Your Thoughts on Rocky Graziano?

[Joey Giardello]

Your Thoughts on Rocky Graziano?

[DarkTerror88]

He was strong guy and had "the punchers chance"

[Heavy Bag]

Devastating puncher especailly with his right hand. Other than that fairly limted. But his lack of techinique & textbook style, made him awarkard.

He done well to win Middleweight Title, considering really he was only a natural 154lb'er.

He will go down as a exciting big punching slugger, remembered for argubaly the most exciting trilogy of all time vs Zale.

But I always thought he was lucky to avoid fighting the likes of Burley, Williams, Lamotta, & Cerdan. As I feel all would of beaten him.

[Poet682006]

Your Thoughts on Rocky Graziano?

The Arturo Gatti of his day.....and I mean that as a compliment. Graziano had a huge pucnh but limited ability and questionable chin.....for all that he was as entertaining a fighter as you could ask for and if you had a choice between watching a Graziano fight and watching a fight featuring an overall better fighter you'd probably pick the Graziano fight as you'd surely get your money's worth.

Poet

[Miburo]

Tough brawler. Took some spectacular beatings, especially Zale III.

[jose_palooka]

Tough dude. Big time puncher. Not much of a pugilistic scientist. Luckily he had a tough chin and could take more than a few good punches.

I have seen every round of his three bouts with Tony Zale and they are spectacular fights. If I recall correctly, Zale was a natural MW while Rocky was more of a natural WW. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that he lost 2 of 3 to the naturally bigger man. Zale only had one more fight after his series with Rocky so you can tell he was burned out from those battles.

Rock should have adjusted his style to more featuring a bit more finesse. But it wasn't to be. Instead, he went on to Broadway and Hollywood. He was truly a funny man with much personality and this is why he was so popular and was featured in so many commercials.

[Wild Blue Yonda]

Some good comments so far.

I feel he is under-rated nowadays. History pretty much consigns him to being very, very limited --- there is of course truth to that, but you don't get to where Graziano did without some talent. Arturo Gatti wouldn't get within a hundred miles of beating his own weight's equivalent of even an ageing Tony Zale, for instance. Graziano was better than that, for sure.

A good champion, not great, but better & tougher (including tougher to beat) than most would say, in my view. I do agree though that he'd have been outclassed against LaMotta, Cerdan & co, but so would a lot of fighters significantly better than Graziano...especially against Cerdan, who in his pomp, continues to be hugely under-sold by many.

[VBelfiglio]

My Thoughts on Rocky Graziano

Rocky Graziano was one of the most colorful boxers of all time. I do not think he was the greatest middleweight champion of all time. However, his fighting style always excited boxing fans. His importance is a demonstration that in the United States it is possible to become rich and famous, even if you're born into a poor, ***********al family.
Val Belfiglio

[Pastrano]

I noticed he isn't much mentioned on boxingsites today. He's rated as one of the hardest punchers of his time I believe.