What boxers did Rocky Marciano consciously and deliberately duck, if any?

I'd say the early retirement is the real problem. Rocky said he had one or two fights left in him. Valdes would have been nice. Baker too, thing is I think he wins both fights.

 

Another moron insulting all Americans of Italian descent. Just because his name ends in a vowel that makes him part of the Mafia? Italian Americans were (and are) justifiably proud of Rocky, but he wasn't a made man and was not a criminal.

You really are a fool, aren't you?

 

But what was his highest rank that he would have been chosen over one of Rocky's defenses, or Nino, if there were one more fight?

Don't bother to answer. There would have bene no rational whatsoever.

 

Baker and Nino are underrated completely in the grand history of things. They fought so many ranked men they piled up losses but both had some stellar wins. Would be nice if half the top ten guys today fought ranked men as often as they did. To put it in context Baker probably fought more ranked men then then Fury AJ and Wilder combined. Probably, haven’t counted. Baker almost got his shot but he wasn’t seen as a big challenge having been beaten by so many by that time. That and Weill and Marciano relationship was done. Marciano not wanting to give him another penny.

 

Somehow this idiotic post did not come up in my alerts.

None of these guys, with the exception of Cockell, were #1 or #2 contenders. Props to him on beating Cockell after the fact.

Some of these were downright fringe contenders. That is not degrading, it is a fact.

 

-

Yes, in his interview after defeating Moore, Marciano said that he looked forward to a 50th win (or agreed with the reporter asking him about it.) In the book "Rocky Marciano - Biography of a First Son" by Everett Skeehan, the author tells of growing tensions and conflict between Marciano and Al Weill, leaving the reader with the conclusion that the Rock had had his fill of Weill's shenanigans while taking 50% of Marciano's purses being the real reason behind the fighter retiring when he did.*

 

A part of the reason Marciano retired, was that there was no big money fight available.

He had no way of knowing, that Floyd Patterson was going to become the youngest champion in history.

He probably didn't even know who Sonny Liston was.

This means that he was looking at mean like Pastrano, Jackson, or Valdez on retrospective grounds.

Not hard to see why none of those fights filled him with enthusiasm!

 

He was actually scheduled to meet Baker in February when he retired. But like many have stated he wasn’t thought to be a real threat or big pay day and the bigger problem with Weill.

 

Well met old chap, well met.

 

Again, he was never a #1 or #2 contender, so everyone Rocky fought was more legit. There is no cause to say that he ducked" Baker.

Not in the conversation.

You get that, right?

 

His back was the opponent he was probably ducking more than anything. Anyone who has had back problems would certainly not fault him.

 

Where did I use the word degrading? I provided a list of contenders he beat , because, in your ignorance you described Valdes as"mediocre ," at no point did I say,suggest,or imply they were number one contenders.Do you have learning difficulties?

 

Valdes was the number 1 contender at the end of 1953 and 1954.

 

Cockell was a gimmee defence there was virtually no betting on the fight so poor was his perceived chance of winning .The match was knocked by most of the major sports writers as being a total mismatch which of course it was.Cockell was a 10.1 underdog.

[url]Editor's Pick: The beating Rocky Marciano handed Don Cockell broke every rule in the book - Boxing News (boxingnewsonline.net)[/url]