How Good Was Rocky Marciano

[Legends456]

I remember watching grainy footage of Rocky Marciano on ESPN Classic as a twelve year old and being impressed by his patient, menacing style and devastation knockout punch.

My question is, just how good was Rocky Marciano? Where do you rate his different skills and why? Do you consider him an ATG?

Also, how do you think he would fare had he lived and fought in the current HW era?

Mythical Matchups:

Marciano v. L. Lewis
Marciano v. V. Klitschko
Marciano v. W. Klitschko
Marciano v. O. McCall
Marciano v. D. Haye
Marciano v. Tua
Marciano v. L. Ortiz
Marciano v. D. Wilder
Marciano v. A. Joshua
Marciano v. Ty. Fury

[famicommander]

He was the best of his era and that was enough.

[Larry the boss]

He was very well conditioned and composed..never saw him panic or get out of character...

[Robbie Barrett]

Physically he was a beast. Great chin, stamina and good power. Decent offensive skills, crap defensive. Finished almost every fight battered and looking worse than his opponent. Would get absolutely destroyed by even average HW's today.

[Luilun]

He’s TBE 49 and 0 and he didn’t fight little J@P kick boxers

[PAC-BOY]

this was a bloody fight that nose was split in two

[YGriffith]

He's the best of his era.
He loses all those matchups.

[Nash out]

I wouldn't give him a chance against Rocky Balboa. Balboa takes him inside 4 rounds.

[South Champion]

He's not one of the best heavyweights because the bigger guys in the decades since would be too much. He's arguably one of the top guys P4P though, because even for his era, he was a small heavyweight that often had disadvantages in height, weight, and reach.

Marciano was the same height as GGG. If he were fighting today, he'd be fighting against Light Heavyweights at 175.

Matchups:

Marciano v. Kovalev
Marciano v. Ward
Marciano v. Roy Jones Jr.
Marciano v. Hopkins
Marciano v. Canelo
Marciano v. Beterbiev
Marciano v. Usyk

[South Champion]

I remember watching grainy footage of Rocky Marciano on ESPN Classic as a twelve year old and being impressed by his patient, menacing style and devastation knockout punch.

My question is, just how good was Rocky Marciano? Where do you rate his different skills and why? Do you consider him an ATG?

Also, how do you think he would fare had he lived and fought in the current HW era?

Mythical Matchups:

Marciano v. L. Lewis
Marciano v. V. Klitschko
Marciano v. W. Klitschko
Marciano v. O. McCall
Marciano v. D. Haye
Marciano v. Tua
Marciano v. L. Ortiz
Marciano v. D. Wilder
Marciano v. A. Joshua
Marciano v. Ty. Fury

Marciano v. Ali

Muhammad Ali on Rocky Marciano: "I truly think on my best day and his best day, I would've beaten him. Probably not knocked him out [...] I think he was better than Joe Frazier, I'll put it that way, I truly think he was better than Joe Frazier and you know what Joe Frazier did to me. [...] I think it would've been even, he may have won, it's just hard, it's just up for the imagination."




Marciano v. Holmes

Holmes went 48-0 and almost tied Marciano's record, and he bitterly slighted Marciano when he went to 48-1. That may have been an interesting fight.