 

Rocky gives a tough fight to anyone in history. I'm not worried about Rocky vs. slick boxers like some people seem to be, Marciano's best wins were over some of the greatest boxers ever in Walcott, Charles, and Moore.

I worry about Marciano against guys like Lennox, but there's something to be said for a will to win like Rocky had.

 

Ali did have a lot of respect for Rocky even before sparring with him.