Hard to say. We have a very clear idea what Marciano was. We don't have a clear idea what Jeffries was. There are plausible interpretations of Jeffries that would have lost to Marciano, and there are plausible interpretations that woudl have beaten him. Your old man was probably right that it woudl have been a great fight.
Rocky would actually be the more scientific and advanced guy in the ring for once, and batters the durable old dinosaur for 14 rounds until his knuckles are ready to shatter and the ref finally takes pity on poor Rocky who looks like he just pulled a 14 hour shift at the Jeep plant. Jeff looks like he was jumped by a gang with a bloody nose, missing tooth, swollen eyes, and a broken rib but is confused why the fight is being stopped confident he could have turned things around in the 17th round once Rocky gasses.
I agree fully with this post. I will also add that the sport was so different in their respective eras that there are numerous factors that could effect the outcome.
Well this would be a brawl, and from what I understand Jeffries had the physical advantages of size and strength. But there's just too much that is unknown about Jefferies
Marciano had too much defense and technique for ol' Jeff. Rocky was an expert at taking shots at awkward angles so he wasn't staggered, and also setting up his own power shots with unorthodox movement and some good boxing ability. I think he would stop Jeffries before round 10.
Can't agree there, Marciano might've been more technically sound and defensively sound than Jeffries but it's not as significant as you think. Jeffries shows better head movement in this training footage than Rocky ever has: This content is protected 3:45-6:02
To my eye, looks amateurish and not up to par with what Rocky could put forth. If anything solidified my opinion more. But Jeffries is one of the more famed old timers of boxing, I am assuming it's something lost in translation with what I'm seeing but man did boxing evolve in those 50 or so years between them. Rocky has moved his head and he was able to dodge punches relatively well. I was just watching a film study on him that Cus D'Amato did and I was actually really impressed with what Marciano was able to do.
