Who is the biggest person Rocky Marciano fought?

Sprinters train for a 10 - 20 second burst of tremendous energy.

No comparison with the fight game.

If you want to see HUGE thighs look no further than downhill skiers, or speed skaters.

 

I have no facts to go on,

but Oma was an in and out fighter with apparently a great deal of natural talent who was chinny. Bruce W had a strong KO record percentage for his whole career and was the only one to ever put Gus Lesnevich down for the count. He does appear to have had a punch, so a KO victory over Oma does not on paper look all that unlikely.

Much has been made about how bad Bruce W was, but his KO over Lesnevich in 1946 would have looked at the time and over the next few years as a really impressive win. Lesnevich was the fighter of the year in 1947 when he blew out Melio Bettina in the first round. Bettina had a very strong record over the previous six years at heavy, including holding his own against a prime Jimmy Bivins-one win, one loss, one draw in three fights. And the loss and draw to Bivins were the only fights Bettina didn't win over that span.

I don't know about Bruce W's eye situation, but after the Baksi bout he beat Oma, Savold, Johnny Ralph, and light heavy champ Freddie Mills back to back before going into the second Savold fight.

I think he deserved the high ranking he was given.

 

Oh please, yourself.

He was listed 5'11" for Walcott, LaStarza, and Matthews, and 5'11.5" for Moore. No doubt exaggerated a little just as Quarry's listed 6'0" was said to be. There is an official 1 inch difference or less.

When it comes to Marciano there's certainly a desire to downgrade his listed stats while taking the listed stats of others as gospel.

 

I rewatchted the fight.

Foreman did walk upright into Lyle's right hand several times, most notably in the first when he was put on rubber legs by such a punch. I was correct in observing this.

The first Foreman knockdown did not result from exchanges. Foreman lost his legs after a counter 1-2 while he was lazily pawing with the jab. He tried to hang on and retreat but Lyle put him down with a follow up attack.

After that, they do exchange and Lyle gets the worse of it as he foolishly tires to press through Foreman's punches, resulting in his first knockdown of the fight.

Foreman tires to press with Lyle on the ropes during the final minute but he punches himself out. Lyle fights back against an arm weary Foreman who isn't doing anything but pushing and sticking his left arm out for space. Lyle puts him down with wild haymakers and a gassed Foreman appears to be saved by the bell.

In the 5th they are both dead on their feet and exchange sloppily on tired legs, Lyle again gets the worst of it, he rocks Foreman around a few times but gets backed into the corner and destroyed.

I don't see how this any gauge for a Marciano fight. Lyle at his most effective was emulating Ali's strategy but was too eager to finish Foreman and got drawn into a war he didn't have the stamina or fire power to overcome. Foreman was a big wide open target as I stated. Marciano was a small crouching moving target. Going to the ropes and loading up on rights isn't going to work here like it did against Foreman.

 

my point was sprinter train for strength/muscle and the added weight does not slow them down.downhill skiers,and speed skaters train for explosiveness with heavy squats and lunges.

 

“Rocky was the better fighter, and although Haye was a cruiserweight who moved up to heavyweight and Rocky was always a heavyweight, there is a big advantage in size and weight for Haye. Marciano weighed in at 185 and was said to be about 5’10", rumor has it that he was more like 5’8" or 5’9". Haye is 6’3" and weighs around 220, not small at all. Marciano had more heart and power, but could he make it work against Haye who has speed to go with his size, but not Rocky’s chin? A couple of the Rock’s foes were 6’, spent Joe Louis was 6’2", but no one like the rangy Haye. If Haye stayed away from Rocky’s Suzy Q, his big right hand, he wins, but if Haye loses heart and lets the shorter guy inside, it will be over.”
- Jerry Glick - Contributing Editor - New York City, USA____ ROCKY WAS UNDER 5'10" ____ FRAZIER WAS UNDER 5'11"

 

Book Excerpt: Redemption: The Life & Death of Rocky Marciano:____chapter eight: Marciano in 1946



With his tail proverbially between his legs, at least on the outside, Marchegiano returned to Fort Lewis to serve out his remaining year, but even his journey back would not be without incident.

