Rarely-mentioned Marciano ability

After reading some of the posts...and the clues saying that Rocky's attribute can't be taught. I'm going to give an answer that might not make sense at first...Fear.
Perhaps it was fear that drove him to run further, and work harder in the gym like a fanatic...A fear of hardship and knowing where he and his family came from, and what they had to overcome, and how hard they worked...Rocky wasn't afraid of any man in a ring...
It was the fear of failure that drove Marciano...that's what fueled him.
JG, did I get it?

 

I'm going to say that if you knocked him down (or things got desperate like the split nose complements of Ezzard), he actually seemed to get stronger/more dangerous/more likely to finish you -because of it.

 

I'm sure I'm way off JG, but one thing I've always noticed about the way Marciano fought was the way he moved in; he slid in, inch by inch, give him an inch he'll take your head off kind of thing, and that wa how he controlled the pace of he fight. Some guys controlled the fight by being elusive, and if you were gonna get him you had to chase him down, but still the other guy was controlling the fight.

Rocky wa always coming forward, but an inch at a time. He didn't overcommit, but he didn't stop either, and before you knew it and after it was too late he was in his range.

 

His feiting??

 

I will guess at his ability to preserve and not waste energy.

I have never seen anybody throw 100 punches, all with his full weight behind them, yet use the minimum energy possible when throwing those punches. Same goes with the way he moves around the ring, defensively being hard to hit, but using nowhere near the energy levels that a Tunney or Ali, or anyone else would use, in doing so.

 

Killer instinct, J.

 

Good stuff JG...Rocky did rage back in hard situations. (I'm slapping my forehead right now) Ray Robinson shared that very same characteristic with Marciano...One of the reasons I like Robinson so much in comparison to other great welters and middles. It's a trait of refusing to be dominated in anyway...Two very different individuals, Ray and Rocky, but problably more similar to each other than each realized. Do you know how Robinson and Marciano regarded each other?...and their styles? On the old 'Main Event' show, Rocky commented that Ray had the most perfect left jab he's ever seen...But that's the public persona...I've heard that Robinson didin't care for Al Weil or Marciano after the Louis fight. Carrying a grudge, due to his closeness with Louis.

 

Very well put....once you got in the ring with him it was like one of those dreams...Nightmares

 

The way Marciano went to the body was something! You don't find too many heavies other than Frazier that delivered that kind of punishment.

 

Freddie Brown was one the best trainers in my oppinion...I asked him about Marciano fighting Ali and he said Marciano would have won...the guy would not let anyone beat him, he could really punch...he was great or something to that manner

 

Freddie Brown was one the best trainers in my oppinion...I asked him about Marciano fighting Ali and he said Marciano would have won...the guy would not let anyone beat him, he could really punch...he was great or had something great in him, something to that manner...Freddie was not a sport celebrity, he was a blue collor boxing guy, a guy you wanted in the corner..and one of the most respected boxing minds amoung the elite of the boxing trainers and scribes.

 

That may be the most sublime and well-crafted statement (in bold) I've read on this site. I have the goosebumps. I'm inspired enough to drive a few miles west to the Brockton YMCA, lace up the gloves, jump into the pool up to my neck, and throw punches under water for 2 hours.

That was part of Marciano's "undiminishing power" secret.

Thanks JG.