Rocky Marciano probably had the strength of a 230 lb man though he hardly weighed more than 187 lbs when he was fighting or training for a fight. In between he may go oer 200-205 lbs. He mostly trained for increased stamina and endurance which is a prime reason that he could either knock his opponent out early or late in the fight. You could compare him to a pitbull as far as his determination and tenacity goes. He trained by running up to 12 miles and would hit an oversixzed heavybag weighing over 300 lbs and would work on putting all of his weight into his punches which was one of the reasons he could hit so hard. It's been said that anywhere he hit you, hurt. Rocky was of course full blooded Italian and was naturally strong anyway but with that fitness routine he done added to it, just made him that much more powerful. He usually fought bigger opponents than himself but you rarely if ever saw him take a backwards step and I seriously doubt that anyone ever was able to manhandle the Rock who was incredibly strong especially for a man his size.
No, he was that strong. He had a BIG punch. I've been on a kick lately of watching the classics on ESPN Classics lately and just saw Marcianao vs Walcott and Moore. Two great fights. Must see fights for Marciano fans or if you want to see Marciano on the big screen and not just on youtube.
My only concern was how these guys would hit Marciano with big shots and Rocky would just brush them aside and keep coming. Amazing.
Marciano fighting weight was 185-190 lbs but he hit like a 220 lb heavyweight so yes i would say he was strong and he stood just a half a inch short of 5 foot 11 he would probably be a cruiser weight today and easily clean the division out at that weight
When Joe Louis fought Marciano, he said he had never been hit that hard in his life. When Louis was champion he fought some bears!!
Marciano threw punches from the floor...he turned his entire body into it. Basically it was like taking a punch from a 185 pound fist.
Not to mention his wind, which I think adds more to strength than people give credit to. His training was and is to date, legendary.
Yes, he was that strong.
Rocky was very strong for a man that stood, 5"10, weighed 185 lbs. The bigger the opponent, he would chop them down to size, with his hammer like strength. When he defended his title against Roland La Starza, in 1953, he battered Roland's arms to the point that he could not lift his arms to defend himself. Roland would later say, that his arms felt like they were like heavy bags of sand, later it was determined that Rocky's blows had ruptured the veins in Roland's forearms. Roland was then knocked out by Rocky. Marciano wore his opponents down with his tireless pressure and determination. He was managed by a great team of Charlie Goldman and Al Weill. Look at what he did to the faces of Jersey Joe Walcott, and Ezzard Charles, he disfigured their features with his fists. In his first meeting with Charles in 1954, Rocky's nose was split in half like a honeydew melon, the referee went to Marciano's corner, and advised them that he intended to stop the fight in favor of Charles. Rocky's corner told the referee, one more round, Marciano came out and knocked out Ezzard in round 10. Those were the good old days when the fighters let their fists do all the talking in the ring. No making goofy faces during the referees instructions, the fighters had a job to do, and left the entertaining to the entertainers.. Fighters respected one another, they did not make obscene gestures to other fighters spouses. The boxers were people that the young had good reason to look up to. And fighters were not greedy like today's fighters, but humble family oriented individuals. They kept their mouths shut, and told kids to stay in school, also to obey the law. Marciano did not look menacing,but like the saying goes, "You Cannot Tell A Book By It's Cover." Rocky's dad was a shoe maker in Brockton Massachusettstts, and he taught his sons, that they had to work hard if they wanted things in life. And lastly, Rocky had these short arms that contained an enormous amount of power.
I know he had amazing power, but was it also because of him just constantly throwing punch after punch and never resting?
