No he wouldn't have. A prime Patterson would have been the best guy Marciano had fought. I won't count a 36/37 year old inactive Joe Louis as a great opponent.
Have you seen a prime Peterson. Although quick for a heavyweight, he lacked a chin that could handle the bombs Marciano flew. Based off what Johansson did, Marciano would have done much worse
Some people used to make a big deal out of Rocky winning 49 fights, with no losses, but to be an ATG you need to win over top competition and Rocky never did that. He fought many "big names"; Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles, Archie Moore, etc.; but they were way past their prime when Rocky fought them.
So my answer is: No, because he only fought "bums". A 49-0 record means nothing if the "big names" you face are not in their prime anymore.
People who consider Rocky Marciano as top 50 ATG know nothing about boxing.
Tweet
Comment