I just had to put this out there for opinions since I've been watching some Max Baer films. So, who was the dirtiest fighter of all the heavyweight champs?
Tyson was a bad sport to be sure. I have read that Marciano did a lot of raking the glove strings across the eyes, etc. but I haven't seen it. I have seen Marciano rabbit punch with abandon. Baer got away with a lot of holding behind the head and backhanding. For my money though it has to be Holyfield with the head jab. He hasn't been called on it and he's a hypocrite about it.
Its an interesting topic because the context of when fighters like Dempsey, Sharkey and Baer were doing it was different...Im not so sure if was considered all that dirty back then, it was all fair game...the rules were different and their interpretations certainly were.
Tyson wasn't dirty until he was desperate, honestly. When his skills declined, he resorted to dirty tactics. I still to this day think Ali was a dirty dirty fighter, he got away with a lot of bull**** in his time as well.
Nothing against the rules in hitting them on the arms, sure no points are being scored for that, but again nothing against the rules.
I reckon the older fighters pre-war were more inclined to push the boudaries but of the modern era Tyson was pretty dirty. That **** he used to do trying to break his opponents arm. Used to go through me.
That was relly the only out and out foul I saw from Marciano from the Cockell fight, people may mention the rabbit punch in round 8, but Cockell turn away from that punch.(Hench the reason why he was on the ropes) You cant relly hit some one fair and square when they turn there back on you while your thowing the punch. Didnt relly see anything relly out there compare to other Marciano fights, he would have hit Moore when he was down, on the last knockdown, but he miss, He thown that left, as Moore was going down, and miss because well, Moore went down faster lol. He may have bend the rules, but not relly a dirty fighter.
Hitting to the back of the head was legal in the fifties, at least in the United States. I remember the discussion of the second knockdown in the Patterson-Johansson fight when Ingo hit Floyd on the back of the head. It was pointed out by many that Ingo had done nothing wrong. A rabbit punch, at least in those days, was defined as hitting on the back of the neck while in a clinch. It was still done a lot.
If it was legel, how come Charlie Dagget, the ref of Marciano Walcott, said no rabbit punchings(after the question was ask if a punch to the back of the head was a fair or foul punch,) Even the ref for Dempsey Tunney II, gave Dempsey plenty of warnings on the back of the head punching.