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Do you think Rocky Marciano will ever really be appreciated for his perfect record as he should? |
I know many will say he beat older guys like Archie Moore who got a shot at the Rock by beating top contenders Nino Valdez and Bob Baker. Some say Ezzard Charles was past his prime but he was only 32 when he fought Rocky. The truth is he never avoided anyone and won every time despite disadvantages especiallly in reach making up for it in sheer determination, heart, willpower and of course punching power. I think that for true boxing fans, he is appreciated by as one of the top 3 boxers of all time. I also think he was more appreciated back in the day. However, it has been so long since it Marciano boxed, that most of the Baby Boomers today were just kids and many of the boxing fans of the day have passed on. Although I am too young to have ever seen him fight, when I was a child in the early 80's, my Grandfather would tell me how amazing Rocky was. i heart Rocky.... esp when he beat the Russian! ADRIAAAAAAN!!! I have been swayed by posters on this site. I think Marciano is in the top five of all time. Sometime I will even say number 3. I post him high because of his work ethic, heart, determination, and that great punch that he had. A fight between Marciano and Foreman would have answered alot of his critics on this great boxing forum that we have. Marciano is very underrated by many here and they have swayed me into thinking he is not as great as I thought because of his weight against bigger men. He fought some great fighters who were in their 30's but who is to say if they weren't at their best. No one will really ever be able to know. no he will never be appreciated. He suffers from the Larry Holmes Syndrome. Good Fighter who never got to show his greatness against a top fighter in his prime. It might not be fair to either of the fighters but that the way history will view them The Rock is one of the all time greats!!!!! He is appreciated by many. You don't rank 13th all time on Ring Magazine's list of the 80 Greatest Fighters of the last 80 years because your not appreciated. Some say Ezzard Charles was past his prime?? Ezzard Charles was in his 14th year as a professional, had already had 91 fights(that's TWO careers by modern standards) and was starting to get beaten with regularity by the better fighters(Johnson, Valdez, Layne, etc). He was DEFINITELY past his prime. It isn't the years, it's the mileage and Charles was nearing the end of his shelf life. The record clearly shows that. The fact that he fought Rocky's fight, went toe to toe with him and busted him up badly in both fights says as much about Rocky's shortcomings as Ezzard's greatness. What if this had been the Charles who fought Louis? Walcott was an old man in his 22nd year as a pro. He'd had 74 fights and already been knocked out several times in his career. Yet he still tossed Marciano around like a ragdoll in their first fight(the Marciano some claim to be among the "strongest" heavyweights in history), slugged it out with him and was ahead on scorecards when the Rock landed a hail mary. Again, what if it had been a 32 year old Walcott? Archie Moore was in his 20th year as a pro and had about 176 fights in his career. That's about 4 careers by today's standard. He still had some gas in the tank but was without a doubt past his peak. Like Charles he still managed to slug it out with the mighty Marciano, flooring him and lumping him up nicely. What if it had been a prime Archie? Rocky deserves some credit for beating these guys. They still had some fight left in them. But to say that beating them puts Rocky in the top 3 or 4 heavyweights in history is a bad overstatement. I give Rocky as much credit for these victorys as I do Lennox Lewis for beating past-prime versions of Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. They still had fight left in them, but were far from their respective peaks. I'm not a Marciano hater. In fact I like him very much. But facts are hard to escape and what I've just listed are the facts on Charles, Walcott and Moore. People may draw their own conclusions. No. He is getting more and more underrated. So is Joe Louis. Meanwhile, in a few more years, Ali will be able to beat Dempsey, Louis, and Marciano at the same time. |
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