He has notable wins on his record, those wins being:
Joe Louis
Archie Moore
Jersey Joe Walcott
Ezzard Charles
Roland LaStarza
Ted Lowry
Rex Layne
Louis was past it. Walcott and Moore were late-peakers, like Bernard Hopkins, so credit to Rocky on those wins. Charles was at his physical peak but not mental. LaStarza, Lowry, and Layne aren't huge wins but they were decent fighters.
Marciano had no 'boxing' skills, in the sense to outbox someone, but he was quite a slugger and not many could stand with that. Maybe not even Ali.
In my opinion, he was a good boxer, but not a great one. He came along at the right time. The heavyweight division in the 50's was pretty weak. So, he got to fight past their primes Archie Moore, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Joe Louis.
Not his fault, but that's how the heavyweight division was in the 50's. Had he been in his prime in the 1930s, 1960s or 1970s, he wouldn't have even been a top 10 fighter. How would he have done against Earnie Shavers, Ronnie Lyle, George Foreman or even Sonny Liston?
Rocky did one thing better than anyone else. He knew when to call it, and never come back. I don't mean that negatively. Some fighters fight too long, or make foolish comebacks. Rocky quit while he was ahead, and now, we're talking about him today.
Rocky Marciano cannot be blamed for what was beyond his control, like opposition he beat every one out there worthy of fighting and had tremendous heart. I heard the cut he got from Charles was nauseating to look at and literally split his nose into two, fact is he pushed through what most would not of and also his defense is and has always been underrated-majority of the punches that many thought he took he would slip by a fraction of a hair and his insurance for the ones he took was a great chin. Of course he said that a prime Louis would of beat him, because he was a modest man and he idolized 'the brown bomber' I heard he wept after knocking out Louis because he hated having to beat his idol either way any one looks at Rocky Marciano he never lost as a professional and was possibly the hardest puncher pound for pound of all time.
Marciano never fought anyone who could give him a challenge. Beating people who cant fight and old men isn't much of an achievement. He retired just as the likes of Floyd Patterson and Sonny Liston were making a name for themselves. That is probably why he retired early. People only respect him because of his record but if he was 48-1 no one would care about him. With the people he was fighting he could have been 70-1 and people still wouldn't care. So it is basically the undefeated record and not the people he beat that apparently make him 'great'.
Yeah, Marciano was that great. Considering his physical limitations, he was actually even better than great, he was elite. Without a doubt Marciano is one of the ten best heavyweights that ever lived. You can argue where in the top ten Marciano falls, but no one argues that he doesn't belongs among the greats.
Rocky, indeed, wasn't your perfect boxer. He's too small to be heavyweight, he's slow, got crude skills, and, yes, bled easily. BUT he was the PERFECT FIGHTER. He was brave, he was tough, never backed down and, because of his exceptional strength and fitness, just kept coming at you, cuts and all. He had tremendous chin that he was willing to get tagged left and right just to land one of his powerful bombs. That's what made him one of the greatest heavyweights. Never mind his weaknesses as a boxer but just look at HOW he fought.
Was the 185lb Rocky Marciano really that great? In all of his 49 fights 22 of his opponents had already DOUBLE DIGIT LOOSING RECORDS when he faced them and of those 49 fights 32 HAD BAD RECORDS! He fought bums. His biggest fights were against old men way over the hill, 37 y/o Joe louis , 39 y/o Joe Walcott & 42 y/o Archie Moore he faced them all when he was 28 and In his prime. Other than Charels what great fighter did he beat?? Marciano got knocked down a few times by Jersey Joe and Moore. He almost lost to Charles and Walcott. Rocky Didn't beat a single great In his prime. How many fights did Marciano have against men + 200lbs Or over 6ft? LOL. Rocky didn't have the best defense and got hit alot. He struggled against old men LMAO, Truth Is If you were to put Tyson, Ali, Lennox, Foreman, Frazier, Liston, Holmes, In Marciano's era they would go undefeated too. Who could Rocky beat that they couldn't??? He got knocked down by old men AHAHAHA think that would happen to Lennox, Tyson or Foreman? Never the less he was good but not In top 10 heavy weights. He threw wild punches with little accuracy! The Rock fought In one of the weakest era's of boxing and said the competition was very stiff. Even he said that he could not beat a prime Louis. His title fights consist of men who averaged about 35 years of age not to impressive. There's a reason the IBRO has Ali or Louis the BEST HEAVYWEIGHT OF ALL TIME. Marciano's trainer said he never trained a guy who cut so easily.
