What it says on the tin,which of Marciano's opponents was the hardest puncher at that time of their career ?
Walcott and Moore. Moore hospitalised and knocked out rated heavyweights as late as 1962. Walcott knocked out and knocked down big men throughout his career. Charles iced rated heavyweights. One timed Valentino on film as well as Satterfeild. Joe Louis was nothing like the man he had been so I put him behind Walcott and Moore at the time Rocky fought them. but still an active and worthy contender. He knocked the Cuban Agramante down with decent power. As far as I know Cleveland big cat Williams could not knock omelio agramonte down but old Joe Louis still could.
Old Joe Louis. In the 7th round he shook Rocky with a short right hand counter. Ezzard Charles could hit. The hardest might have been Moore and Walcott
there are hard punchers and there are pinpoint punchers Walcott and Charles and Moore could do it all. Joe Louis aged but could still crack and Layne had power. Vingo was a younger stage but I heard he could bang Foreman got dropped by Ali and Young they did not have great power but were pinpoint punchers,Walcott had serious one punch power in both hands but could also box and move
Walcott was the guy that would be mostly likely to knock down an Ali or a Foreman. Marciano didn't really fight any world-class legitimate punching heavyweights though.
Agreed. He fought several skilled boxers who had the additional feature of being able to "crack", but that's about it.
Coley Wallace was a big heavyweight. Charles knocked him out. Walcott iced Johnny Shkor a rated heavyweight who held his own and went the distance with most top liners of the day. He stopped Mauriello too. Shkor was about the size of Bonecrusher Smith. There is a photo of Shkor frozen in mid air before dropping like a felled tree from one of Walcotts bombs. Walcott was a puncher. Let's think Bob Baker? Aljandro Lavorante? Where do you want to start? His KO on you tube of big 209lb Embrel Davidson on YouTube is enough proof that he had enough pop to take out the big guys. And yet old washed up Louis could still deck Cuban Omelio Agramonte just months before facing Rocky and as far as I know Cleveland big Cat Williams did not deck the same guy when he outpointed Omelio years and many losses later.
Joe Louis was past what he had been, a shadow of himself, but was legitimately still World class. Moore, Charles and Walcott were not considered small for the day and they legitimately knocked out rated heavyweights. How legitimate does it have to be? Was there a Ernie Shavers or George Foreman types around? No. But there were legitimate punchers out there and Rocky fought them.
But no longer a puncher of note, stopping three of ten opponents during his comeback, for a KO ratio of 30%. He never took on a really severe puncher in his career. I will not debate this with you, because you are incapable of admitting it even though it is a fact.
