Rocky Marciano v George Foreman

No, not reaching to discredit Foreman just trying to point out that Foreman did not just walk through everyone under 6 feet and below 200 lbs like he did Frazier, you younsters think he is a GOD, the man was talented enough to get a gold medal but was moved along very carefully, Foreman was one of my favorite fighters and people in boxing but he had a very padded record and was not prepared to fight certain guys especially once his vail of invincabilty was removed. George looked great vs Norton and Frazier but was exposed vs Ali and Young and almost Lyle but Lyle showed he was able to be hit and hurt and look at Lyles record he was not a devastating puncher, Thats all I dont buy into Foreman being unbeatable, he had great power and a better pedigree than Quarry but a Quarry may have been able to do to him what he did to Lyle,Shavers,Foster,Mathias,Spencer but Foreman avoided Jerry, I think George would have won but we will never know

 

Try as I might, I can't see how Rocky takes this one. One of the raps against Marciano was that he never faced a puncher in his own class. Sure Walcott could punch but as hard as Foreman? I don't think so. And Foreman's chin is top notch. He got koed by Ali because he was completely exhausted at that point in the fight after fighting a boneheaded fight and using his energy foolishly. George took bombs from true punchers like Frazier, Holyfield, Cooney, Lyle and Moorer and wasn't koed. In 80 plus fights he was only stopped once by Ali so I think that pretty much ends the chin question. Against Marciano, stamina would'nt come into play as this fight would'nt go past 3 or 4 rounds no matter who wins. With that being said I think George takes it. You have 2 fighters who can punch, that much is true....But one fighter is 5'10-11" tall and weighs 184lbs with a 68" reach(are you kidding me?) while the other fighter is 6' 3-4" tall and weighs 220lbs with a 79-80" reach and actually is faster on the attack! Sorry fellas but George has the luxury of dropping his bombs from a distance while Rocky has to take those bombs and try to get inside to land his and I don't see that as a winning strategy. Rocky could punch but he was used to hitting men roughly the same size as himself. Would his punches have the same effect on a man the size of Foremen? Fraziers hooks had absolutely no effect at all on George and Joe could punch, past his prime or not. It tookj a fellow monster like Lyle to put some serious hurt on George and George came back and Koed Lyle in a vicious slugfest so we know George could take it and win against a big puncher but could Rocky? We're not talking about Cockell or Matthews or LaStarza or even Layne..men who weighed anywhere between 175-195 and were roughly 6' tall. This is a modern big athlete we're talking about Rocky facing. Not a man from the 1950's. Rocky was a great fighter in his own time but I think it's rather unfair to try and pit him against the modern athlete. Men who are generally much bigger and athletic than thier predecessors. Sure Rocky could beat a mdiocre or stiff from the modern era but George was neither one of those and we all know it. As much as I love Marciano and his dedication to conditioning I just don't see him taking a behemoth like Foreman in a knockdown drag out fight. Too much size and brute power period.

 

An all time great always has a hope.

That should be a given.

 

I would fear for the 1993 Foremans life if this fight were made.

 

Not much hope.

I can see Foreman ending this brutally, early on. The fight would probably unfold in a similar fashion to the Foreman-Frazier I beatdown. :yep

 

The later version of Foreman knew how to pace himself and took defense a bit more seriously. The level of skill went up although the speed declined. I think he was stronger as well and he was bigger, of course.

Marciano's only hope with Foreman is to take him into deep water and drown him. That won't work with the later version -in his 40s Big George became a study in patience and pressure.

 

I think that this would be a more competitive fight than Frazier Foreman I.

For a start off Marciano would not do Foreman the favour of coming to the fight in poor condition as Joe Frazier did.

I also think that stylisticaly he would be at less of a disadvantage than Frazier being less suceptible to the right and better adapted to dealing with sluggers.

I think it is a mistake to think that this fight would be a carbon copy of Frazier Foreman with Marciano substituted for Frazier.

 

I think you over rate the 1990s Foreman somewhat. He was verry lucky to get a title shot at a champion with a chin as bad as Moorer.

I think his patience would work against him because the only way he can win is by early knockout. He sure as hell isnt going to win on the score cards.

 

I don't overrate Foreman, I simply recognize that when his name comes up in these hypotheticals, there are two, and by my way of seeing it, three Foreman's.

Foreman may not get a decision, but he will have more chances to stop Marciano if he has wind to last 15 rounds. As the Moorer fight demonstrated, Foreman retained power late in the fight.

 

..sorry, but I just can't understand this discussion going on this far.


scenario: the two fighters come to the center of the ring to shake hands. When the crowd sees them together, even the most hardened start screaming "Stop the fight! In heaven's name, stop the fight!"

not on this topic, but someone here said Foreman couldn't even score a clean knockout against Scrap Johnson and I think he was comparing Foreman to Frazier. Frazier couldn't stop him either. He won a ten round decision over him.

 

How can Marciano win this?

He had a good chin, but the best puncher he ever faced was....who? Walcott, an old, ex-light heavy? We aren't even sure that he could survive a single Foreman haymaker, much less the barrages he would be eating.

Reach advantage here is gargantuan - Foreman's 82" to Marciano's 68".

Only way Marciano wins this fight is via gruesome cut.

 

It's not even about the Frazier beatdown(s).

If there was ever a fighter tailor-made to destroy Marciano, it was Foreman. One of the best chins in HW history, unbelievable power, gargantuan size/reach, and uppercuts from hell...this would be a massacre.

 

Moorer was the perfect foil