|
I also want to point out that altough many have the false misconception that Rocky fought a bunch of set-ups to get his title shot, this was certainly not the case. Almost from the beginning he was thrown in with men with more professional experience than himself. He could have lost at any time in his career, but he didn't.
I recall one time someone told Marciano that he was going up against a man who had over 15 professional bouts and Marciano at the time only had 3, to which The Rock replied "Don't you ever tell me how good the other man is, I have to believe I am going to win every time out!"
That's pure faith, will and determination there.
I think, as accurate as the TITLE BOUT simulator is, that it somewhat doesn't do Marciano any justice in the department of desire and determination, considering TITLE BOUT only really figures in on power, speed etc.
Marciano did have enormous amount of strength, an uncanny ability to absorb punishment as well as an under-rated ability to get inside without taking too many shots. But what made Marciano unbeatable was his belief in himself, and he only had one goal in mind, to destroy the other man in front of him.
When Rocky was an amatuer he lost a controversial decision to Cookie Wallace, and after the fact Rocky said to his closest friends and family "I will never let another fight go the distance, and be left in the hands of the judges." He trained even harder, to the point where he had the endurance to punch non-stop for 15 rounds easy, having a level of stamina that would have lasted for 20, 30, 40 rounds.
I know I'm making him sound like Superman, Marciano wasn't perfect, but by the time he fought Archie Moore he has his defense and bobbing and weaving skills down to a science. Moore went down over 5 times, and this was a man who would hold on to the LHW title for another decade.
What Rocky did was he skipped the middle division and went straight after the bigger names, beating them all. Ask virtually any man he ever fought, and they will say that Marciano had more endurance, stamina, power and determination than anyone back then.
I recall how a sparring partner of both Joe Louis and Marciano once said, that Marciano hit harder with one punch than Joe did with four. Walcott even said this as well. Carmin Basilio was once quoted as saying "He would look like a midget if he fought the guys of today, but he'd knock them all out."
Many often criticise Marciano for not facing big men or even men of a puncher style. Both are untrue. Marciano was only 5'10" and 187 pounds, virtually everyone he faced outweighed him or was taller. The largest of his opponents stood 6'5" and 250 pounds, whom he dispatched of. If one is to criticise Marciano for not facing men of punching ability, then they must also criticise many others who never fought people who were on equal ground with them.
Marciano did face Rex Layne, who was a noted puncher and whom many believed would defeat Rocky and be the next champion, and knocked Layne out. He also knocked out Joe Louis [who was then the #1 contender for Ezzard Charles title]. He also knocked out Harry Kid Matthews who had a high kayo percentage.
Mind you, Rocky Marciano has a higher kayo percentage than Frazier, Foreman, Jefferies, Dempsey at 88% with Foreman just behind him at 87%.
WIth all that being said, I think TITLE BOUT should really consider making Marciano a tad bit better than what the computer says, because though computers can be accurate, a machine can't determine the measurement of the heart and the human spirit. He had that in aces.
|