solving the Marciano matchups.....

Rocky is the most overhyped heavyweight. Decent not an all time great. If you look at his record 7 fights before he fought Walcott he was fighting poor fighters.
Ted lowery lost 6 of his last 6
Bill wilson lost 2 out of his last 6
Keanne Simmons lost 4 out of his last 6
Harold mitchell 6 out of his last six
Willis Applegate 5 out of his last 5 fights.

Rex Lange was first decent fighter on a good run 9 straight victories. Rex Lange knocked himself trying to catch rocky coming in. He smashed his eye socket on the top of rocky's head, the punch afterwards did nothing the guy was out cold. It was a bizzare knock out. Rex Lange beat both Charles and Walcott but lost the majority of his fights after this. Average contender, par for the course is fair if you look at his losses.

Freddie Beshore lost 4 out of his last 6

Joe Louis, way passed it. Decent win for an up and coming fighter. There was a big queue to beat the old man. Rocky's promotors had the money. This is like beating roy Jones junior today compared to in 2000.

Lee Savold 6 years older than Louis, lost 2 of his last 6. Lost nearly 20 fights. Had some silly version of the heavyweight title. I would call him a bum.

Gino Buonvino lost 3 and drew one of his last 6 fights.
Bernie reynold lost 4 of his last 6.

Harry Matthews a light heavy on a winning streak of 50 wins, 95% of them light heavies.
Good win for Rocky.

Jersey Joe Walcott lost 7 out of 14. Far better than it sounds as quality oppentents. Lost 4 heavyweight title challenges, 2 againts joe louis, 2 againsts Ezzard Charles. Lost to Rex Lange as well. Careless and cocky at times but great skills. Not ATG but a dangerous fighter. Was better 5 years earlier against Louis, not as quick but using his brain better. Rocky stamina beat him. People go on about the knock out but Walcott was beaten by the pace. Nearly koed Rocky three times in the first fight. Not if the second fight was a dive or not in the first round. Good win but Walcott had blown it so many times in his career never an ATG.

Roland LaStarza, got his shot because most felt he was robbed of a decision against Rocky the first time. Had lost twice to light heavies which he avenged after losing to Rocky. A 185 fighter like Rocky. Never made it as a challenger again. 18 months after losing to Rocky he was knocked down three times in 5 rounds and stopped.

 

To use the old cliche, with respect to the 49-1:

Do you know sombody who could do it?

 

Ezzard Charles got his shot at rocky having lost two in a row. Lost 5 times in three years since losing his title to Walcott in their third match up. Great light heavy and a decent as a heavyweight. Famed for beating a passed it louis. On the slide before he met Rocky. lucky to get his shot and not a level above the top contenders. Look at his losses. Beaten by rocky's stamina, like Charles and LaStarza,
Finally Koed in the rematch.

Don Cockell on a ten fight winning streak. Had been koed by Turpin a 162 pound fighter. Fighting at heavyweight because of a thyroid disorder. Failed to make as a contender after losing to Rocky. Koed to easy by fighters.

Rocky's greatest prize beating Archie Moore. Rocky's one creditable top oppentent excluding Walcott. He was beating the fighters Rocky was ducking. Fighting as both a light heavy and a heavyweight. Beaten by rocky's stamina.

When I compare Rocky's last twenty fights against the last twenty fights of Joe louis, ali, holmes, lennox lewis, frasier even patterson he comes up short. To many old light heavies. In fact only Walcott and cockell could not make light heavy when he fought them. All his oppentents were on the slide except Archie Moore, despite Archie being 40 or 42.

 

Rocky looked sloppy in his last two fights. It took 9 rounds to beat Don Cockell, and he was decked by Archie Moore. There were numerous occasions in that fight where he had Archie pinned against the ropes, but missed many of the punches. :think He got the knockout he desired, but looked like he was losing his edge.

So to answer your question directly, I'd say Patterson or Liston would have done it if Rocky remained active. I ultimately think Rocky would knock out Floyd, but he'd have some scary moments because of Floyd's youth and speed. Sonny Liston would have murdered Rocky in the late 50s. But to be fair, Rocky was on the decline. Rocky would do much better against Liston at his peak.

I tell you one thing, though. Rocky would have made easy work of Ingemar Johanson. That's another win that would have been on the Rock's record. I'm sure of it.

 

I think that he meant who would have been able to match Rocky´s record. Not many I think.

 

Oops. atsch

I think Mike Tyson could have if he'd maintained his focus and wasn't wooed away by Don King and other leeches. I think Joe Frazier would go undefeated in many other eras as well, including Rocky Marciano's. (He'd have an easier time than Rocky did)

Joe Louis is another candidate. He only lost once in his prime, although he recieved a gift draw in the first Walcott fight.

 

It cuts both ways I think. Some put him higher simply for going unbeaten, others probably discriminate against him because unbeaten suggests something not quite right.

 

I love Marciano. He's one of my favorite fighters and he deserves all the credit he can get for what he did during his era. That being said I also feel that he came along at just the right time. He was sandwiched in between the Louis era and the 60's when HW's were getting bigger and faster. He was fortunate that he didn't have to meet a prime Louis just as he was fortunate that he didn't have to meet a prime Liston and later Ali. His era consisted of still formidable but somewhat past it HW's and LHW's and there were no big 200lb plus power punchers around to really test his chin. Louis was over 200lbs but was a shadow of his once great self. There were no Liston's, Ali's, Frazier's, Foreman's et al. Truly big HW's with either great skill or murderous power to truly challenge Rocky. That's not Marciano's fault. You can't choose when you are born. He did what he had to do in the era he fought in and did very well against the best of that era. But I feel that his era was one of the weakest era's in HW history. Does that mean that Rocky couldn't do well in another era? Of course not. Does it mean that he would be undefeated in later era's? Again...Of course not. He would be hell for almost any great HW in any era but he wouldn't dominate the way he did in the 50's. Despite that Rocky still belongs in the Valhalla of HW legends.

 

Wrong Charles got his shot by Koing Coley Wallace and Bob Satterfield in dramatic fashion and being the # 1 contender. He was only a yr older than Marciano and the only decisions he lost were controversial. 5 0f Marciano's 6 defenses were against his # 1 contender and 1 vs his # 2. Moore was on his greatest win streak 50 bouts marred by a DQ and a controversial decision that he reversed by KO and KO'd Bob Baker and beat Nino Valdes 2 times among many others. If he did not fight Lastarza people like you would be saying he ducked Lastarza who was 53-3 and defeated every man that beat him except Marciano

 

All you need to say about this hater Janitor.

LoL, Marciano's head caused the KO against Layne? Unbelievable. I guess his head also knocked out his two front row teeth.

 

I'm sorry, Marciano knocked out 4 of Layne's teeth, not 2.