Jim Corbett vs Rocky Marciano

Marciano would be cut and take some punishment but would catch up with Corbett and beat him, The Joe Louis quote about Billy Conn comes to mind "He can run, but he can't hide." i think that would sum up Corbett against Marciano.

 

1892 Corbett vs prime Marciano, I like Marciano plenty.

If it's a case of Marciano coming along in Corbett's day, I supose it's a matter of how much boxing know how, especially footwork, Rocky would have had. I think if Rocky is able to get to Corbett enough to chip away most rounds, Rocky will win. If Corbett is able to totally, totally dominate the footwork department, all through the fight, he may well get the decision.

[EDIT] People in Tom Sharkey's day commonly commented on how quick he was; I don't think a Marciano coming along in that day would ahve matched him in that regard. On the other hand, I think Rocky would ahve been a better puncher than Tommy.

 

Rock could well be charged with manslaughter following this fight, Rock would catch him and early.

 

Corbett's neat boxing sets up an early lead for him,but there's no way he can keep Marciano off him for the alloted distance.


Marciano by tko.

 

Rocky ko behind on the cards tho.

 

I may be in the minority but I think stylistically Marciano might be a perfect match for Corbett to shine against.

Now comparing Sullivan and Marciano is a bit ridiculous but in the most basic terms they were come forward slugger swarmers who could take as much as they could give.

James J Jeffries may be the best middle ground between JLS and Rocky, matching the same basic terms description I have of the other two. And again I’ll be in the minority but I think we know enough about the Corbett Jeffries fights for me to believe that in their primes Corbett would win.
Believing this it’s hard not to say that in his prime Gentleman Jim couldn’t out skill Rocky.
Another point for Corbett I believe is his toughness was always underrated, a bit like Tunney or Mayweathers or Leonard’s, a master boxer is always deemed soft, and just because he was classier than some of his contemporaries doesn’t mean he’d be scared of anyone. But I’m saying that oddly, unlike the usual case for cross era match ups, the rules and fight length from Marcianos era might actually benefit Corbett.

If there’s was ever a man to finish a fight from behind it was Marciano so its hard to doubt Marciano would close it out by the end as he always did.
But I’m not fence sitting going to pick Corbett to take it by points over 20.

 

Funny you mention this, I've seen old newspaper articles years ago from back in the days of Joe Louis and Marciano with people saying that the previous Heavyweights were better than them and they wouldn't stand a chance back in the previous eras, funny how that works ain't it

 

This one is interesting, Corbett has the footwork, speed and trickery to give Rocky trouble. It’s also possible he will hold his own in the clinch, given how he manhandled his 235 pound sparring partner McVey.

Rocky probably wins by late stoppage by digging to the body like Fitz did and slowly breaking down Corbett. However, Jim makes a good showing and will likely be ahead at the time of the stoppage.