February 20th, 1955 Madison Square Garden, New York In what many of the sportswriters wrote, Rocky will have a turn in making a positive mark on his legacy, swinging for the fences against the young, hard punching Pittsburgh heavyweight contender whom is considered one of the biggest threats to the heavyweight champion. Marciano is set out to prove the 'harder they fall', as the amateur sensation bob baker will be dishing out 'stiff jabs' for the squat Italian Heavyweight Champion to avoid. Rocky, now at age 31 1/2, will bring his 5' 11" and 188 lb. body into Madison Square Garden, a long 5-months after his second bout with the technically brilliant and former Heavyweight Champion - Ezzard Charles. Rocky, at 47-0-0 (41 KO's), will be making his 5th Title Defense, and his handlers couldn't have hand-picked a tougher opponent. Marciano will receive a fight against one of the sharpest tools in the shred. Bob Baker, a highly decorated amateur, with a pro record of 39-5-1 {20 KO's), should be a difficult Challenger. At 6' 2", Baker will have a 4" height advantage on the Champion, and will have a 5 year youth advantage advantage over Rocky, at a prime and ready 26 years old. . His 215 lb. weight (25 lbs. heavier than the Champion) is of a solid build. The 26 1/2 year-old pittsburgh heavyweight can fight a alot, his strength his ability to outbox smaller foes with his pistol jab, top notch boxing skills, and very fast hands, usually not found in bigger Heavyweights. Three years earlier (November 1951), Bob Baker was a trim 212 lbs. fighting as the the # 3 heavyweight contender in the world. But he was knocked out by # 4 rated huge punching clarence henry, which ruined a proposed title shot against Ezzard Charles. Several servings of being thrown to the wolves against top notch competion, put Bob Baker into the Heavyweight Division, where 'size' combined with 'skill' can sometimes help. 30 lbs advantage to the big-framed baker, makes him look like a pittsburgh steel curtain next to the italian tank. Yer up Rocky, prove to the experts 'the bigger they are, the harder they fall'.
Suzie,,,,,,,,,, Bob Baker, 'riding a wave' thru November 1951 getting to 25-0-0 (17 KO's), and looked to the the 'real deal'. Then, the 'Bob Baker Blunder Run', by going 6-5-1 (0 KO's) over the next '12-bouts', including '3' knockout losses thru March 1954. The 'KO Losses' were to fighters that weighed; (180 lbs.) - (190 lbs.) - (184 lbs.) A 1954 and early-1955 run off '8-straight wins' but only '2' Knockout wins, getting Bob Baker back to 39-5-1 (20 KO's). A '1955' Bob Baker may have given Rocky a more difficult time then expected. Bakers' hand-speed' and size would present problems for the 31 1/2 year-old Champion, and thru Round 7, the Challenger will have a 5-2-0 lead on the scorecards, making everybody nervous. In Rounds 8 and 9, Baker will slow down, and the Champion's lumbering charge and clubbing punches start to take their toll. By Round 11, the harder punches from the Champion would have busted up Baker's body, leading to a collapse in Round 12. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bob Baker - A good boxer and decent 1950's Heayweight who had 'two' very good runs in the Heavyweight Division, but on the level of a Champion, I think not. Major Weakness - When hurt, failed to know how to properly cover up, or slip punches. An early version of 'Duane Bobick'. This content is protected