Why was Marciano so successful?

I believe this thread proves what Teddy Atlas said: "Marciano is both the most underrated and overrated heavyweight of all time."

 

But what use is a physical prime if you can't fight? Boxing is not track and field. You need to get that out of your head. It's fighting. A fighter still has to mature and season himself.

Until a fighter masters distance at each level and learns to fight at each level his physical prime in itself is worthless. It's nothing on its own. Youth really is wasted on the young. Do you think all novice fighters initially value a physical prime? Hopefully he has a prime left by the time he can fight at each level.

A lot of physical primes are wasted learning things the hard way.

I said so long as he's not overstretched in his prime years the experience will compensate when the career finally takes off. Obviously there has to be some prime miles left on the clock.

Take Jimmy Braddock. The the talent was there, he had already been a prospect, had his title shot then kind of went on the opponent circuit where he treaded water with the vast majority of professionals making a living. It was not a punishing existence but he wasn't going anywhere. It's not like he was going into camp for each fight like a major star would. Then he gets this break where the opportunity of a gateway into the bigger fights appears where once he wins that fight he can really relaunch himself seriously as a contender again. Things had been on hold. Suddenly a door opened again. Lucky he had a few miles left.

The war years you had a lot of fighters in their physical prime with nowhere to go because all the titles were frozen and most of the audience was away at war. Talk about fighters treading water! These guys took fights just to stay busy but their careers were realy on hold. Most fights were practically exhibitions, even real ones. Archie Moore actually fell out with Jimmy Bivins because they shared a lot of opponents and Bivins took things too seriously busting up kids they both needed to take it easy on to find work.

 

Rocky Marciano

"very clumsy,cut easily ,had trouble with balance"

Emmanuel Steward.
Guess he really didn't know anything about Marciano technically?

 

Ali said something like 'It's one thing to talk about fighting Marciano. It's another thing to actually get in the ring with him.'

 

Rocky said something like,"I've never seen hands that fast."

 

Yes, he did.
They both came away from that computer fight with respect for each other.

 

I recall that Marciano said in his prime he would have killed Ali.

 

That doesn't sound like Rocky to me, he was always a very modest man, never bragged ,I wouldn't give that much credence.

 

He was serious when he said it. I think he saw enough of what Ali was all about.If Fraziers pressure got to Ali, Marcianos pressure would and Marciano hit harder.

It was after the computer match and Marciano said some nice things about Ali, but then he got serious and said he would have killed Ali in the ring. And we all know what Ali said about Marciano.

 

Marciano and Ali's computer fight was before the Frazier trilogy .
Marciano had no idea how Ali would handle perpetual pressure.
Marciano's pressure was nothing like as intense as Frazier's.
I frankly don't believe Marciano would make a public comment like that.

https://uk.search.yahoo.com/yhs/sea...=yhs-btyuser&type=bt_tier_c/bt_dial/bt_access

 

Marciano after retirement said he would have beaten ali.

but he never got to seethe whole picture.

and besides he became a little less respectful in his comments and perhaps not without a hint of bitterness towards his accidental death.

 

I agree, I'd need to see a source proving that Marciano used those words. Doesn't sound a bit like him.

 

He did comment about how he would have killed Ali in his prime, I am not lying. This was after the computer match and they both saw something that made Ali question if he could of beat prime Marciano and gave Marciano confidence that he could not only beat Ali but kill him.