From West91491's Youtube channel: [yt]kJP3UXzLPTg[/yt] Here is Layne scoring one of the biggest upsets of the early '50s, as he trounced leading HW contender Walcott in Madison Square Garden. Layne was never exactly known as a skillful or polished fighter, but he showed here he could execute a smart and well-developed gameplan. He advanced carefully and worked his jab well. Walcott spent much of the fight trying to lure him into one good shot, but Layne avoided the old man's traps and outscored him to what was generally considered a clear decision. Somehow, Walcott got two consecutive shots at Ezzard Charles' title off of this fight, while Layne never got a shot. He eventually did get his chance to fight Charles after he had lost the title, with both of them coming off a brutal one-shot KO loss (Charles to Walcott and Layne to Marciano), but Charles savagely pounded him into defeat in a brutal war, and Layne was never the same afterward. -------------------- [yt]SWw0FbXZVrk[/yt] This is Mandell, considered one of the most skilled boxers of the post-Leonard era, successfully defending his title in a fast-paced and competitive battle with the ever aggressive Canzoneri.
Rex Layne going into the Marciano fight was considered the next Champion he had a 34-1-2 record and his only loss came from 27-3-1 Dave Whitlock who Layne had beaten before and later avenged then KO'd in 4 before the Marciano fight. Some of the fighters he had beaten were Turkey Thompson, Bob Satterfield,Cesar Brion,Henry Hall,Bob Dunlap, JJWalcott...So he was 34-1 going into the Marciano fight vs the 35-0 Marciano...Layne got off the floor vs Satterfield the Puncher (who had KO'd Bob Baker in 1, 31-1 Cleveland" Big Cat "Williams in3 and dominated Nino Valdez...Layne got off the floor and KO'd Bob Satterfield in 8rds. I do think the one -punch KO that Layne suffered by Marciano ruined him. That type of KO was a tough one to overcome...If Marciano did not step in his way, Layne may have became a much better fighter...Nat Fleischer said that Layne was the next Jack Dempsey.
Sammy Mandell's real name was Samuel Mandella but fighters like him and Tony Canzonari were skilled and look at some of the fights they already had, some of the names on there records...DEEP
Walcott looks like he always does. So does Layne. This is the level of these boxers. These type of heavies couldn't hang with the boys of the 1960s onward. But it is interesting to watch. And they did have some interesting tricks. Thanks for posting!
I disagree. There have been some pretty bad heavyweights among those since the 1960s. And some ordinary ones, and good ones, few really great ones. Even the good ones are inconsistent and put out orinary showings more often than not. I think Layne and Walcott on this showing alone look on a par with much of the footage of "golden era" heavyweights like Quarry, Ellis, Lyle, Bugner, Bonavena, Chuvalo, Young, and even George Foreman in some of his fights. Weaver, Page, Tubbs, Berbick, Snipes, Smith from the 80s ? Ray Mercer !! Oliver McCall !! Moorer ? Most the time they lookled ordinary.
Quarry, Ellis, Bugner, Bonavena, Young and Foreman beat Layne easily. Withe the exception of possible the shakey chinned Weaver the eighties do as well. Please get real.
They all looked ordinary at times. On an off-night they might have struggled with Layne. Bugner lost to worse fighters. Bugner even at his best might lose to Layne because he was a bit too passive. I dont rate Layne at all, but I've seen shitter performances from better heavyweights.
Layne actually looks a lot better against Walcott here than he looks against Marciano and Charles later on. He looks far more polished here than in the Marciano fight. But I guess he was going for broke against Rocky, trying to outslug him. Here against Walcott he has to be more cautious because Walcott's always looking to counter him.
You guys all underate Layne. Listen to John Garfield. Layne, hungry in his prime, was a pretty dangerous fighter. I am glad your getting too see more footage of the prime Rex Layne. Also checkout the satterfield footage on youtube. few heavies in history would be able to survive that onslaught, let alone come back and win the fight. Rex tried to slug against marciano, that was his downfall. You cannot beat Rocky at his own game.
