Rocky Marciano is not a top ten all time heavyweight and I'll tell you why

[The Old LefHook]

Just how hard did Spinks punch, now that an AlexKid question becomes relevant, if Spinks is going to have enough to hold off Rocky? He did not coldc*ck that many opponents with the big one. He used a relatively stationary stance to pivot in small circles, and somehow made awkwardness into a grace, using his height well. Those small awkwardk circles are not wide enough to defeat Rocky, or at least without encountering hell.

Like I said previously, the boxers with the best chance are ones like Tunney and Jones who had world class legs and knew how to use them to the fullest. Tunney's better chin gives him the better chance.

[therealpugilist]

Yeah the 50s was pretty weak just the same as the 80s.

the era was so similar.....ATG in the twilight(Holmes/Louis) get thrashed by future HOFer(Tyson and Marciano) and the new champion is just head and shoulders over his era.

As far as talent. The 80s get a bad rap because a lot of them were inconsistent or lost fights they were favorites in.

IMO if you do an 8 man or 12 man tourney and put guys from the 50s and 80s in it, Im more positive than not that an 80s heavy will come out on top.

Ezzard Charles, ****ell, Matthews and Walcott vs Tony Tucker, Michael Spinks, Tony Tubbs, Frank Bruno, and Berbick for example. IMO the guys in the 80s had more depth.

[McGoorty]

Said all I have to say on this guys so take no offense if I do not respond on this thread.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

the era was so similar.....ATG in the twilight(Holmes/Louis) get thrashed by future HOFer(Tyson and Marciano) and the new champion is just head and shoulders over his era.

As far as talent. The 80s get a bad rap because a lot of them were inconsistent or lost fights they were favorites in.

IMO if you do an 8 man or 12 man tourney and put guys from the 50s and 80s in it, Im more positive than not that an 80s heavy will come out on top.

Ezzard Charles, ****ell, Matthews and Walcott vs Tony Tucker, Michael Spinks, Tony Tubbs, Frank Bruno, and Berbick for example. IMO the guys in the 80s had more depth.

Charles, ****ell, and Matthews weren't even true heavyweights so yeah.

[therealpugilist]

Charles, ****ell, and Matthews weren't even true heavyweights so yeah.

Michael Spinks wasnt either, a middleweight gold medallist and a tall lanky lt. heavy

skills usually can overcome size. The thing with Rocky is that its hard to imagine a 5'10" 185 pound guy with his defensive liabilities and thin skin to be able to compete with Wlad, Tyson, Liston and others

IMO he just wasnt as great as they made him out to be. He was great in his era.

[Ray Corso]

Spinks won the Gold Medal at Middleweight but that limit was 165 not 160!
There was another man at Light heavy named Leon who he wasn't going to mess with.
Also Spinks had a rough time with short fighters who knew how to punch while maintaining their pressure style and head movement. Marciano would be a difficult opponent for Spinks. Qawi gave Spinks a great fight and Qawi didn't punch like Marciano could.
Marciano was 5'11 and when you consider the fact that fighter trained their weight down to be able to maintain a high punch rate over 15 rounds he could easily hold 195lbs.
It would be a very intriguing match up because Mike was a good puncher and one of the best Light Heavy Champs in history.

Ray

[Anthony342]

I say Rocky cracks the top 10, but if you want to make him top 15 or top 20, I'm not going to get angry about that.

[juggernaut666]

Michael Spinks wasnt either, a middleweight gold medallist and a tall lanky lt. heavy

skills usually can overcome size. The thing with Rocky is that its hard to imagine a 5'10" 185 pound guy with his defensive liabilities and thin skin to be able to compete with Wlad, Tyson, Liston and others

IMO he just wasnt as great as they made him out to be. He was great in his era.

Marciano was still an all time top 10 great. You cant eliminate someones achievements in their own era. Being the best and greatest are two different things.You cannot penalize someones own era for others that followed it.

He is a top ten b/c he went undefeated ,no matter who he fought its still in the books and while he wasn't a giant killer the level of his era is irrelevant.Im pretty sure Butterbean would be a major threat on power and style alone since hard to imagine 90% of guys under 200 pounds besting him or surviving 4/5 rounds of aggression,hes far from an all time great in the 90's though.You are confusing what should register as an all time great to how one would do in another era and that is not logical.

[ShoulderRoll]

Usually when people talk all-time greats that's precisely what they mean, who would come out on top if fighters from different eras faced each other.

[The Old LefHook]

It's back to Butterbean for advanced scholars of the game, I see. That oaf would have to finish the job in the first round against Marciano, because after that he would need a respirator.