Rocky in the stone age?

Can you imagine getting pasted by Marciano in the face, bare knuckle? I'll take Rocky.

On another tack, his hands would last less than half a dozen fights before becoming smashed to bits.

 

Marciano hit so hard that had he been around in the Stone Age he would be able to make fire by punching boulders........

 

Pulling a gloved era fighter cold into the ring vs the best bare knuckle fighter ever would be a huge challenge. You would have to go with the fighter that was conditioned for those times and conditions.

 

To be fair I can't actually recall seeing any Sullivan footage.

 

Sullivan

 

Given time to adjust I think Rocky would do well, most men were smaller.
I see two problems for him, he injured his hands a few times and punching without protection would be a mine field for him,he would need to be more accurate with his placing of punches one on the elbow or top of the skull could result in a fracture,even hitting the point of the elbow with gloves on can be very painful.The other fly in the ointment for Rocky is his tendency to cut,bare fists make a mess of you.


Sullivan was described as very quick into range with an extremely powerful right hand.As they stand I'd pick John L by tko via bad cuts.

 

Sullivan was primarily a gloved fighter himself, but he proved beyond doubt that he could adapt to the bare knuckle rule set, and he beat the best bare knuckle fighters of his era.

Given his relative inexperience under the bare knuckle rule set, it is certainly plausible that Marciano could duplicate his success.

As things stand I think we have to pick Sullivan, if only based on the uncertainty regarding whether Marciano could adapt to the rule set.

 

As Janitor mentions above, Sulllivan was no fan of bare knuckle contests and much preferred donning the mitts. This would be a grinding affair or sure. Marciano was always immaculately conditioned. Sullivan not so much, tho he did get in good form (and needed it ) for Kilrane. My hunch is still that Marciano finds a way to win, that he would be the fitter fighter and fresher the longer it goes. Nothing ever dissuaded him in the ring so I don't think the extra bumps and bruises will do the trick.

 

I'll probably go with this.

I have a suspicion that a long gruelling fight would suit a stamina machine like Marciano down to the bone.

 

By definition the fight would end when somebody couldn't or wouldn't come out for the next round.

Unless a draw was mutually agreed.

 

I saw on a British TV program that bareknuckle fighters only punched to the body so that they wouldn`t damage there hands, I also saw a vid by Shane Fazen stating that bareknuckle fighter didn`t punch with their knuckles they used another part of their fist.