To be honest JT, I don't rate him one iota. But I have been watching threads to see what I may have missed. Various gifs or short videos have been posted to show his skills but they have only served to reinforce my impression that he was not very good. One GIF (sorry Rez, these are all going to be yours. I've got a lot of time for your posts and videos but I just see things differently to you when it comes to Marciano. But I don't intend a personal pop at you.) purported to show an uppercut with 'perfect trajectory'. It missed. It was thrown from the outside and the arm ended up sailing straight over his own head. Another claimed to show his great speed but all I saw was him miss a punch and fall over. It was like watching a Three Stooges film. The recent threads showing relentless pressure vs Savold and his footwork against Louis were both very unimpressive to me. Slow and ponderous. As a great of the sport, he is an icon and as a poster boy for making the most of what he had, he may be without equal. But if pressed, I could think of a huge number of heavyweights who I would bet on against him. I think he came along in a post war dip in heavyweight talent and made the most of the opportunity. Fair play to him. There's a video of him training on youtube and watching him try to skip rope and take on the speed bag is hard to watch. I suppose, in answer to your question, I have no problem with those who say he is a top ten champion in terms of greatness but if that were to be defined by talent and real top drawer career victories, well, I don't know. Top 20? Maybe?
You failed to mention Ali was arguably gifted a few of his defences i have both Ali and Louis ahead of Marciano but he's from their cloth without a doubt.
Yes he won but I presented a list of caveats to set against the victory and you've just disregarded them by saying 'bla bla'. Cockell had been knocked out in one by Jim Slade so he put on 30lb of blubber which enabled him to go 9 with Marciano. Think about it. And Moore was a great undeniably but he was in his 40s and still able to make light heavyweight. Take your blinkers off and watch Tyson-Spinks. That's what happens when a great heavyweight fights a past prime (albeit ten years younger than Moore) light heavyweight.
38, not 40 something. You must be a young one, not surprised. 188 is not a Light Heavyweight. Unless you also consider Maricano to be a Light Heavyweight since he weighed that as well. Yes, Moore had over 100 fights. 1 out of 3 facts right, is not terribly bad. There's really no way you can twist a win over the #1 Heavyweight Contender and All Time Great Pound 4 Pound fighter of equal weight, as a worse feat than being dominated and blasted out by a journeyman in the biggest upset of all time.
Well, according to the Floyd Mayweather thread, it all depends on how well his opponents did after he beat them. How many wins did Louis have after losing to Marciano? How many wins did Walcott have? How many wins did LaStarza have after he lost his title challenge? How many wins did Carmine Vingo have after he lost to Marciano? If we're rating Rocky using the same criteria some folks on here rate Floyd, not very high.
Moore was 38 and Maricano was 32. Spinks was 31 and Tyson was 21. Math really isn't your strong point?
Depends who you believe. His mum said he was born in 1913 making him nearly 42 when he fought Marciano. I;ll go with her rather than you, seeing as how she was there at the time. He was recognised as The Ring's light heavy champion as late as 1962, seven years after he fought Marciano. I take that to mean he was a light heavyweight when he fought in 1955. He just happened to weigh 188lbs. And yes he had over 100 fights. Struggling to see where I only score 1/3 facts right, to be honest. But thanks fr calling me young. Nicest thing anyone said to me all day.
Marciano was prime when he fought Moore. Tyson had fought eight rounds in over 5 years when he fought Holyfield. Try and use a bit of context.
I see what you did there. Moore was a past prime light heavyweight not cruiserweight. 15lbs of difference. Still. Nice try.
Great post. Marciano, as driven as he was, was overrated. I love how people talk about his power and his will to win, but I can't help thinking that someone like Lennox Lewis or Mike Tyson would absolutely annihilate him. And when people say "Imagine him at Cruiser today!" yeah, imagine him going up against Usyk. He'd get clowned.
So what? All that means is he retired at the right time. He had been champion for just three years. When was his prime exactly if not after three years as champ and eight years as a pro. That would be like Holmes in 1981 or Ali in 68. That logical enough for you?
I see what you tried there, Moore was only 1/4 pound lighter wheras Spinks was 6 pound lighter. Next please.......
