Oh My, this may be a huge miss match, Taking into account size,height,technique, speed and intelligence Marciano would not rate high compared to Holmes in any of these categories. Marciano may hit harder and may have a better chin however we cant really know how he would fair against a legitimate heavyweight. You have to remember a big heavyweight in the 1950's was 6 feet and about 200 lbs so its hard to say weather or not he would be able to take many shots from a heavyweight of Holmes caliber, speed and accuracy.
I would argue that a blown up light heavyweight Archie Moorer knocked him down as did Jersey Joe Walcott, Walcott who was considered a decent boxer although shop worn by the time Marciano had him knocked Marciano down and was having a fairly easy time out boxing him until he slowed late in the fight and Marciano put him away. Now take Larry Holmes who was faster, hit harder moved better and had a great chin and who also came in at just over 6 foot 3 and weighing over 210lbs and had one of the best jabs in boxing history.
I would contend that Holmes could win the fight relying solely on his jab and most likely have the fight stopped by mid point simply by tearing Marciano's face to tethers. Although he wouldn't only do this he would attack Marciano to the body, the head, he would land uppercuts, hooks straits behind a jab that would smash Marciano's face into hamburger.
I would guess if Holmes wanted to he could put Marciano away in less then 6 or 7 rounds depending on weather or not a 5'11 180 lbs Marciano could actually take shots from a big fast heavyweight.
I love Marcino, when it came to excitement and hard knockouts he delivered every time, however I am also not delusional to the fact that Marciano was a poster boy in a day when a poster boy was needed and there had always been a lot of propaganda surrounding him that you would remember if you lived back then. Like Ali they had Marciano fighting superman and Natzies ext he was legend and a myth while he was fighting and come 60 years later the myth still grows.
Great guy, exciting fighter, all heart and grit and a killer smile, but Holmes chops him up fairly easily.
Rocky Marciano is a better fighter pound for pound but the size difference, the huge reach difference will be the difference here. Unless the fight is in the phone booth then Rocky with the better chin will win but if it is in the ring then Larry will outbox and win a close but unanimous decision from Rocky Marciano. Jersey Joe Walcott was outboxing and was a head on the score card heading into the 13th round where Rocky land his trademark right hand. Larry Holmes is taller and has a better jab than Jersey Joe Walcott will probably avoid that punch and go on to win a 15 round decision.
Larry Holmes has been hit with the hardest punch I have ever seen land that didn't result in a knockout. I watch the replay of Shavers clocking Holmes just to listen to the "crunch" the punch makes on impact. Earnie hit the hardest our of virtually any man alive and if he couldn't stop Holmes, nobody can. It took a young Tyson to knock out an old Holmes and even still Larry wasn't knocked out cold. Basically, a knockout is the only way I see Marciano winning and that isn't happening. Holmes is too big, too strong and too fast for the Rock. Holmes TKO9 Marciano.
Larry Holmes was my favorite boxer in the late 70s and for most of the 80s after Muhammad Ali retired and I have the opportunity to closely follow his career. What i noticed about Holmes in contrast to Ali was that he never had problems with smallish heavyweights, no matter how tough and dervish they were. Ali had to struggle for sometime against Doug Jones, Oscar Bonavena, Jerry Quarry and Ernie Shavers, lost to Joe Frazier in their first fight and had to struggle against Smoking Joe in their rematches before winning. With Holmes it's a different matter, he dispatched them at the earliest opportunity. Guys like Shavers, Marvis Frazier, Scott Frank,Leon Spinks, Renaldo Snipes, Osie Ocasio, Lorenzo Zanon were all knocked out or stopped when Holmes caught them,
It's not accurate to say that since Holmes lost to Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield, he would be vulnerable to Rocky Marciano too. We are talking here of prime time Holmes who in his heydays would have also handled Tyson and Holyfield. In fact, an old and faded Holmes even showed some flashes of brillaince against those two in those fights but the reflexes and the speed and the sock in his punches were simply no longer there.
Prime Holmes would have knocked out Marciano inside six rounds. Holmes in his prime had been hit more massively by both smaller and bigger foes and he was never been in deep trouble and in fact came back even stronger to dispatch the opponent. I don't think Marciano had ever been hit as hard by a big, young, powerful legitimate heavyweight as Holmes in all his career. If the power of the punch of the lanky Ezzard Charles just split his nose and knocked him down, the power of the punch of a prime time Holmes would surely put him down for the full count.
Oh, I think Holmes would win an easy decision. Simply stand on the outside and jab the 'Brockton Blockbuster' to death. Marciano had huge heart but he was a short armed fighter who benefited from fighting in a weak Heavyweight era where some of the better fighters were old and the Ali/Liston/Frazier era was still a few years away. He then was smart enough to retire undefeated and then he died relatively young which is a surefire recipe for becoming even a bigger legend. Holmes wins unless he gets careless.
No disrespect to the great undefeated Rocky Marciano, but with huge advantages in size, speed and skill, plus a solid chin, Larry would have no problem winning easily on points. He might even stop the onion-skinned Rocky due to cuts and excessive bleeding.
Holmes wins on cuts in the 11th round. The jab would be too much for the much smaller man. Marciano would make it interesting lasting till the 11th, showing his great heart and toughness.
Holmes wins by KO - 11th.
If Holmes doesn't knock him out with left hooks and right hooks he has both his eyes closed by 3rd. Jab from Holmes would nearly decapitate the slow inaccurate alligator armed old man beater. Holmes via Ko or too with in 5.
Well I think Marciano would win since he's an infighter/swarmer and Holmes is an outfighter/boxer, and infighters usually beat outfighters. But it's not always this way, so idk.
15 rounds, in their primes.
