Prime Joe Louis Beats Rocky Marciano --- Convince Me

Then again you could look at the Lee Savold fights. Old Joe bombs Savold out with one left hook while Marciano throws everything at him and can't get him down.

You could also say that Randy Turpin was a harder puncher than Marciano (ridiculous, I know) based on this logic, since he knocked Cockell down and out with one punch.

 

While we are quoting what fighters said, here was Moore's bottom line on Marciano ..."When people ask me who was the best I ever fought , I say Rocky because that is what THEY want to hear. I was in my forties when we fought...It wasn't, it was Charley Burley. I simply give them what they want to hear."

Now let's hear the usual suspects spin this one ...

 

Sounds about right. It's even higher praise that he thought Burley was better than Charles than that he was better than Marciano, though. I'd suppose that most have Charles over Marciano in a p4p rating.

 

Now you are supposed to say ," I rest my case".

 

This is a very perceptive post :good
Louis was weight drained for Conn,and when he fought Marciano had only the remnants of his jab and a few left hooks to keep Rocky off ,Louis did not launch his right because his reflexes were shot.
"I saw the openings but I couldnt get off".

 

Goldman's comments is one of the comments trainers make on behalf of their fighters to justify wins over shot former big names ... what else was he gonna say, whe beat the shell of Louis ?

 

Again, he was still a hell of a lot closer to his prime than Louis was to his. There is nothing more to say on the matter.

 

Generally yes, but it would be foolish to have that written in stone.

 

My understanding on Marciano was that he was actually a bigger puncher when he fought Louis than later in his career as he was continusly improving on technique and as a result shortened his swing ... improved accuracy but perhaps a slight loss in power as result ....


Power is the last thing is a boxing expression but it depends on the fighter ... Louis said his Maurillo fight was his last good fight ... his legs were not the same and he was not able to punch with the same authority ... look at his comeback ... he was winning fights and stopping some guys but very few knockdowns .. he simply was no where near the same ...

 

it's no good having the power if you haven't got the peak speed and reflexes to make/take your opportunities.

 

In his last 4 fights before meeting Marciano ,Louis had one stoppage win ,over Lee Savold ,who was himself ,nearly 35.
Louis said BEFORE the Marciano fight ,"my right hand dont leave me no more".his reflexes were eroded.

 

I have a hard time seeing Rocky beating a prime Louis. The hand speed, power and precise combination punching would be too much for Rocky. The Louis that Rocky beat threw one punch at a time. His reflexes were shot as were his legs. A prime Louis on the other hand would bring his full arsenal to bear and that would more than Rocky could handle. As much as I love Marciano I've always felt that he was somewhat fortunate to have come along when he did. The great fighters he fought were getting along in age and were not in thier primes anymore though still formidable and the bigger faster type of HW would come around after he retired. Louis was one of the former. A young fast Louis would win in my opinion.

 

It's easy to see in the Louis-Marciano fight that Louis possessed none of his previous punching ability. He got by for 6 rounds with his left jab only, may have even been even on the scorecards at that point, but he had nothing left by the last couple of rounds.

 

You are correct Sir,and he still marked Rocky up with what was left of his jab.