Was Rocky Marciano somewhat overrated?

Question

MOST BOXING EXPERTS DON'T JUST JUDGE A FIGHTER'S RECORD.
FIRST, YOU LOOK AT THE QUALITY OF OPPOSITION AND THEIR RECORDS
SECOND, YOU LOOK AT THE WHO THE OPPONENTS OPPONENTS FOUGHT.

ANALYZE, ANALYZE, ANALYZE!!!!!

LASTARZA WAS DEFINATELY OVERRATED (QUALITY OF OPPOSITION IS SUSPECT)

LAYNE WAS SOMEWHAT OVERRATED (FOUGHT GOOD FIGHTERS AND LOST)

MOORE WAS 40 YRS OLD AND DEFINATELY OVER THE HILL.

LOUIS WAS 37 YRS OLD AND OVER THE HILL
IF YOU SAW BOTH FIGHTS YOU COULD SEE IT YOURSELF.

VALUEV IS 49 AND 0, IS HE ALSO GREAT?

Answer 1

Yes.
Six defenses against old men and never weres. He was extremely well managed.

Answer 2

Smitty I do not think he is overrated. I would rank Louis, Ali, and Jack Johnson as better than he is. I would rank Marciano's Susie Q as the best of anyone. Marciano had a very good trainer, a good chin, and a training regimen that kept him from losing any fights. Louis is listed because I feel that in his prime Louis would have beat Marciano.

Answer 3

with all due respect to the rocky-philes, i grant you all that rocky was one tough motha' who knew no retreat and won on heart and determination and guts. however, in the cold light of truth, rocky's claim to fame was not having lost as a professional. however, he did lose, as an amateur, to a man named coley wallace. as a pro, his opposition was questionable, at best. louis was way past his prime and on his, what, 2nd attempt at a comeback? walcott, was even older and archie moore was probably older yet. ezzard charles was a great b-level fighter, at best; perhaps underrated. but certainly not in the same league as ali, louis, and johnson, and rocky's other victims read less like a "who's who? and more like a "who's that?" all of these fighters gave him trouble and walcott and moore had rocky on the canvas. the point is rocky could be knocked down by b-level heavyweights(no offense to archie: a great, legendary lt hvywt, but not the toughest hvywt), now if archie moore(a natural light heavy) could knock the rock down, imagine what someone like iron mike would've done in his prime. also consider that most latter day heavies would've outweighed rocky by some 30-35+ lbs. add to that the fact that latter day fighters had more speed, more strength, etc., than rocky, it doesn't bode well for him, i am afraid. am sorry, but i just don't see any way rocky could beat tyson, ali, etc. and find him grossly overrated!

Answer 4

Well, there is a case that Marciano fought some over-the-hill fighters. (Jersey Joe Walcott, Joe Louis, The mongoose Archie Moore come to mind.) So yeah. But Also can you name another fighter who retired (Not forced) Undefeated?

Answer 5

How can a 49-0 record be overrated? He beat the best of his day. That's all anyone can ask.

Answer 6

To be the only person to accomplish something can not be overrated. Until other accomplish what he did you can not say he isn't one of the greatest if not the greatest. It would be like saying the undefeated 72 dolphins were overrated, but in the NFL it is mentioned every year .

Answer 7

His record was impressive. Perhaps he should have defended his title more often, I agree with that. However, talking in pound for pound terms; Just look at his height. Rocky Marciano was relatively short, and was not the most physically imposing champion, meaning he possessed great skills.

Answer 8

No he was a great undisputed and undeated champion. All the people who dislike him want to compare him to other fighters of different boxing eras. In truth no one knows how he would have done against them.

Answer 9

No Smitty Rocky (Rocco) Marciano (Marchegiano 1923-1969 was not overrated sir! The fact remains that he is most certainly underrated. Everybody likes to put the Rock down saying he fought old washed up fighters and he was too small The critics want to try and take away his stature in boxing history. If you look at a lot of the more modern heavyweights you see under trained out of condition and fat fighters. It is fact that Rocky trained by doing 12-15 miles of roadwork daily to build his stamina and endurance and his training regimen was legendary and true. As far as age differences Marciano was 9 yrs younger than Walcott when they fought. Ali was 10 yrs younger than Liston. Marciano was 10 yrs younger than Archie Moore and Ali was 19 yrs younger. Tyson was 12 yrs younger than Bonecrusher Smith and 14 yrs younger than Trevor Berbick. Joe Louis weas 12 yrs younger than James Braddock. When Marciano fought Louis, Louis was seeking another shot at the title. And just who was Rocky supposed to beat for the title other than Walcott who definetly was not a washed up fighter with a record of 53-16-1 before their fight. LaStarza and Cockell were contemporaries of Marciano and LaStarza was undefeated when they met the first time. Ezzard Charles was 2 yrs older than Rocky with a record of 72-10- with 54 KO'S before their first fight hardly a washed up fighter. When he fought Archie Moore, Moore was campaigning demanding a title shot earning his way to the #1 contender spot with a record of 150-22- 121 kayo's hardly a washed up fighter either. Before winning the title he beat Bernie Reynolds who was 52-9 before their fight. Rocco by 3rd round kayo, Vino was 27-3 and Rocco nearly killed him by 6th round kayo. Matthews was 78-4-1 with 57 kayo's before their fight. Rocco beat him in 2 rounds. Layne was 34-1-2 with 24 kayo's before their fight and favored to win but again Rocco prevailed by 6th round knockout. Rocky had a knockout ratio of 88% Foreman 87% Frazier 84%. He was also harder to hit than is perceived by many so called boxing experts. He had a deceptive style as he rolled with punches and bobbed and weaved effectively. He got into a very low crouch so low opponents couldn't get a clear shot. Ali told Angelo Dundee that he was surprised at how hard Marciano was to hit with his jab. And finally some of his contemporaries had the following to say; Archie Moore said Rocky's will to win made him unbeatable. Joe Louis said he didn't like to be crowded and that he could have never beaten him. George Foreman said look at his record, nobody beat him and you can't take that away from him. Joe Frazier said Joe Louis is the greatest and Rocky is 2nd to only him. Angelo Dundee said he is the most underrated heavyweight of all time and had more than they gave him credit for. He was capable of getting those bigger and heavier guys and destroying them. Sonny Liston said he was one of the greatest champions ever as he refused to accept defeat and nobody beat him.

In closing I must say so many times Rocky gets disrespected for his great accomplishment in the ring and I came out with some facts on the subject instead of mere opinions. Any knowledgable boxing expert has to rank him at least in their top 5.

Answer 10

He was 49-0. All anybody had to do was beat him. It's not his fault they couldn't do it. How can you be overrated if you never lost?

Answer 11

It's not so much that he's overrated, he just came along at the right time. If he would have had to fight in the 70s with the Alis, Foremans, Fraziers, Nortons, etc. ... He would have gotten knocked smooth out !! Period !!