Rocky Marciano was 49-0 undefeated. Ali 56-5. Why is m Ali the best boxer?

Answer 1

He isn't. Marciano would have crushed Ali with absolute ease.

Answer 2

"cause Marciano fought bums and guys who had one foot in the grave, while Ali fought the greats of his era"

Ali had 3 greats he had fought in their prime. Liston, Frazier, Foreman. The Rock had 2 Walcott and Ezzard. Rocky was also a lot smaller than most of his opponents and his reach was 4 inches shorter than Floyd Mayweather's reach. Walcott if you'll pay attention actually became a little better with age and not to mention the pool of talent back then was lacking lol.

Ali had his fair share of easy outs. He fought Archie Moore when he was 20 and moore was 40+. And an over the hill Patterson who he taunted viciously around the ring by screaming "whats my name?" which made me lose a little bit of respect for him.

Both are great champions of their respective time frames. It ranges from a matter of simple opinion all the way to a complicated data based opinion. Trying to compare the two is like apples and oranges really. Its been a long standing debate between fans of both parties as to who was the best ect.

Its quite an impossible to answer question really. Heck if you want my honest opinion Willie Pep would be the best boxer by statistics. 230-11-1 with 65 knockouts. He won 50 straight fights more than once. 135-1-1 was the highlight of his record.

So its simply apples and oranges when it comes to both Ali and Marciano. Personally I'd love to see both of them go at it but that is nothing more than a mere dream. I'll never believe that one is better than the other. They were both great champions and I'll never speak ill of either one.

Answer 3

Not all people say Ali was the best boxer but in terms of boxing wars, Ali was the heavyweight champ who had tougher opponents and fought many harder fights.

Ali's 13 toughest fights were

Liston I
Norton I, II, and III
Foreman
Frazier I, II, and III
Shavers
Spinks I and II
Holmes
Berbick

Although he lost to Frazier, Norton, and Spinks, he won them by rematch. As he got older and was already developing early Parkinsons, he fought Holmes and Berbick and lost but manage to survive without getting knocked out. Now if that's not amazing, I don't know what is. He debuted in 1960 but his toughest fights were between 1964-1981, which spawned 17 years.

On the otherhand, Marciano's 7 toughest fights were

Joe Louis
Jersey Joe Walcott I
Roland LaStarza I and II
Ezzard Charles I and II
Archie Moore

Marciano's debuted in a less active era than Ali so he wasn't fighting a lot of wars like in Ali's era. There wasn't really anyone tough enough to fight in Rocky Marciano's level. Marciano's debut was in 1947 but his toughest fights he fought spawned only up to 5 years, 1950-1955.


Honestly, if Muhammad Ali switched places with Rocky and fought in Rocky's era, I wouldn't be surprised if Ali would be undefeated also. And if Rocky had switched places with Ali and fought in his era, I wouldn't be surprised if Rocky would have lost a couple of fights. They both had very different boxing eras. Don't judge a record by its cover, just because you are undefeated doesn't mean you're the best.

It's really all about who they fought, how much they fought, and how they fought that makes them a better boxer. All in all however, both Marciano and Ali are among the best heavyweights in boxing history.

Answer 4

Very simple. Take a look at Ali's biggest wins. 2 wins over Liston, 2 over Frazier and 1 over Foreman. Ali is 5-1 (4 KOs) against 3 of the top 10 greatest ever heavies. How common is it that a heavy can go an entire career and never fight a fellow all-timer? Ali fought 3, plus a bunch of other greats like Patterson, Norton, Shavers, Quarry. If you think about it, the WORST possible era to be a successful heavyweight would be the 60's and 70's, sandwiched between Liston, Frazier and Foreman. Seriously now, who did Marciano beat that was an all-timer (that wasn't ancient)?

Answer 5

Ali hand speed make him a better boxer than Rocky. Ali make his opponent miss then he counter, that's great boxing. Rocky wage in take punch in the face then KO his opponent. That's not good boxing, that's street fighting. Rocky maybe the better puncher but Ali is the better boxer. The fight between the two today, Ali will win by unanimous decision. Remember when Rocky KO Jersey Joe Walcott in the 13th round? He was behind on points when that happen. Ali who is faster with longer reach than Walcott would stay out of harm way and dance and jab to a decision against a frustrate Marciano. If the fight happen today Walcott could of beat Rocky because of the 12 round instead of 15 round fight. In the phone booth Rocky will win.

