Marciano's Largest opponent (Ht & wt)?

No, Ali hadn't fought at all in 1979 and didn't fight until October 1980.
We don't have to say he was world class at all. He was an inactive fighter.
And in 1978 he'd gone 1-1 with a novice second-rater which is worse than what Louis was doing in 1950-'51.

 

Yeah, because the real Shannon Briggs is so shy of publicity.
He just loves his anonymity.

 

"Picking Louis over Bivins is no trouble at all. Bivins is even more through than Louis... Louis still showed a bit slow in the second Brion battle." Oct 21 (UP)

In most (of his 9 comeback fights) he appeared lacking in hand-speed, coordination and accuracy. He was particularly unimpressive in his last bout with Jimmy Bivins at Baltimore on Aug. 15." New York, Oct. 26 (UP)

 

What are you trying to show ?
World class heavyweights get bad write-ups all the time. It is the norm.
Ones that used to be sensational or great get their shortcomings highlighted even more than those who were always mediocre.

Pinklon Thomas was a "world class" heavyweight when he faced Mike Tyson, no ? He got terrible write-ups for his 3 or 4 fights leading up to that fight.
Tyrell Biggs wasn't exactly impressing anyone either. Tony Tubbs ? Most of those Tyson opponents you rave about were reckoned to be dull and unimpressive by the commentators of the day. Still, you would be right to say they were "world class" HWs of the day.

 

Sometimes a fighter falls off a cliff while he still holds a ranking, before the consequences of his decline can be manifested in the ring.

In that situation I would choose to recognise the ranking, in order to be consistent in my approach.

 

Then we can ascertain that "world class" doesn't necessarily mean top performing at the moment but is something accumulated like credit to be spent regardless of current condition or ability.

 

Ali wasn't ranked in 1980.

 

Yes it is probably safer to use that definition, even though it might be misleading in some cases.

The example of Ali in 1980 would be a good candidate for being such a case, but the Louis of the Marciano fight would not.

 

I assumed that he would have been given a ranking when he announced his comeback, but if he was not, then we are relieved of the burden of counting him among the world class fighters.

 

That Lee Savold knockout tho
https://streamable.com/pv3b

 

Pretty punch but I'm not sure that dropping an old 190-lb fringe contender after 6 rounds of punishment by clipping him on his wide open, mid-swing chin is a great measure of heavyweight punching power, tbh.

 

Since Louis knocked out giants, Marciano could too.

Rocky would run circles around most of these guys. Slow Rocky is a myth. I could see him crouching under the jab where he can't be reached, and exploding with heavy haymakers.

The weight disadvantage is big. But Dempsey and Louis, in my opinion, proved that punching is a better asset.

 

Run circles? Rocky isn't running circles around any of the talented big men that have been discussed in these threads. Slipping a single jab is child's play that novices learn at the gym; consistently getting inside on back-foot giants who throw double-jabs with 80+inch reaches is an entirely different sport.

 

Tossing lumbering straight punches at most heavyweights is one thing. Throwing them at swarming steamrollers like Dempsey, Frazier, or Marciano is another.

 

The lack of quality superheavyweights on Marciano’s resume is an issue in fantasy fights, but at the same time the doubt cuts both ways.

While we don’t have the evidence that he would beat this type of fighter, we also don’t have the evidence that they were his kryptonite either.

Obviously with somebody like Jack Dempsey, who had considerable success against world class superheavyweights, you can back him much more strongly in this sort of fantasy fight.