Rocco Francis Marchegiano, best known as Rocky Marciano, was a dominant heavyweight during the early 1950s. He reigned as Champion from 1952 to 1956 and retired undefeated, the only heavyweight to do so without taking a loss.
Of course, you do not need me to tell you this unless you have lived on the moon for the last 67 years.
Whenever I hear or read debates about the greatest heavyweights of all time, The Rock is always in the top 10, perhaps the top 5, and occasionally number one. I must admit I consistently raise one eyebrow and reply, “Really!” to that claim.
This article is not meant to cause offense or knowingly try to be controversial. It is most definitely not its intention to besmirch Marciano’s unique career or his achievements.
When researching boxers, one must look at their careers in much the same way a lawyer would repeatedly go over his files before entering a court of law. The facts and evidence must be correct; how else can one expect their judgment and opinions to be taken subjectively and seriously?
Marciano was a stocky powerful man, equipped with a thunderbolt left hook and granite chin. The stereotypical brawler who would swarm over his opponents, soaking up their best shots, thus setting up his own powerful punches. With his crouching non-stop punching style, and let’s be honest here, Rocky was not averse to throwing in the odd low blow, elbow, or forearm smash. He notched up 16 straight wins, all by KO or TKO, when he first turned professional aged 23.
In his 19th fight, he fought highly respected Phil Muscato, Marciano’s first notable opponent, stopping him by TKO after 9 knockdowns over 5 rounds. Marciano went on to win numerous bouts, racking up more KOs and TKOs before hitting the TV audience in 1951, beating Rex Layne in his 36th fight. Marciano was now considered a top contender on the rise for the world title, beating the legendary Joe Louis along the way in what was billed as a passing of the torch. Many at ringside that night witnessed a massacre. Yes, Louis was on an 8-fight winning streak going into the fight. However, at the age of 37 to Marciano’s 28, Louis was clearly over the hill and out of his depth with the young Brockton Blockbusting mauler, consistently brushing aside Louis’s measured shots to land a barrage of his own combinations. The fight ended in round 8 with Louis unceremoniously rendered unconscious outside the ring.
In 1952, Jersey Joe Walcott became the oldest boxer to win the Heavyweight world title at 37 by beating Ezzard Charles. His first title defense fight saw him take on number one contender and undefeated challenger Rocky Marciano. The fight culminated in a 13th round knockout scored by Marciano, in a major comeback victory after Walcott stacked up a wide lead throughout much of the bout. The fight and the final round were ranked as 1952’s fight and round of the year respectively by The Ring and is now considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship bouts of all time. Let’s be honest and fair to the Rock here; it was a stunning come-from-behind victory.
Marciano went on to defend his title 6 more times, including a quick one-round demolition of Jersey Joe, Britain’s very own Don Cockle, and seasoned veteran Archie Moore.
The fights that personally stand out for me are the 2 encounters with Ezzard Charles. Their first encounter was a brutal affair, with both fighters taking the best that the other could give. Charles marginally ahead after the first 4 or 5 rounds, only for Rocky to come battling back to take a well-deserved points decision. However, in my opinion, it’s the rematch that defines Marciano. It’s this fight that puts Rocky right up there with the greats of the heavyweight division.
Trying to come to a conclusion that Rocky should be remembered as a legendary great has been hard. The decision has had its twists, turns, ups, downs, full-on argumentative debates, and accusations of ‘racial bias.’ People that know me will know this as complete tosh. My original opinion was based on Rocky’s somewhat suspect early career. Boxers appeared to fight Rocky never to be seen or heard of again. In the middle part of his career, there were, to be blunt, a lot of ‘Journey Men.’ Pat Richards, for instance, knocked down in round 1 and KO’d after 39 seconds of round 2, Harry Matthews smashed to the canvas inside 2 rounds. These were fighters who had no business being in the ring with Rocky.
Having said that, the manner in which Marciano dispatched the Cincinnati Cobra Ezzard Charles in their second meeting is nothing short of remarkable. Ezzard Charles was no second-rate former Champion. His impressive resume boasted wins over Jersey Joe Walcott, Joe Louis, Archie Moore, and Joey Maxim, none of whom at the time of fighting Charles were over the hill fighters. Ezzard Charles, at 33, was Marciano’s youngest former Champion opponent. Their first bruising clash pushed the Rock right to the wire. Having felt the power of Marciano from the first fight followed by a quick knockdown in round 2 of their second fight, and more subdued Charles aired on the side of caution, playing into the hands of the champion’s marauding no-holds-barred style. A nasty gash to Marciano’s nose followed by a cut above the left eye rallied the Champion to finish the fight inside the distance. A left hook and a right cross to the jaw put Charles down for the count of four, with a long right to the head on the second knockdown in the concluding round. Charles just managed to reach his feet a split second after Referee Al Beri had counted ten.
It’s the same old adage: A fighter can only beat what’s put in front of him. I’ve come to realize that in the case of Marciano, this is undoubtedly true. He cleaned up an aging division with devastating effect, racking up an impressive record of 49-0, regardless of the caliber of opponents, in just a short term of 8 years with little to no experience in ring craft. A young Italian kid climbed in the squared circle and knocked the hell out of anyone who dared to challenge him.
Rocky Marciano may not be at the top of everyone’s greatest of all-time heavyweights list, but one thing’s for certain: from Patterson to Usyk and every former Champion in between, ask any of them, “Which heavyweight would you have least liked to have fought?” I 100 percent guarantee Marciano would be at the top of the list.
