Roy Jones vs Marciano

[The Old LefHook]

Those darned 16 ft. rings do not give Roy much room to maneuver. Can he stay away from the Rock for 15 rounds? Or can he knock the Rock cold with a punch he does not see coming? Or will the Rock walk right through his punches and club him like a seal?

[Sadiqkingofko]

If it's 12 rounds it favors Roy, but 15 I say 50/50

[StarshipTrooper]

I've never been too keen on Roy's punch resistance so I don't think he'd hold up under Rocky's firepower. So the question is whether Roy can avoid being tagged cleanly. If he can he should win. If he can't he gets stopped. Over 15 rounds? I'm rather dubious Roy can go 15 without getting nailed at some point.

[The Old LefHook]

Roy may hit hard enough to surprise the Rock with a flash knockdown. I don't think he would fully committ to his punches against Rocky though, but would be very wary. In a 16 foot ring I believe Rock will catch him some time over 15 rounds.

If Roy finds the Rock really easy to hit and avoid, he could TKO him on cuts. Hell, Willie Pep could KO a blindfolded Marciano within a few shots.

[Mr.MojoRisin']

Roy would be doing the chicken dance after the first punch Marciano lands on his chin...seriously, this guy only fought Ruiz at heavyweight for a reason.

[BKM-]

I never saw anyone press Roy and apply brutal pressure. Rocky is far bigger, fearless and stronger than the (intimidated)guys he faced.

RJJ is very muscular, he's gonna wear out. He will not be able to move around and fend off those attacks for 15 rounds.

So later in the fight that pathetic paper mache chin will be presented on a platter for Marciano and then it's back to the sight we have come accustomed to:

[Sugar Adam Ali]

Roy wouldn't be able to hurt rocky or slow him down.. eventually rocky would trap him and hurt Roy badly.

Roy would easily outpoint rocky early in the fight, but eventually rocky would land some power and it would dramatically alter the fight

[The Old LefHook]

Everyone is making sense.

Would Marciano really be able to trap Roy on the ropes or in a corner? No one else could. Granted, Marciano is special, but it could be that his style is all wrong for conquering Roy Jones. That coy stuff of leaning way over and trying to counter punch would be suicide against Jones. Marciano has to keep him so constantly busy that he fails to see one coming. Marciano would have to fight Jones the way Maidana fought Mayweather. If he could do that, I say he wins pretty handily. Marciano's attack was a little more calculated and deliberate than he is given credit for. He would have to dispense with all the cuteness and simply bore straight in firing from all angles, and especially firing in the clinches with the free arm, if there are any clinches.

When I have to expect a man to fight in a way that he never did in order to win a particular mythical matchup, then I think that man is at some fundamental disadvantage. He has to change his fundamental game in order to win, and I do not know if he and his team are capable of that.

Rocky has to change, Roy only needs to fight chicken as usual. The onus is on Rocky.

Of course that space-stingy, 16 foot ring I quietly slipped in on Roy's team when they were more worried about money than match conditions, almost guaranteed a victory for Rocky. I forgot about that.

Ring size in matches is a hard to statistic to find. No one bothers to list it. Once in a while you see the ring size cited in a particular match for some reason, but generally it is not easily available. A few feet on a side could make a tremendous difference in the outcome. I could swear that in some of the old matches I watch on YouTube, the ring is tiny.

[billeau2]

The most one can say about this fight is that Roy could avoid Marciano for a while...How long? Not long at all because Marciano won't back off when Roy feints. Marciano also can jump in with his hook. What can Roy do to marciano? Archie Moore had some success. The problem is that Marciano is relentless.

There is a bit of precedent here. Granted Roy had been had by then, but Glencoff Johnson had success by being relentless and simply coming forward with a lot of activity. Now picture a prime roy and a much more dangerous pressure fighter in Marciano.

[Anthony342]

But in his prime, Roy didn't really get hit hard that often, if at all. So I say he's at least got a good shot at a decision win, maybe a stoppage on a cut.