Who is the best modern heavyweight (90s and onward) that you would pick Rocky Marciano to beat?

Those "numerous men over 200 lbs" consist of;
1. Don Cokkell. No explanation needed here.
2. A completely shot 38 year old Joe Louis who was still leading on the cards after 5 rounds, gave Marciano a black eye, and by Marciano's own admission consistently found him with the remnants of his jab
3. Eldrige Eatman who true to his surname, was the heaviest he'd weighed in his career and in his last fight, and only the 2nd time in his career he went over 200,
4. 7-13 Artie Donato
5. James Patrick Connoly (who?)
6. The 1-6 Bill Hardeman
7. 4-3 Humphry Jackson:
8. Johnny Schkor, a washed Journeyman in his last fight who gave Marciano a cut that never fully healed and would go on to trouble him later in his career.

He had 8 wins against fighters over 200 lbs and all with the exception of one, were against greatly past prime fighters, or club fighters (In some cases both). When Don ****ing Cokkell is your best win over 200 lbs, you're probably not going to fair to well against top modern heavies, or even 2nd rate ones.

 

He couldn't

 

Michael Spinks, Leon Spinks, Greg Page, Trevor Berbick. People in that sort of category

 

It's a difficult question to answer because Marciano never faced anyone close to the size of Lewis, Bowe, K-Bros etc. so we've really got no point of reference to make a firm prediction on.
My own feeling is if Roy Jones could school Ruiz, if Chris Byrd could hang with the big guys and make Vitali quit, if a dangerously obese ableit talented Andy Ruiz could TKO AJ etc. then it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that a big punching, teak tough guy like Marciano could at the very least be competitive with the top SHW's.
After the SHW's yes I believe he could beat some of the elite modern non SHW's. I'd pick him over Ruiz and Moorer.

 

It's not Marciano's size that makes me think he couldn't compete in the modern era at heavyweight, it's his skill set, fundamentals, lack of quickness, clumsiness, etc. He came along at the right time, I don't know if it was because of WW2 and the Korean War, but for some reason there wasn't much talent in boxing. As Seamus has pointed out numerous times, JJW was not better in the 1950s than he was when he was younger, he just found an era in which he could win.

I don't think Marciano would be competitive at 200, 175, or 168 either.

 

Do you rate Lou Nova, Buddy Baer, and Tommy Loughran as better heavyweights than Jersey Joe Walcott?

 

Honestly, in a one off fight, where one fighter is considerably under sized, anything can happen.

We know Rocky has beaten men who would be considered SHW, they just weren't very good, so the question is what's the best big man he can beat, and I don't know the answer that. It requires a leap of faith either way and picking against Marciano is kinda like picking Miller to unify the division next year.

But that being said, I'm wholly confident the likes of Chisora, Whyte, Povetkin, Wilder etc would not have successfully dethroned Rocky in the early 1950s.

 

Gotta love this thread!

 

Don turner says it best. Everyone must have seen his epic interview. These huge heavys couldn’t get to him because he’d be so low with his chin well tucked away. They don’t hit down very well. But Marciano can easily hit them.

 

The very funny part to me, is at least Rocky has a punchers chance and as champion fought the best out there. He was best in a 15 round format.

Now if the question was, Who is the best modern heavyweight (90s and onward) that you would pick Johnson or Dempsey to beat, even though both guys lost to lesser men, the mob would come out.

Rocky probably hit hard enough to beat Lewis, who was Ko'd twice by one punch, Bowe who had a prime that was oh so short, Moorer who was a little chinny, and McCall / Rhaman who really were not that good. Are we talking about slow.old Foreman too? And do we extend to the other " world champions" ? Like Tommy Morrison,, Mike Bennett, Bruce Selldon, etc....

If I had to lay money down, which Bowe are we talking about? I probably pick him over Moorer, and it the odds are right he sure could upset Lewis, and Holyfield off PED's. Does that answer the question for the 1990's minus the other champions. Foreman? 50/50, but based on his performances ;after in the decade vs Schultz, Saveresse, Crawford and Briggs, I'd take Rocky.

 

Andrew Golota, Kevin McBride, Mike Mollo.......

 

Thought you 2 would find this interesting. It's an analysis by experts and historians on how this match would go.

Paul Gallender, Writer and Boxing Historian:
Holyfield has every possible advantage in this bout. He's a much better boxer than Marciano, he's 30 pounds heavier, he hits harder, and he's fought much better competition. Matches like this simply shouldn't ever be made because the smaller man would find himself in a hopeless situation. Natural light heavyweights, as Rocky was, might have a chance against a solid heavyweight but only if they were excellent boxers, which Marciano wasn't. He could only fight one way, and that is by boring in to his opponent. He would take a lot of punishment and his punches would not have the same effect against a big man like Evander as they would against a light heavyweight. Rocky was a brave man but I'm afraid he would either be knocked out no later than the fifth round or the fight would be stopped by the referee because of all the punishment he would have taken.

Moontan, Heavyweight Action Boxing Expert:
Two of the greatest fighters ever to enter the ring if you measured hearts. Both became boxing legends because they were never out of any fight and both fought with tremendous confidence. Holyfield would have about a 25 pound weight advantage and usually fought against much larger heavyweights than himself. Marciano would be at a great disadvantage in every aspect of the fight. Holyfield was a perfect fighting machine and would just be too much with superior hand speed and size and reach. Marciano would prove to be a very difficult target to hit but within 10 rounds I see the fight being stopped on cuts. Marciano had major problems with cuts and would not be able to endure the punishment deliver by Holyfield.

Experts Predicted Outcome: Holyfield winner 2-0

 

Still factually incorrect.

He defeated 10 men over 200 lbs.

You left off...

Simmons 200 1/2 lbs and Wilson 229 1/2 lbs. Box rec at your disposal and you still can't get it right.

If you can name another fighter with 10 knockouts over fighters 200 lbs while weighing under 200 lbs himself, I'll give credit where due.

 

Uh...who is this one decent opponent? Or should I just assume your alt profiles reference to Kockell? LoL.

So weird. I guess should be expected.