Would Rocky Marciano have adapted to modern training methods?

He could have weighed more even in 1940-50's. It's not as if weightlifting was exactly unknown in those days:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Atlas

Marciano deliberately tried to fight as lean as possible. His fantastic conditioning would not have been the same with many pounds of added muscle.

Muscle eats oxygen, too much muscle makes you gas faster. Take a look at Pudzianowski / Sylvia for a prime example of this. Pounds of muscle don't necessarily make you hit harder either. Corrie Sanders did not have a particularly muscular frame and instead generated punching power through speed and technique.

Look, I'm not dismissing the idea of a modern Rocky being better, out of hand. There are some modern notions like cryo training and other recovery techniques that allow more intense training. There are other things like high altitude training that definitely have an effect on stamina that I don't think were explored in marciano's time.

But I just don't think the improvement wold be as great as some people think it would be.

 

Muscle makes you gas out when your Cardiovascular system isn't at the same level.

 

He would have excelled .. Rocky was a natural athlete, trained like an animal and was very smart .. He is an all time pound for pound heavyweight and an all time top ten cruiserweight without question ..

 

Modern training methods are too soft for Marciano.

This is why you always hear the top dogs use old school training methods.

 

So then if you had to guess, why is it virtually all elite athletes have long since eschewed Marciano's methods? Did their trainers just not want them to be as good as possible?

 

BTW, what's your source re: Marciano's mileage?

 

With weight training, protein supplements, etc. I don't see Marciano weighing more than 200-202 or so. About Quarry's size. This stuff about him being 225 or more is insane. He stood slightly over 5'9".

 

This

 

It's not the size of the hwt. It's the size of the FIGHT in the hwt that counts. Very few hwts matched Marciano in this category.

Rocky was immensely strong and a gifted fighter not only in terms of punching power but also boxing ability. Lifting weights would not help Rocky....it would just take away important gym time tuning boxing technique and forging the endurance required to outlast opponents over a 15 round distance.

 

No way, with modern training there simply would never have been a Brockton Blockbuster

 

the 300 lb heavy bags are definitely the secret behind his punching power.....lemme call teddy atlas real quick and tell him that he can turn tim bradley into julian jackson if he has him working on a 300lb heavybag!

Regarding your other point...
If he had taken the PED's that athletes have used since the introduction of synthetic testosterone in sports, he would have been a conditioned 210lbs.....but thats kind of obvious lol i dont really get your point. Every fighter back then would have been bigger and stronger with the drugs we have now

 

They don't do roadwork, hit a heavy bag or spar anymore? :huh Damn I am older than I thought.

 

Dear perry you are extremely exagerated and biased with the old school fighters like dempsey,marciano,corbett ,louis ,etc
Any extreme is bad,underrating them is as bad as overrating