Rocky Marciano v.s Andre Ward At 185. Who Wins?

Since Andre feels he could take on Josh and Deontay, I don't think that the thought of fighting the much smaller Marciano would intimidate him from accepting the fight.

 

Marciano would have Suzie Qed him

 

The look on Marciano's face if Ward got away with a blatant low blow would be worth a million

The payback would be priceless

 

If that happened he'd unload into Ward's chest with such brute force the back-acne would explode into the refs eyesight, obscuring his view for a Rocky elbow to the jaw.

 

Let's see .. Marciano is going to KO Ward in a couple rounds per the great majority who post on a website everyday and represent the views of non-athletic scrubs .. probably strong wrists in this population though (whatever that's worth - lol).

So, Marciano's ledger consists of 49 wins of which 4 were old, war weary, and/or faded talents (career LHWs in 2 of the 4 cases) while the rest are straight out garbage. A fighter with all the advantages in his era that comes with being connected (no small thing when you consider that even in AC for another forty to fifty YEARS they would come out to watch and support "exciting" no talent Arturo Gatti fight like it was San Gennaro). Gee .. anyone think it is easier to be the guy with the promotion today? How about being able to exert influence on the timing of the fight, the venue, the accommodations you receive, your pay, the judges, and refs, and so many other variables? Now, imagine it in the 1950s (pre-civil rights, etc., color lines barely broken in the other major sports as they were only in the initial years of accepting non-white athletes). This would still be not all that different from the 1920s, 1930s, etc. What kind of playing field was it? The ring was probably the easier part. Whatever bad hand you were dealt in terms of unexpected disadvantages at least by that time you only had to deal with one ref and Marciano.

Is it surprising that we have very few examples of such vaunted "pale" fighters fighting and competing into old age (pre-TRT of course) but so many black fighters that have done so? But, if they lose at 40 years of age against a 30 year old (prime) then the 30 year is undeniably great. Interesting logic. Should be called the irrelevancy of age. If only that were so. Marciano has his own equivalent (to many posting fan boys) more recently in JoeC. Fight a couple super old greats (after fighting nobody prime or of consequence in your entire career), struggle to get a win, look terrible for the most part, and receive a "there's no blue print" .. lol. If only one took a moment to imagine a 37-year old Marciano fighting a 28-year old Joe Louis. Again, no-TRT (BHOP and Klitschko recently).

So, Marciano KOs Ward easily because he is this unparalleled "monster" of power, punishment, and grit. Ask yourself, because we have this gene pool within the US - about 17 or 18 million Italian-Americans live in the US, about 62 million people in Italy, and another 30 or 40 with Italian ancestry spread around the globe (e.g., Brazil and Argentina, etc.), where are these 5'10" 185 lb, short-armed (68 inches of tiny T-Rex baby arms) bringing unheard of talent and strength to mow down all comers in 2 rounds at LHW today? The weight is comparable to the LHW division on fight night (i.e., post 1980s - day before weigh-ins). Where are these killers that can have comparatively slow feet, slow hands, negligible agility, and non-apex athletic talent but can get by on will power and some imagined "other worldly" punching power (that no other 185 person can bring into the ring today)? Without height/reach, these monstrous punchers must be in your chest. Without a miles shot view of being fleet of foot, these indestructible monstrous punchers must be amazing to watch. Where are they hiding? This would be better than watching Iron Mike in his prime. Mike had no height, no reach (albeit 3 fuller inches longer than Rocky's), but he could move his feet like nothing Rocky could have ever imagined or wished for in his wildest dreams. Mike needed his elusiveness to get into range and close the gap - to compensate for his lack of (comparative) reach and height. Apparently, today's genetic Marciano would not need this. Nope, Marciano, or today's "Marciano", is going to come into range slower than his opponents, into range against longer, taller, fighters, and just let his skull be his shield. Then, when he has his 185 lbs (interestingly, the same 185 lbs Ward (or Kovalev, or any of the other LHWs will have on fight night)) in front of you he will tee off like the son of the devil (SOD) and knock you spark out. Why? Because we saw him in his physical prime take out post-retirement 149 year old Joe Louis. Because we saw him in his physical prime struggle with faded and/or old, Charles, Walcott, and Moore. Of course, it is not like they hadn't been through a huge number of wars at this point. Right?

