Marciano's retirement, age or or fear????

Question

Rocky Marciano retired in in the spring of 1956, undefeated. Some have said there was no more serious contenders left for Marciano, so why not? Others have stated that Floyd Patterson was contemplating moving into the heavy ranks & that Marciano wanted no part of Patterson. Others said Rocky was at the end of his career due to his age of thirty three.
I have a suggestion of my own. A realativly new journeyman had been on the scene for a few years by the name of Charles "Sonny" Liston. Could it be that if Marciano really feared the "young" Patterson's skill & speed, that Rocky was "terrorized" by the behemoth named Liston? I mean by 1956 Liston's reputation as a "bad guy" was fearsome enough. Add to that Liston's power which easily matched both Marciano's/Dempsey's power & completly eclipsed the highly rated Joe Louis' power, & I'm thinking maybe Rocky thought..."best get going while the going's good!!! What do you think, age, Patterson, lack of contenders or "Sonny"?

Answer 1

Somehow I just don't equate fear with anything Marciano ever did.

Answer 2

Sonny Liston was pretty much a non-issue at the time Rocky retired. I doubt Rocky even knew of his existence yet. He retired because he'd done all he needed to do.

I do think however that Marciano decided to stay retired because of Liston. Back when Patterson and Ingo were going back and forth Rocky was talking seriously about a comeback to face one of those two. When Liston took the crown all that talk ceased. Coincidence? Not in my mind. Rocky was done as a fighter and even prime for prime stood little chance against a banger of Liston's calibre.

Answer 3

He wanted to retire undefeated and he did so. No other heavyweight champion before or since has done it. He had all the money he would ever need, as he handled his money very well, like Larry Holmes did and much unlike Mike Tyson. He beat every contender on the horizon (Floyd would have not been much of a challenge and Liston was too raw at this point). So he retired undefeated and will always have that legacy for doing so. Hard to fault that.

Answer 4

Marciano, just like Tunney was in the game for the money. It was a job and a means to an end. Unlike others in sport they did not need to hang around past their prime, not knowing when to quit. So when they had met their goals they did not need to keep going to prove anything to themselves or others. I was disappointed in Ali, Holmes and a few others who I thought were smart enough to quit when they were past their prime, but did not. Fighting long after their skills were gone only diminishes their legacy.

Answer 5

rockys training was grueling. Many of his fights including his victory over Walcott for the belt ....came later in the fight. the stamina needed to fight as well as he did in round thirteen or fifteen is grueling. If Walcott and Marciano had their first fight nowadays......it would've ended in round 12 and Marciano would've lost. I think he was tired of the demanding training routine that must have taken a toll on his body. he won many fights due to his amazing stamina. if you see interviews with him not many years later, he looks like john belushi. he swelled up like a balloon. good for him. he fought everyone around at the time and retired at right age. I don't think he would've ducked anyone cause I don't think a perfect record meant that much to him. guys of that era fought to make money. they were a different breed of boxers and trivial things like a record or legacy would not have mattered to them as much as putting on a good show and giving a great fight. I think he was lucky to have not been beaten and would have lossed if he did not retire. there are many boxers that could have beaten Marciano but they better do it early, cause the rock had the stamina of a young pacman and could ko u in the fifteenth

Answer 6

FIRST, IN 1956 LISTON POWER OR REP HAD NOT BE ESTABLISHED. AT THE TIME HE HAD ONLY 15 BOUTS WITH NO WORTHY OPPONENTS.

SECOND, PATERSON WAS FAST TALENTED AND A GOOD PUNCHER BUT WHO THINKS HIS JAW COULD WITH STAND ROCCO.

IT WAS MORE AGE AND SMARTNESS THAN ANY THING ELSE.

HIS SMARTNESS - HE REALIZED THAT IT MAY BE BETTER TO LEAVE EARLY THAN TO STAY TOO LATE.
I AM CERTAIN ROCCO LEARNED FROM THE OLDER FIGHTER HE BEAT.
THE MOST WISEST THING EVER THAT IS TO STAY RETIRED.

Answer 7

I'll keep this one short and sweet. Three things, his wife didn't want him fighting anymore, his manager was stealing money from him, and the Rock had a painfully bad back. That's why he retired.