Marciano vs Holyfield at Cruiserweight (190lb)

Great question! :good

This would have been a battle of the gladiators as neither man ever had an inch of quit in them and were both fierce and determined competitors. Even if this would have been at heavyweight, I still would say that Marciano had the better chin and power so it's obvious that he would have the edge in those departments as far as I'm concerned with Holyfield having the superior hand speed and boxing ability. I look at Holyfied's fights with Qawi as a cruiserweight and in the first one he barely won and Marciano is a far superior fighter to Qawi. That being said, here's how I see the fight going:

The Fight

The fans at ringside and around the world are excited about this spectacular bout between two of the toughest men ever to step into a ring. Both are confident of victory as the referee gives the instructions. For the first few rounds Holyfield is doing the smart thing and boxing Marciano, effectively keeping him on the outside with Marciano pursuing and attempting to cut off the ring. Marciano is landing some heavy body shots with some being almost borderline low and Holyfield is pushing his head against Marciano but no fouls are being called in this battle. In rounds 6-8 Marciano is starting to find the range as Holfield is looking to mix it up more as his corner is objecting to that fight strategy. Both men are showing the signs of a tough fight with the fans on their feet with Holyfield perhaps landing more but Marciano's carrying more steam and power. In round 11 Marciano finds the mark with a great right hand and sends Holyfield to the canvas. Holyfield gets up and surprises everybody by fighting back fiercely. In round 12 both men are battling evenly when Marcianpo crashes home another one of his patented Suzy Q right hands. Holyfield once again struggles to his feet beating the count but the referee wisely halts the contest.

Marciano by 12th round TKO.

 

Holyfield barely beat Qawi ?
How about the first Lastarza and Lowry fights?
I don't think it's a given that Marciano had a better chin than Holyfield and he certainly was more susceptible to cuts.

 

Holyfield W15 Marciano.

Holyfield - faster, better combination puncher, slightly better defense, more versatile.
Marciano - more power, more experienced
Equal - stamina, chin, heart

 

Holyfield improved after the first Qawi fight. He fought at Cruiser a full two years after that fight. He got physically stronger in the next few years.

 

Yes he did! It was his 12th fight ,silly comparison by the OP.

 

Holyfield had a much better chin then Joe Louis.

 

I don't really see the relevance of this.:huh


Louis was stopped twice in 69 fights ,both times by men who held the title at some point , both were excellent punchers and both gradually wore him down.

 

This!

NOBODY stops a prime Holy at CW. NOBODY.

Holyfield's work rate was phenomenal as well.

He's a better Marciano (minus the power).

 

Marciano by KO late

 

This would be one of the most exciting fights a fan would want to see. If Holyfield elects to box and move and take advantage of his height and reach and speed then I honestly think he can win this. If he chooses to slug it out with Rocky it could get dicey. Both fighters had good chins but I have to disagree with those who say that Marciano clearly had the better chin. Holy took shots from super HW's, men that Rocky never went up against. men like Bowe and Foreman and Tyson etc.. men in the range of 215-240 lbs and stood his ground and fired back. And these fighters could punch. Is the fight a 12 or 15 rounder? If it's 12 I"ll lean toward Evander. If it's a 15 rounder I'll lean toward Rocky. No matter what it will be a fight for the ages.

 

people that bring up the first qawi fight as a criticism of holyfield (in h2h scenarios) never mention that in holfyield's 14th or 15th pro fight, their rematch, evander knocked him out onto the scorers table.

peak cruiserweight holyfield, say, his last fight there against occasio, and marciano would be one for the ages. holyfield at the end of his cruiserweight run had developed great legs.. he could take a punch and stay on his feet easily, not even get swayed. cruiserweights were a f*#K8** joke to him by then.

marciano-holyfield couldn't be anything but a tearup, knockdown, drag'em out.

 

:thumbsup

 

Spot on summary.

 

Rocky is an amazing p4p fighter, and if he had a career in the CW division it would be difficult to argue against him as a the greatest CW ever.

As it is he never fought there and Holy did so Holy takes that mantle.

But for a fight at 190 pound limit, I have to still favour Holy, he proved he could fight a hard pace at this weight so wasn't drained. He is quicker than Rock, comparable power, far better movement. Holy on points or late tko.

 

Holyfeild is an ATG but at 190 I would pick Ezzard Charles to beat him. And that's no disgrace.

Marciano always beats Charles so I favour Rocky.