Using his influence at Westover where he was placed in command of flight scheduling, Allie Colombo had managed to wrangle his friend a free ride on a plane heading for Washington State, this not only allowed Rocco to spend an extra couple of days at home, but also allowed him to cash in his travel allowance when he arrived back at base. All though did not go to plan, for when the plane touched down on a stop-over in Kansas City, Rocco was unceremoniously bumped off his flight by an officer who needed the seat for himself, fortunately Marchegiano found himself another route to carry him back to Fort Lewis. Meanwhile, Allie, firmly ensconced back at Westover Air Force base was oblivious to the unfolding events when he discovered that the plane he believed his buddy to be on had begun to experience difficulty, as author Everet M. Skehan in his own work would recount Colombo recalling; “The reports kept coming in that the plane was in trouble, I kept thinking, ‘Holy Christ I’ve killed Rocky’. I couldn’t believe it. They kept saying the plane was in trouble and would probably have to try a forced landing.”

The incident thankfully passed with-out fatality, Allie was amazed when he contacted Rocco shortly afterward only to be informed that he had been completely unaware of how proceedings in his absence unfolded; it was however to be a strange omen of future events.

Safely ensconced back at Fort Lewis, Marchegiano re-entered the amateur boxing and baseball program’s, and to add to his growing sporting resume he became the sometime sparring partner of an aspiring heavyweight from Washington; as journalist Dan Walton recounted to author John D. McCallum:

“Harold Bird, the local businessman who was a great booster of boxers in our area, had been talked into taking over a good-looking young giant named Big Bill Little. Big Bill had dreams of becoming the heavyweight champion.

“Bird was tutoring his protégé in Homer Amundsen’s gym in Tacoma one day when in walked a stocky GI from Fort Lewis who says he’s a fighter and is willing to work out with Big Bill. When he gets his tights on and with those short arms, hairy chest and waddling style, he makes Harold think of a bear. Anyway, Big Bill stood 6-5 and weighed 225. He was pretty fast for a big guy and was in excellent condition. The soldier(Marciano) looked to be about 5-9 and weighed around 180. He was hog fat.

“Well, they worked a couple of rounds and Big Bill didn’t even work up a dewy sweat. The GI from Fort Lewis didn’t back up though, and he took some good cuts at his towering opponent, but with his stubby arms he didn’t even come close to tagging the big guy.

“After the workout, Bird handed the soldier $8 and he was happy. Bird told him to come back the next day, but for some reason or other he never showed up-and that was the last that Harold Bird saw of Rocky Marciano.”

After he had ascended the heavyweight throne the then champion reflected back, “Yes, that’s all true. I was in the Army out near Tacoma and one day a notice came to the camp that sparring partners were wanted at this Tacoma gym and anybody could reply. I was flat broke, so the next day I went in there, and they put me in against this giant who must have been seven-feet-tall. I don’t think I even came close to hitting him. They asked me how much I wanted so I mentioned two-dollars a round would be ok, so they gave me four-dollars. I really was rich then.___MORE PROOF ROCKY WAS 5'9"! LISTING HIM AT 5'10 OR MORE WAS A LIE TO MAKE HIM APPEAR LARGER,I GUESS PEOPLE LIKE TALL HEAVYWEIGHTS.____ Here's a pic with 6'1.5" Joe Louis,does Rocky look almost 5'11"? no way! ____ [url]http://www.sportspages.com/images/products/large/12581.jpg[/url]

 

The underlined is ironically funny, especially so because you used 21years old Quarry's 187lbs weight for Machen when everyone familiar with Quarry's career knows his optimum weight was in the 190's.
He was 195lbs when he fought Patterson in the WBA eliminators, and 195lbs when he fought Ellis for the WBA title.

