Roland Lastarza another side to his story?

Yes, I would consider this more along the lines of businessman-like thinking than lack of confidence. Fairly comparable to the way a Ray Leonard or Gene Tunney managed their careers. I get the impression LaStarza was very sincere in his belief that he had won the first Marciano fight and could beat Marciano in a rematch; he just wasn't a gambler who was going to unnecessarily risk something he already viewed as secure.

Hasson's arguments seem fairly skewed and unfair on the whole, I'd say. It isn't true that LaStarza never fought a dangerous opponent other than Marciano; Dan Bucceroni was 38-2 and a RING top three contender when LaStarza beat him, and he positively smeared him, too. Layne was also top-three-ranked when LaStarza beat him, fresh off his win over Charles. Brion was a solid top 10. In a list like the one SuzieQ is compiling, I would consider Layne a good candidate for the top 10 and Bucceroni for the top 15. These are legitimate big wins for LaStarza, and in conjunction with his impressive result against Marciano the first time (in spite of Marciano's possibly-weakened mental state in the match), strong showing in the rematch (he was decisively beaten, but he was very competitive for much of it and did better than other potential candidates for a Marciano-era top 10 like Layne, Louis and Matthews did against Rocky) and impressive record with consistent results against second-and-third-tier competition, I think LaStarza easily qualifies for a top 10 spot amongst the heavyweights of his own era.

 

I have read the Life Magazine coverage of the Marciano-Simmons bout--actually coverage of Charley Goldman, but featuring comments on this bout and pictures--and off the pictures the cut was not bad enough to warrent a stoppage. The bleeding was under control and the cut appeared to be to the side of the eye so the blood drained down the cheek.

By the way, this article included one of the most gruesome boxing photos I have seen. The camera caught the impact of a Marciano right on the side of Simmons' face. The distortion is horrendous, possibly worse than the famous Walcott photo. Simmons' nose appears to be outside his right eye.

 

This has always been my contention.
Lastarza was very carefully managed,there are so many names from his era conspicuously missing from his record .
I hope those who are giving him a good chance of beating Tua on my thread read this one,but they can never bring themselves to admit any of Rocky's opponents were less than great.

 

Or maybe he really, really wanted to beat Marciano and wasn't taking chances.

 

This is not the opinion of Skehan who wrote the biography of Marciano.He quotes the referee Sharkey Buonnano as saying,he could have stopped the fight anytime after the second round ,but didn't want to because Rokcky was undefeated and a big attraction in Providence.Marciano had the doctor up in his corner after the 7th round and Rocky pleaded with him not to stop it.Marciano stopped Simmons in the 8th.Marciano was stitched up and not allowed to spar for several weeks because of the injury.

 

I don't know about that I've only read one of his books.
In the absence of statements to the contrary I'll take his and the referee's word.
BTW Thanks for posting this, it puts Lastarza under the microscope .