Would Marciano have beaten Charles in his prime ?

I am not aware of any other fighter who had ALS. Lou Gehrig, Jacob Javits, and David Niven died of it that I know of. It is not common.

 

Probably not worth looking into then. I was just thinkin a few cases may be caused by blows to the head.

 

I think Charles could beat Marciano in his prime but see Rocky winning the rematch and in a trilogy probably going 2-1 in Marciano's favour.

 

Marciano definately has a chance at beating a prime Charles. However at the same time Charles has a better chance of beating Marciano if he is in his prime version than the one that fought Rocky. I can see a prime Ezzard Charles winning a decision against the Marciano. A younger more fresh fighter has better legs and that would be a crucial variable in Charles favour against Marciano. With him having better legs he would be able to move better and not be worn down as fast against Marciano.

 

I think a lot of people give Charles a bit too much credit or chance just because he was the only one to go the full distance with Marciano.

Don't get me wrong, Charles was a great fighter, but Marciano won by a clear 10-5 decision. What's more; Marciano, especially later in his career, took his time to dissect his opponents. Whatever success Charles enjoyed early in the fight, Marciano took over big time and if you watch the 15th round, you will see that Rocky has a beaten fighter in front of him. Charles just fought to survive at that point.

LaStarza did fairly well and i believe was pretty much even with Marciano into the 9th. Two rounds later he was knocked out. Marciano is not a conventional boxer. Charles was faster when he was younger, but also a bit lighter and smaller. Perhaps he would've had even more success early but his body giving in by the 10th enroute to a stoppage? I don't find it inplausible.

 

Marciano would've most likely knocked out a younger, lighter, less ring-savvy Charles.

Marciano is a bad stylistic matchup for a guy like Charles.

 

RE: Ali & Holmes.

I'd take Marciano to KO/TKO Holmes. Too many fighters had Holmes in trouble, and none of them were in the same league with Marciano. A slightly past prime Norton almost beat him by decision when Holmes was peak.

Ali IMO is the ATG, and I would pick him to beat everyone in history except Marciano. I would flip a coin in for that one. The troubles he had with Frazier and Norton leave me convinced that Rocky could very well beat Ali by decision, possibly TKO. Ali could beat Rocky by decision or it could be stopped on cuts.

 

Charles was a wonderful fighter who gets too little recognition. But even with 2 outs, 2 strikes, in the bottom of the ninth, with 2 men on base down by 2 runs Rocky is going to hit one out of the ballpark to use a baseball analogy. He was Yogi Berra, Ted Williams and George Brett put together in the clutch. He would do whatever he had to do to win just as he was told he needed a knockout in the 8th of the rematch or the fight would be stopped. he went out and got it done. Marciano beats any version of Charles eveytime they fight.

 

Bull****, he still ad years before he started getting sick. Look, you want to put Marciano down? o.k., but do it fair, not with lies.

 

Good post and obviously I agree with it. :good

 

True. It must also be remembered that Charles in the second fight ran like a scalded cat. Why would he do that, especially when the more aggressive approach he used in the first fight was much more effective?
My guess is that Marciano not only broke him physically, but broke him mentally in their first fight. Charles didn't want to go through that hell again in the rematch.

 

Fine post. You just may be right. :good

 

Charles should have got the decision in the final fight with Walcott. had he got the decision he'd have fought Marciano earlier and that time difference would have seen him beat Rocky.

Rocky was a great and fondly remembered fighter but he had the perfect talent to beat the guys around at the time.

He could stay with them and grind them down. His physical nature and his youth menat he could turn the tide. He would not have done that against younger versions of those figthters. I doubt he could have beaten Charles or Walcott if they'd have been the same age as him.

 

Many who saw both against Marciano claimed it was the best they had looked in years.

Considering your monicker, I'd hae to question your objectivity. :smoke

 

When I judge it logical, I can only say Marciano. A prime Charles, who fought at 175 lbs, looked only a bit better than the one who faced Rocky at HW (an excellent performance, he was in great shape), and even in their 1st fight it was a pretty comfortable victory for "The Rock", and not a razor- thin decision or so...