Marcianos 3 minute bomb run on the durable Don Cockell

Cockell was a light hitter and an average boxer with average speed and average boxing ability.
He was in the right place at the right time, if he had been born in the US no one would have heard of him.
I think this thread has run it's course.

 

Yep...he may have been a decent middleweight or light heavyweight but he was certainly no world class heavyweight..

But marciano fans love to pump him up into something he was not

 

It just occurred to me: This three-minute-long clip probably makes the case for Marciano being considered an attrition fighter as effectively as any footage I've ever watched.

 

I think it's important that we all recognize that Cockell surviving Marciano's onslaught wasn't nearly as much of an anomaly as some people make it seem. Marciano reached the top of the sport in 1950, when he first became a ranked contender. I think it's kind of revealing that a full two-thirds of his fights in the 50s (16 of 24) went past the halfway mark. This includes his fights against the likes of:

C0ckell (bloated MW/LHW who'd been stopped by unimpressive smaller men),
Art Henri (184-lber with a losing record went 8+ rounds),
Willis Applegate (11-14 196lber who went the distance),
Keene Simmons (8-8-1 fighter)
Ted Lowry (180-lber with 50+ losses who'd been knocked out by Rusty Payne in 7)
Johnny Shkor (aging fighter who'd been stopped by Walcott in 1 and Sid Peaks in 2)
Buonvino (had been knocked out by lightheavyweight Nick Barone in 3 in his previous fight)

This list gives lie to the insinuation that the C0ckell fight is some aberration or outlier that we can just ignore. These guys are small, unimpressive heavyweights who somehow managed to withstand sustained beatings from Marciano, before succumbing in the later rounds of their fights. IMO, any reasonable, honest attempt to classify Marciano and his punching power needs to address and explain these types of facts. Either he didn't hit quite as hard as the biggest proponents of his punching power claim, he didn't have the boxing ability to end these fights sooner, and/or he was somehow carrying these opponents despite appearing by all measures to be doing everything in his power to inflict maximum damage upon them. Something's gotta give though.

 

London lost to worse fighters than DC and tended to bleed all over the place. Cooper also bled from time to time, so it's no guarantee that his skin stays intact against Cokkell.

Berbick should win, but I will note performed woefully against an ordinary ST Gordon and could run hot and cold. Bugner could wipe out DC like he did against Dunn...or fight passively and allow DC to outwork him. It's not like he didn't allow other, less talented fighter to beat him from time to time.

And, even close to his prime, Leon allowed guys like Eddie Lopez to hold him to a draw.

 

Haha. That’s Mcvey for you.

 

Yes even guys like Renaldo Snipes were out-hustled in their prime by guys like Scott Frank who was unlucky to only get a draw with Snipes. He won that fight.

If you want to look for the worst performance in a title challenge you will find guys rated higher than Don Cokkell. Who’s to say Don, who gave it everything, couldn’t beat those better guys on these weak, half hearted efforts?

Some of the most appalling efforts in world title challenges were from all time greats.

 

"My best punches didn't seem to affect him."

 

London wasn't a bleeder ,and he beat.
Folley who is better than anyone Cokkell ever beat , a ranked contender
Rischer ranked contender
McNeeley title challenger
Erskine Euro Champ beat Cooper
King fringe contender
Johnson fringe contender who beat Cooper
Lave who beat Cokkell
Rademacher title challenger
Young Jack Johnson ranked contender

Was London ever knocked out by a 162lbs boxer?
Was he ever knocked down 3 times and stopped by a boxer weighing 174lbs?
Bugner never lost to a fighter of the class of Cokkell when he was anywhere near his prime.

 

My second favorite PRIDE fight behind only Diaz vs Gomi.

 

Apparently parts of Japan actually came to a standstill when it was broadcast on TV.

 

https://i.imgur.com/PVFV5gR.mp4 I always stop what I'm doing when ever I see that collar tie.

 

I don't accept an attrition fighter necessarily has to be a light hitter. Armstrong wasn't by the way .and neither was Frazier whom I would classify as an attrition fighter. Wilder? He doesnt throw nearly half as many punches as Rocky did,[if he did he would be seriously ****ed after 6 rds!]and doesnt throw that many bombs per round he uses a lot of pretty soft jabs and doesn't swing for the fences until he has his man going.
His punch stats are pretty poor.
Rocky's "one punch ko's" ?Lets have a look at a couple.
Layne .He had his belly and ribs bombarded with sledge hammer shots until he was ready to go.
Walcott.He had begun to resort to the ropes to save his legs ,older/tired fighters often do,he was still well in the fight and in front but beginning to ship more punishment as the punches just kept coming.
Mathews. A great left hook ko,but he was a lhvy and overated anyway.
Would you give Frazier the same kudos for koing Foster as Quarry?

Others?
Moore was ground down
Lastarza was ground down
Louis was ground down
Charles was ground down
Cokkell was ground down
Marciano hit plenty hard and he did it althrough a fight ,but his accuracy left a lot to be desired.
However he made up for it with his sheer intensity ,and relentlessness plus his superlative conditioning meant he could maintain his steady remorseless pace and top power all night.
Stating these facts does not make us haters or imply we wish to **** on his formidable achievements.