One rule for you,a different one for everyone else?

 

What's really hysterical is that I wrote this in the post you quoted:

You wish to narrow it down to not just fit but best performance range, Quarry's 190-200 to Maricano 185-190.

So what is it exactly you wish to argue about? You seem to agree with my 190-200 range, so I don't see what the problem is. I brought up Machen in response to Magoo's claim that Quarry only weighed in the 180s in his first 9 fights, he did not.

 

I don't buy it.

Marciano looked to be the same height as 5'11" listed Matthews, and only a smudge shorter than the often 6'0" listed Moore.

I believe there actual heights were probably 5'10.5" Marciano, 5'11" Moore, 5'10.5" Matthews.

Funny some of these sources you are using listed Louis as 6'2" as well but you discounted that in favor of the 6'1.5" claim.

 

You might convince yourself but I'm not buying it.

 

Moore was 5'11" he wore lifts in his shoes to appear taller than his wife.

Louis was 6'1.5" ,and that's from a good source.

Joseph Louis Barrow.

 

As a former competitive sprinter I can tell you this is not true. It's ultimately a power/weight relationship that is important. Usain Bolt, a guy who is off the progression charts of his events, is 6-5 and 185, not exactly yoked… and he is gigantic for a world class sprinter. Most are in the 160-180 range. Some, like Calvin Smith and Pietro Mennea were downright diminutive.

 

Best fighter Marciano has edge over in mythical h2h?

 

You're right.

I counted exactly 10 fights out of Quarry's 66 pro fight career in which he was in the 180's range. Of those 10, 9 of them came within the first 5 months of his career when he was 20 years of age. The last one came against Machen when he was 21 and only 14 months into his career. From late 1966 to the end of his first career in 1977, he never again weighed in the 180's and his best weights for most of his more memorable fights ranged from about 193 to perhaps 202. Not a huge difference between he and Marciano, but enough to say that he was the bigger man. And bare in mind this isn't even an argument about comparing sizes between Quarry and Marciano as it was between Lyle and Marciano, which is quite significant. As for Rocky's height I have seen tales of the tapes which have him at heights of 5'9", 5'10", 5'11", 5'11.5. etc.. 5'10" however seems to be the most commonly listed height. Ezzard charles, Archie Moore and joe walcott were all around 5'11" to 6'0" and noticeably taller than he was, so I don't think this is too far off the mark.. I rewatched the lyle vs foreman fight as well and frankly I can't agree with what you're looking at. having a shot countered isn't necessarily the same as "walking in to one." Foreman and Lyle were trading punches in the center of the ring at will for about 10 seconds prior to that first knockdown Lyle scored. Watch the second knockdown as well. Lyle chases Foreman down landed shot after shot before George fell to the canvas. At other times Lyle did in fact catch George as he was coming in like you say. He also fought well off the ropes when Foreman had him there. Point being, George was getting hit left and right in every scenario that came about. It was hardly solely a matter of him merely "walking into counter punches." His superior power and will is what ultimately beat Lyle. and the kinds of punches he was hitting him with were huge over hand rights, looping crosses and hooks. Lyle took huge shots at close range from both Shavers and Foreman, stopping one of them while badly hurting the other while both were prime. These were two guys who rival each other on a lot of people's list as two of the most dangerous punchers of all time. With a 4-5 inch height advantage and maybe 30 lbs in weight along with a decent track record against elite punchers, Lyle would be a problem for Marciano.. Janitor who almost always favors the old school guys over the more modern even said a few years ago that Lyle might have been a good guy to keep Rocky away from. For the record, I'm not sold on Lyle beating Rocky, but you seem to think that its gospel he'd lose and lose without much trouble. Nothing I see on film from either of these guys suggests that...it would be a competitive slugfest with both men having their moments. Maybe Marciano should be favored based on his legacy. But an upset isn't out of the question and a hard night's work is inevitable.