This content is protected 1. A lot of in-close punching, although not inside per se. Marciano focused on the downstairs Layne focused upstairs. Layne's punching was far lazier and more ineffective than Rocky's. Marciano. 3. A right hook followed by a left rocked Layne. A left hook buckled Layne's knees. The two battled it out at the bell. Marciano. 4. Layne endeavored to fight Rocky at long range, and he had fair success at it. At one point in round 4, Rocky threw an overhand right, grabbed Layne's shoulder, and tossed him to the canvas. Marciano landed a perfect right as soon as Layne was up. Layne did catch Rocky off guard with a right hook and Marciano countered. By this time, Marciano's body assault was showing on the poorly conditioned and out-of-shape Layne. Marciano. 5. Layne was naturally, tiring, and therefore becoming more useless as the fight progressed. He clinched and bullied without purpose, letting openings go, and wasting energy with badly telegraphed punches that Rocky would have had no trouble countering. Rocky, was little better, however. He wasted the oppurtunity and did not take advantage of Layne's blunders. He too was tiring. Marciano. 6. An overhand right dropped Layne via delayed reaction. 10 count for Layne. My Dad and I rewatched the KD several times. It looked suspect. Rocky landed a decent right hand. Layne's head didn't even move. He stepped in, and then fell down. He looked like an actor that forgot his line. And the fall was not natural-looking, says my dad, who has a background in martial arts. I am not positive it is a fix, but it just doesn't sit right with me. My dad speculated it was an attempt to build Rocky up into a contender. I am open to that idea, although I'm not necessarily saying Rocky knew he was in on a fix. What do you guys think? Fix, or legitimate? Verdict: A pretty good fight, but it was sloppy and one-sided. Certainly not fantastic. I would suggest it.
More then likely went down because of the pain and shock and just stayed down as opposed to getting up and taking a beating.
I had the first round even, the other three for Marciano. Clumsy as he looks, Layne showed a good jab and straight right against Satterfield (and also Walcott on film) but Marciano was hard to hit with either one, and Layne's offense was almost totally negated. Having just watched Turpin, I think Marciano has some of the same qualities. An unorthodox, awkward style, making the other guy miss a lot. Both were strong men. Turpin was more like an orthodox boxer because he liked to stand straight at a distance and had a good jab. Marciano's arms were too short to ever be an effective jabber, but those short arms were an advantage in close. Marciano had a lot of torso movement and was not easy to catch with a head shot. Layne apparently wanted to fight in close early. I think that was a mistaken strategy, but I can't see what options he had to do all that much better. In a battle of strong guys, the other guy was stronger. The announcer said Layne had a "butterball" body, but I think he was more just blocky, like an old time gridiron football tackle. A broad, well built guy. Compared to Marciano, though, he obviously was not in equally impeccable shape. The announcer commented negatively on Rocky's left, but I think one of the big differences in the fight was the effectiveness, to the body and head, of Marciano's left. Layne slapped with his hook and had no body attack. Marciano kept digging lefts into the gut, and now and then scoring with it to the head. As for the knockout, I watched it frame by frame. I think it was more than just a decent right. Marciano got his whole body behind it, like he was throwing a shotput or javelin. Layne was moving toward Marciano and his body kept moving for an instant while his head went in the other direction. He did fall oddly, but I think that kind of delayed reaction, which isn't unique, or in this case extreme, is probably due to muscle memory. You don't have to consciously think to do sometimes complex things, (such as typing if you are not a one finger peck guy). In the army, the old vets had stories about enemies they knew had been killed but still took a few steps. They warned us that "dead" men sometimes still pull the trigger. Exaggeration? Or urban myths in the military? I don't know, but this sort of thing happens in boxing. I have seen fighters take a few steps before falling from a punch. The Carter-Collins fight might be coming up on your agenda, and I remember such odd knockdowns in that one. Sorry, but the fix theory strikes me as goofy. What would be in it for Layne? He was the #2 contender at the time. And he just doesn't look like he had the tools to beat Marciano. And why take such a beating in a fix? Like LaMotta and Murphy in their first fight, I don't think the styles of these men made for a top match. Too much mauling. Layne is a lot more fun to watch against Satterfield. Marciano is more fun against stylists. Thanks for posting. And even though I think it nuts, the fix idea was interesting to consider and motivated me to study the KO punch more closely.
Lot Detail - 1951 Rocky Marciano Rex Layne "The Sporting News Collection Archives" Original Photo (Sporting News Collection Hologram/MEARS Photo LOA) (mearsonlineauctions.com) Seems to be post fight pic of the 2. You can sort of see the damage on Layne's teeth. It is pretty bloody. Wonder if it would look worse if in color. But no way did Layne decide to just flop down after taking that shot.