You see, 185 lbs is different on Marciano than others. If his archetype was around now, he would just utilize his limited athletic talent, slower feet and hands, to corral and corner any and everybody in today's division(s). But, Rocky was a once in a species kind. Those genetics are lost forever. Just like Capone I suppose. No one kills like he did. It is like a lost language. Forget what the tape shows. Excluding those prime (versus old or faded) struggles against 4 old men in 6 fights, he had those other 40-ish wars of attrition against utter dross competition to demonstrate his obvious and unique level of Olympian mythological greatness. Those opponents might have looked beyond terrible, but actually they were anything but. The video technology of the 1950s doesn't do them justice. It is like watching basketball in the 1940s/1950s. You know how good that looks. Same with football in the same period. Of course, there are detractors. Hard to know how to address this argument. For example, if I remove the 2,000 fastest times in the 100 meters and 100 yards in human history, the field of contestants might actually turn much "paler". That obviously appeals greatly to much of the posting population here. Get it? Would it be any good though? If I allow those that were among the 2,000 fastest times to run but make them ten years past prime they might not do as well against the rest of the field and certainly not anywhere close to what they had accomplished in representing all of the fastest 2,000 times ever recorded. Welcome to the world of sports in the 1940s and 1950s. It is not when you face them, as long as they are still breathing and obviously alive. See Calzaghe (lol) more recently.

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If Marciano is 185 lbs and facing Ward at 185 lbs, this fight is very difficult for both. Two round KOs for Marciano .. nonsense. That is what you get when you gather a posting population of non-athletes, that is skewed to 90+% white, has almost no black athlete representation - perhaps 1 to 2% maximum, and watch them post about something they have almost no experience with at all. Now, if the question was which mouse is best to buy, which video game is hot, and how many clicks they can do in an hour, these areas would be on point.

Against Rocky, Ward (who is not the top APEX level in fast twitch movement) would be quicksilver. He would be in and out and sting Rocky's sizable cranium with impunity. In the clinches, where they would both be at times, he has the same weight, and the right build to give Marciano lots of difficulty. This is not the lithe Ward that fought at 24/25 years of age at SMW (and still dominated the veteran, experienced, battle tested Euros he fought). Just as ANCIENT Moore and worn, battle-scarred Charles gave prime Rocky grief, so would this Ward now. Why so sure? Because he is not 40 years old. He has no lack of guile and ring-craft. He has more than enough (as long as there is no size disparity - like imagining a 170 lb Ward versus an 185 lb Marciano or a 40 year old Ward versus a 28 year old Marciano) strengths and comparative advantages to offset his comparative weaknesses. If he didn't or if there were "Rocky-types" that could not merely excel at LHW (185 lbs on fight night) today, but destroy in 2 quick rounds Ward, they would be there. On the other hand, if you want to say that someone like Beterbiev is similar enough to Rocky and he is a threat to be competitive with the top of the LHW division, then that is one's opinion and perhaps a reasonable or at least an entertainable one. But, that also means that someone built like Beterbiev (another 185 lber) would pose his own issues and difficulties for Marciano the unmatchable as well. The hyperbole that is thrown around so commonly on this site is surely what makes it what it is - a site that is lacking in any connection to what one that was made up of athletes (and not fan boys) would reflect in viewpoint and evaluation. A consistent site though ...

 

Halfordscream......all those words and you know nothing about Marciano? and so many here are non-athletic scrubs? Toot toot toot........once again...it is the short yellow bus for Halfordscream.....field trip is over......it's back to the institution with ya. And, stop missing pill call....please don't forget to clean the day room after using the computer. the other 'clients" are starting to complain.

 

So is FlIVd.

 

The same fans who think Ward beats Rocky, would be the same fans who think RJJ would beat Rocky at 185lbs as well. Could you imagine the glass if Rocky hit RJJ, my god. If you filmed Jones vs Rocky in B&W the first shot that landed flush the blood would become so red you'd see it on the screen. Like the elevator scene from The Shining.

 

At 185lbs i think Rocky might be too strong. Not sure Ward would be able to hurt a much bigger fighter who stood up to much bigger heavier punchers than Ward. Ward would problably get worn down and get caught and ko`d.

 

Stupid thread again must of been hard coming up with opponents you know would beat Ward.All I know from the few full fights of Marciano and highlights I saw was Marciano used his far superior ring IQ to dominate, which is similar to how Ward has been able to. Andre Ward isn't even 1 of my favourite fighters but its just pretty clear he is the top fighter at the moment but I guess at 185 Marciano would be a deserved huge favourite.

 

Rocky would out jab him for the first 4 rounds before Ward's ball shots took effect

Marciano KO5