I didn't think it was a great performance. Life magazine reported: "Trying to knock the challenger out with one punch, the 29-year-old Marciano was over-eager and awkward. He lunged, butted, hit below the belt, on the break and after the bell. Once, he swung so wildly that he missed and slipped clumsily to the canvas. Outboxing the champion and avoiding his blows, LaStarza managed to win four of the first six rounds. In the seventh, Marciano changed his tactics, started aiming at LaStarza's body as well as his head in an attempt to wear the challenger down. He succeeded."
If beating a non-entity like Lastarza proves greatness then the Hall of Fame needs to build a second, third, fourth and fifth wing.
Well we can limit it to guys who beat him twice, which only Marciano did. But being as he lost nine fights to eight different men, I think we can hold off on the construction project. Are you seriously saying Marciano doesn’t belong in the hall of fame?
I would love to say that only for the trolling value but of course not. But he damn sure doesn't belong in the HOF for beating Lastarza.
Lastarza is the only erstwhile"contender " I have ever read who openly said, in a Ring interview that he avoided the tough contenders,parlaying a close decision loss 3 years earlier against Marciano into a title shot he really did not merit. Which ranked fighters did he beat? A washed Rex Layne by split dec. Lastarza entered the ratings in 49 at no10.Ranked above him that year were, from the top. Charles,Oma,Thompson,Walcott,Woodcock,Savold,Bivins,Valentino,Agramonte. Lastarza fought none of them. Rollie fought as big a collection of patsies and anyone who has fought for the heavyweight title in the last 100years. Seventeen fights without a loss,he fights 2-9-0 Holloway. As an undefeated 22 fight boxer he took on Georges a debutee! In 18 of his 63 fights his opponents had losing records . Going into his title fight Lastarza's record was 53-3-0. What would it have been if he had faced some of these names who were ranked when he was? Names like Louis Walcott Charles Baker Henry Satterfield Baksi Walls