Mayweather vs Marciano: Who was Greater?

[Robbie Barrett]

Rocky was a heavyweight so there was nowhere for him to move up to.

This whole P4P thing is a mythical, subjective concept created to defend smaller fighters. In a real fight, the big guy crushes the little guy, period.

Fact is, there is only one "heavyweight champion of the world." As much as we can admire the little guys, the heavyweight champion should be the king of boxing.

People judge fighters P4P that's how it is and will continue to be. If it wasn't like that every ATG would be a HW.

[Avenge Myself]

Anyone who voted Marciano is an idiot, which means there are a lot of idiots on this forum. I don't care what you think about him - and I dislike him as much as the next guy - he's greater than ****ing marciano.

You're the idiot here, voting for an IV-cheating catchweight Fraud over a true Heavyweight LEGEND like Rocky Marciano.

KOing Joe Louis (even an old one) >>>>>> Fraud's whole career.

At least Marciano never lost to the likes of Castillo.

Floyd is 46-3, he clearly lost to Castillo, Maidana, and Oscar.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Exactly Moving up divisions nowadays is much easier than it was in the 1950s. Everyone is a damn "multi-division" champion now smfh

Great point.

Henry Armstrong was a real multi-divisional champion. In today's environment, he'd be a 10-division champion with twenty guys in his entourage just for belt-carrying.

[Avenge Myself]

Marciano came from a very poor background with no one to help him along in boxing when he started. He had practically no amateur background and turned pro at 25. In a ten year run, he fought and won 49 times, winning an astounding 43 times by knockout. He beat the likes of Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore- all HOFs. He proved he could go 15 rounds. He proved he could get up from a knockdown and keep going. He was dead in the water in the Charles rematch and turned the whole fight around in less than a round. He, like Mayweather, fought two rematches and in both instances, scored knockouts sooner and the fights ended earlier. He was the smallest heavyweight champion of all time, outweighed and outreached in nearly every fight. He retired on top with the undisputed world title.

It's all in how you look at it, but I have to go with the rock on this one. I truly believe he would fight anybody and I don't feel the same about Mayweather. Mayweather also had tremendous advantages with his father and uncle heavily involved in the sport when he was born and there to help guide him. I also prefer knockouts to distance wins. So that is a bias on my part, but when you knock a guy out, there's no question about the win, even when it's come from behind. Marciano was the first and it appeared to be the only for several decades to actually retire undefeated and on top. Mayweather is very exceptional for doing this. They both were smart to do so when they did.

In the end, I go with "The Brockton Blockbuster." But it's a matter of opinion, really.

Beautiful post my friend. Rocky never had anything handed to him. Rocky never had a "castillo" moment. Rocky left nothing to doubt- he KNOCKED THEM OUT!

[Robbie Barrett]

So Marquez wasn't blown up? Mosley wasn't ancient? And Fraud had to cheat Marquez on the scales hahahahaha what a joke.

However past it you think they were, the HOF fighters Marciano fought were far more past it.

[Spoon23]

Beautiful post my friend. Rocky never had anything handed to him. Rocky never had a "castillo" moment. Rocky left nothing to doubt- he KNOCKED THEM OUT!

Rocky inspired fighters to seek and destroy!

Floyd inspired boxers to cherry pick, run a marathon event and to hug excessively while following the path of least resistance.

Rocky all day!

[Ricky Bahl]

People judge fighters P4P that's how it is and will continue to be. If it wasn't like that every ATG would be a HW.

The reality is, heavyweights will have bigger legacies than the smaller fighters.

I'm not saying little guys don't deserve respect, but people around the world of all ages know the names of Tyson, Ali, Louis, etc. Very few people outside of boxing know the names of Robinson, Willie Pep, and yes, Mayweather.

The majority of the population wants to know who the Heavyweight champion is. He doesn't want to debate with you on a mythical "p4p" list about guys half his size.

Heavyweights command more respect, and rightfully so, because being heavyweight champion means that no one on the damn planet can beat you in the ring.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

I also think respect comes into play here.

I like respectful fighters. If you compare post fight interviews from Rocky's day and many years before and after his day, the fighters more often than not were very respectful of each other and the fans in the postfight interviews. These days, respect is given here and there but there is nearly always an excuse. I hate to see this happening to the sport.

Rocky Marciano knocked out an aging Joe Louis, but he cried after he did it. He told Joe he was sorry in the locker room afterward. Joe said, "It's okay. I knocked out a lot of guys, too." Now, that is respect. Hell, it's beautiful.

To my knowledge, Mayweather never did anything close to this. I won't say he didn't give opponents respect. I'm sure he did at times, but never anything like that.

So call me bias, but that helps Marciano's case in this one. And a further point is that it helps any fighter who shows respect to be held in higher regard. Now, I realize I have Roberto Duran as my pic and I can already see the head shaking that could ensue. Duran used intimidation tactics against Leonard the first time around for sure. He also knocked Esteban Dejesus out at the weigh-in. Not very respectful. However, he did later on make amends with Leonard and they are now friends. He's friends with Tommy Hearns who knocked him out cold. And he embraced a dying Dejesus when Dejesus had AIDS and this was back in the 80s when many didn't know how the disease was even spread. That's a hell of a lot of respect there. Carlos Palomino also said he was very respectful to him as well.

Boxing can be a brutal sport, but it is a sport. These guys can hate each other and disrespect each other, but it tarnishes a reputation. Mayweather is not the worst by any means, but he talked a hell of a lot of trash and conducted himself poorly when it came to sportsmanship outside the ring. And that can easily sway a vote like this.

[Tony Trick-Pony]

Beautiful post my friend. Rocky never had anything handed to him. Rocky never had a "castillo" moment. Rocky left nothing to doubt- he KNOCKED THEM OUT!

Thanks a lot. I think Rocky is a clear winner here.

[Robbie Barrett]

The reality is, heavyweights will have bigger legacies than the smaller fighters.

I'm not saying little guys don't deserve respect, but people around the world of all ages know the names of Tyson, Ali, Louis, etc. Very few people outside of boxing know the names of Robinson, Willie Pep, and yes, Mayweather.

The majority of the population wants to know who the Heavyweight champion is. He doesn't want to debate with you on a mythical "p4p" list about guys half his size.

Heavyweights command more respect, and rightfully so, because being heavyweight champion means that no one on the damn planet can beat you in the ring.

Being more popular doesn't make you P4P a greater fighter. Most boxing fans have SRR as the greatest fighter ever and he isn't a HW.