Answer 6

This is a good question altho easily answered. Being a teacher in boxing let me explain. Marciano was not a boxer so to speak he was a brawler. He just backed you up and just beat you to death. He had a punch that nearly killed 7 men and put 4 in the hospital for over 4 months. He loved hitting you and had a heart as big as the ring he fought in. Also please understand that men like Marciano had whats called "a Killer instinct," he just loved hitting you and seeing you hurt. Ali was a boxer...talented in a completely different way he was always on his toes and could run you ragged as he continually hit you with his hands. His jab was tremendous and had a good right hand but not one that in most cases was a knock out punch. But something that many people never give him credit for he could take a beating from any man in his time. And he proved in Zaire when he fought George Foreman. But he suffered the rest of his life from that terrible beating he took. Altho he won by knockout he lost later in his life and was never the same. That was truly unfortunate.
So you see the 2 styles are not alike yet both men in their time and even today are considered the greatest to have ever lived. I hope i have helped you in understanding the differences and in many ways help you see that in essence both men in their own styles was the greatest that have ever lived!
I have seen by someone who has written you that Marciano was not a proven fighter. You couldn't be more wrong. His fights with Jersey Joe Walcott were some of the greatest to be seen and the fights as much as commendable are classics even today. So someone here doen't have the knowledge he thinks he has. I can name many more but that is not necessary i believe.... i think your question has been answered.

Answer 7

FOR SEVERAL REASONS.
1) A great boxer needs a great rival in order to be remembered. Ali had a great rival, Marciano not really.

2) Ali faced defeat and came back every time. Marciano defeat is unknown so he was untested on his rebound abilities.

3) The caliber of fighters Ali faced was harder than that of Marciano in general.

4) Ali left his trade mark of the 'Rope a Dope' which is still remembred and used today. Marciano didn't leave such a big notch in boxing history.

5)Ali had alot against him inside and outside the ring. Marciano had the Mob backing him, not much of an uphill battle as Ali.

6) Ali sold more tickets than Marciano ever did.

Answer 8

Simple answer. Look at the guys they both fought. Ali's list will have far more top fighters who were in their prime. Marciano beat great fighters that were on the tale end of their careers. Marciano was a great fighter but we would be saying Roy Jones Jr. was the greatest had he never fought Tarver a second time or Glen Johnson. Marciano at his best against Ali at his best goes 14 rounds. Remember fights back then was 15 rounds. Ali by TKO.

Answer 9

Simple.....

1. Quality of opposition. Liston, Foreman, Frazier, Norton in their PRIMES, not after fighting 10+ years with 100+ fights on their records.
2. Styles...Ali was a smooth boxer and very strategic.
3. Ali had speed and good movement
4. Ali was over 20lbs bigger but moved better.

People put too much emphasis on records. David Tua has only 3 losses on his record.........does anyone think Tua is better than Ali?

Simply put....look who fought in the 50's for the heavyweight title and compare that to the late 60's / early 70's. Quality of opposition alone elevates Ali over anyone in the 50's. The 50's was a low period for the heavyweight division.

This should not diminish Marciano's effort. He was a good champ. It does affect him when compared to other champs that have had a more challenging opposition.

Answer 10

Marciano had one style, Ali was the best at re-inventing himself and adjusting to his opponent. Ali had a way of reaching down and getting the job done. I believe if Joe Louis would have met Marciano when he was in his prime, Rocky would not have been undefeated. I also think Frasier would have given Rocky a tough time, and Foreman would have knocked him out!

Answer 11

Simply because Ali fought big names and when I mean big names I mean Foreman Frazier Norton Liston Shavers Holmes also Archie Moore.

All of these fighters have accredited themselves as champions which have either lost to Ali or never knocked him out.

Being that said Marciano was criticized for retiring and never holding a bout with Floyd Patterson who many said Marciano was scared off simply because he used the Peek-a-boo better than him lol.

Marciano's record may stand with no defeats but the guy literally fought nobodies and he hardly even fought any black contenders let alone a great black fighter. When he fought Archie Moore he fought a boxer who was far over his prime Marciano stated after the fight that Archie Moore was the first boxer to actually hurt him. Being that said imagine if Marciano would have fought a young Archie Moore or even at that how about an old Joe Luis.

All in all said buddy Marciano was either fighting nobodies or old washed up out of their prime fighters like Moore and Louis. Marciano would have proven himself a great champion had he faced these man in their primes or at least at a fresh age, Ali has not only proven himself against these champs I just mentioned he fought but all of them were fresh and still on top of their game. This has to be the easiest way to explain why Ali is a greater champion than Marciano simply because he ducked no one and Marciano did.

Besides that don't you think it's a little coincidental that Marciano retire right after suffering his first knock down in his whole career and then after the fight state that Moore really hurt him?????? I think Marciano knew he was heading for trouble and like the smart man he was he wanted to keep his image alive so he retired before he ran into any serious trouble. Patterson was calling him out of retirement but Marciano just over looked it and stuck to his decision.

Ali has fought multiple champions in his time and he has proven he is the best in standards of saying that boxing never got any better than the 70's and Ali was involved.