Rocky Marciano vs Wladimir Klitschko

[Obama]

In Marciano's 49 fights he only fought 1 man who was 6+ ft and 200+ lbs simultaneously. That man was a washed up Joe Louis. Against a prime Wlad, he'd be totally out of his element.

[JAB5239]

See Tua vs Lewis for a better reference on how this fight would play out.

[0Rooster4Life0]

See Tua vs Lewis for a better reference on how this fight would play out.

I disagree.... Tua doesnt fight anything like Rocky, Tua in that fight was disapointing, he didnt do much, He was looking for 1 punch the whole night.



Rocky would be throwing 100 PLUS punches per round. All with KO written all over it.


this would be nothing like Tua Vs Lewis IMO.



Rooster

[Benny Leonard]

I disagree.... Tua doesnt fight anything like Rocky, Tua in that fight was disapointing, he didnt do much, He was looking for 1 punch the whole night.



Rocky would be throwing 100 PLUS punches per round. All with KO written all over it.


this would be nothing like Tua Vs Lewis IMO.



Rooster

You need to put more into your case for Marciano if you want to convince anybody that he has a shot at beating Wlad.

Tua vs. Lewis: Agree; that wasn't the same Tua that fought Ibeabuchi. I don't think Tua was ever the same after that fight. His career after that fight went up and down in performance just like his weight. Shame, but that happens in boxing...especially when you get two young, strong, powerful, great chin HWs in there that want to go to war.
Now would it have mattered if that version of Tua had showed up against Lewis? Not sure. I would still favor Lewis because of what he could do but I don't think it would have been as lopsided.
Before you or anyone asks, I would also favor Lewis over Marciano.


What some have touched on is; what do we have from Marciano that indicates he could deal with the 6'5, 240 pound HW, who is strong, has decent agility, faster than Marciano, has a strong jab, powerful right, quick left-hook that can come right behind the jab....can clinch up...move away and jab...etc?
Chin, endurance (if he can't control the fight and seems to buckle sometimes under heavy pressure), lack of inside fighting...are the negatives for Wlad.

That's where you have to start pointing what Rocky could do.

Now size isn't everything, we've seen this before. But, you have to be able to beat the size disadvantage with your own abilities.

Now Marciano has great stamina, can throw a ton of punches, and can crouch low which can force a taller fighter to dip towards him leaving that fighter exposed, but it isn't quite clear cut...especially guys like Wlad who can fight behind a powerful jab and just stick it out there. Is Marciano elusive enough and/or capable of making up the room quick enough to get under that jab?

Dempsey and Tyson were two of the best at fighting Taller fighters although both their competition can be questioned...specifically Dempsey's who were more slow lumbering HWs.

Here is a quick example of how a short fighter can fight a tall fighter of 6'5 in height...however the weight difference isn't the same since Wlad is heavier.


Notice how Tyson kills the body with quick powerful combination to bring down the head as well as maneuvering his body into position to unleash his combinations and bombs:


However, not sure Ribalta fought as "Tall" as he could have but some of that was due to Tyson's body attack making Ribalta concerned with protecting his mid-section.

We could use the Tyson vs. Tucker fight where Tyson managed to out-jab the much taller fighter who has speed and agility of his own...but Marciano doesn't have that ability so we would just have to stick with the fight above to see if Marciano had that capability to attack the body. This would take us to the Brewster fight where I do think Brewster hurt Wlad to the body since we saw Wlad start to tire quicker; which was also partially due to Wlad's punch-out-put and Brewster’s ability to soak the punishment up for that fight.

And Sam Peter also gave him trouble in their first meeting but Sam is also a lot bigger in thickness than Rocky.

[Spartacus Sully]

I say marciano weather he was aiming for the head or body he would have had no problem getting under the jabs and avoiding anything serious for quite some time. as for the head or the body i dont think it really matters given that he was able to throw really wound up rights but more importantly knew when he could get away with them. I think he would get wlads timing figured out and really have no problem throwing lunging rights at wlads head and escaping clean. i can see one of those taking wlad down 3rd round. though just as likely is wlad to take marciano down not quite 3rd but 6 or 7

on the other hand if rocky goes for body at first i can see it either going the distance with a close call for either maybe wlad or but more likely ko by marciano some time after round 8.

either way i say a lunging right gonna make the tree go timber

and the lunging is going to help him close the gap and get inside more quickly

[RightCross94]

Rocky has a chance with his punch but i just cant see him winning, Wlad by late TKO

[Spartacus Sully]

yeah size is a big factor in thinking its possiable.

i would go 100% on marciano if he had the same proportions at 6'2"

[Sugarj]

Thats more like it! I agree with you there Ylem. A 6ft 2 Marciano with corresponding increases in reach and weight has a real chance.

[mickey malone]

It is possible for Rocky to win.. But I must admit.. Highly unlikely.. Rock would have to go solely for the body, hoping to crack a rib or 2, for the head to come down, but Wlad has good footwork and an excellent jab.. Rock wouldn't give up, & I don't see Wlad stopping him either.. What I do see, is Rock on the losing end of a lopsided DC..

[sonnyboyx2]

Quite right Bad boy, the Klits would have never fought a 5ft 11 guy weighing 185 lbs. No commission would allow it, comedic viewing. It would look like Ricky Hatton facing Bernard Hopkins!

Rocky would have to jump nearly a foot off the ground to even come close to having one of his punches hit Wlad's chin. Basic physics, I forget how short Marciano's reach was (I think 68 inches from memory) that would have to get past an 82 odd inch jab and then find a chin 8 inches higher than Rocky's own.............higher still because Rocky fought from out of a crouch).

about same height and reach difference as Valuev vs Ol`Holyfield