Rocky Marciano has a very good case for #1...

1. Robinson--had lost 2 of his last 5 before retiring and did not look that good in any of them. Turpin beat him badly in London. Robinson stopped Turpin in New York but was badly cut. It was a tough fight and Robinson did not offer Turpin a rubber match. Olson went 15 to lose a close decision. Robinson got rid of the overrated Graziano in 3 but was knocked down. Robinson is stopped by Maxim.

Coming back Robinson actually wins 10 of 13 between 1955 and 1958 as he is growing older. Olson, who lasted 12 in 1950 & 15 in 1952, is blown away in 2 and 4. Fullmer beats Robinson but is taken out in the return. Basilio wins a close split decision, but loses the rematch. I think close scrutiny of Robinson indicates that moving up to middleweight is what gave him difficulty, not necessarily the layoff. He was fighting bigger men.

Frankly, I don't see that Robinson proves your point.

2. Tyson--Comes back with four crushing knockouts over McNeeley, Mathis, Bruno, and Selden, before he comes a cropper against Holyfield. But Holyfield is arguably the best man he has fought. Douglas had stopped Tyson in '90 before the layoff and Holyfield had blown Douglas away easily. Holyfield was actually older. What is the evidence that Tyson would have done better against Holyfield before the layoff?

Frankly, I don't see that Tyson proves your point.

3. Dempsey--Another guy who met his best opponents after the layoff, but what is the evidence he would have beaten Tunney if they had fought earlier or if he had never laid off. He only stopped Miske and Gibbons 1 out of 4 fights and I think Tunney was much better.

Frankly, I don't see that Dempsey proves your point.

I don't know enough about Tito to want to comment.

Jeffries--Another who ran into a better fighter than he had ever fought. Would Jeff had won this if he had stayed active between 1904 and 1910. I think that is quite a stretch.

 

Well I'm not a racist white boy, and I think Marciano is the greatest of all time. I think he would smash any heavyweight in any era, and if you disagree then your wrong.

 

Finally, someone that makes sense. :thumbsup

 

Hate to be the one to break it to you, but Snipes/Marciano is a pick em fight. Rocky is HUGELY overrated. Slow, small, poor technique.

He would get murdered by dozens and dozens of heavyweights before him and after him. Very weak era.

 

Tommy Morrison would knock his ass thru the ropes. Believe that.

 

Here we go again. Most normal people look at the fight films of ali before and after exile to realize how much he suffered. But not you, you try and do comparisons like usual. Every eye witness can say ali before exile was much better than the comeback version. watch the films and get back to me. compare the angles, the footwork, the speed.................even commentators like Cossell knew it. Cuz Dmato knew it. every boxing expert could see it except old fogey and delusional rocky fans.

 

I not only have watched and rewatched the films, I saw the fights when they were originally fought and were replayed on the Wide World of Sports. I just don't agree with you.

I will give you this, Ali looked better against Liston than he did in 1971, but whether the layoff had anything to do with that or it was just a normal aging process, who knows. I think Marciano looked better in 1951 and 1952 than he did in 1954 or 1955. Louis looked better in 1935-38, other than the first Schmeling bout, than he did in 1940-42. Just my take.

When did these men look the best in my judgement:
Louis--Max Baer (1935) & Max Schmeling (1938)
Marciano--Joe Louis (1951) & Harry Matthews (1952)
Ali--Liston (1965) & Williams (1966)

 

Tommy Morrison is a joke and would be put in a coma against Rocky Marciano. He can't even beat Rocky in a fantasy world (Rocky V). :rofl

 

He's slow, but got the job done so who cares.

Yes, he's a "small" heavyweight but it was an advantage because he ducks so low its harder to hit him cleanly on the chin.

Poor technique? Not really...his technique of non-stop barrage seemed to work against those more "skilled" boxers. If his technique was really that poor, he woulda lost.

...........

 

I know ask Charles, Louis,Moore and Walcott and about 25 other black Marciano victums

 

Do you really think Rocky would have KO'd him faster than Michael Bent who was Ko'd by Herbie Hide in his next fight yes and Hide was KO'd in 2 by Vitali...........Please Tommy Gunn

 

I'll make this very simple, as you age and stop training you lose stamina, possibly the most important boxing attribute. When you lose stamina you can't perform the skills, throw the punches, move, or even defend yourself. This all happened to a degree to the above fighters and Ali, whether you think they'd win or not is a side issue