His devastating knockout of Walcott in their first fight gave rise to one of the best-known sports photos of all time. Noted American sports photographer Herb Scharfman, captured the impact of what is to this day, probably the hardest right hook ever landed in a prizefight.
La Starza was one of those boxers that history has overlooked. He put together an impressive record but with only 27 knockouts. He was quick, clever, and had a good chin. He also had a huge heart and, in many ways, Marciano must have thought he was fighting a bit of a version of himself on that March 24, evening. The scoring for the fight was , , and , but Marciano was given the nod when the supplemental point system was used to break the tie.
It would mark the only time in his career when a Rocky Marciano win met with some resistance from the public. Boxing, at times, is a question of styles. La Starza was just plain awkward and difficult to fight — for anyone. I would add this though. In his defence, Rocky Marciano did score a knockdown during the bout. That, for me, was enough to tilt the scales in his favour and I, for one, have never doubted that Marciano won the fight.
The other criticism of Rocky Marciano was that he fought a number of big names when they were past their prime. But years-old in the heavyweight division means much less than it does in the lighter divisions. In the heavyweight division, the premium is put on power and strength. These are the last things a boxer loses. To suggest that a heavyweight boxer is no longer dangerous because he is years-old betrays a lack of understanding about boxing. Ask George Foreman This is even more apparent when we consider that we are talking about Joe Louis here — a man often called the greatest heavyweight boxer of all time.
The criticism about his fights with Charles is even less founded. Charles was only two-plus years older than Rocky. Some also point to the fact that Charles was the Light Heavyweight champion fighting a heavyweight. Most telling for me, Charles was heavier and taller. Marciano was actually at a physical disadvantage going into their bouts. Rocky Marciano would go on to defeat each and every person he fought. In , after stopping the great Archie Moore in the 9th round, Rocky walked away from the sport that had made him a legend.
He left when he was on top and never did anything to damage his legacy. Barring a complete and dire emergency, you will never see Rocky Marciano make a comeback. He passed in a plane crash on August 31, , the day before his 46th birthday. So for me, it is a very bittersweet day; never to be forgotten or missed.
But what about those detractors I mentioned earlier? No boxer; I repeat, no boxer, has ever had more fight in him than Marciano. No boxer was ever so committed to simply winning. No boxer was ever so willing to go through a wall, fight through the pain, to literally die, if necessary, to win his fights than Marciano okay, maybe Muhammad Ali — but he had gifts that Rocky never had.
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After retiring, he became a popular pitchman, most famously known for his George Foreman Grill. American professional boxer and world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano beat Jersey Joe Walcott for the title and won an unrivaled 49 straight fights. Olivia Rodrigo —. Megan Thee Stallion —. Bowen Yang —. See More. He would also lean in, getting closer to his target. Instinctively, his opponent would expect a body shot. This confused defences.
But at the last moment, Rocky would whip over the looped right hand at his opponent after he had already got his body in position for it, and launched it. Usually, most fighters move their body into position as they throw the punch, as opposed to before, as Rocky did.
Right straights and crosses were a useful remedy to having overhand rights thrown at you. This is especially the case if the fighter is fighting out of a side-on stance, in the way that the boxers did in those days. This presented the opportunity for an uppercut to be left waiting for his opponents on the opposite side.
The low crouch of Rocky drew them far into his punching range, like a boy wondering into a forest of wolves. Too far in, and you were met with a bite. With his opponent off balance as they swung their weight forward, Rocky could string together a mean combination until his opponent regained control of their balance. This was useful in drawing attention away from the physical cues that indicate that a left hook is approaching.
The first way Rocky done this, was by sticking out his lead hand, as if to jab down the middle, then pulling back and firing the hook around to the side. The second way, was by pulling his right arm out and lower his legs, as if to throw a right hand to the body.
He would then spring up from his legs, with a terrifying left hook to accompany him. It was also the case that his left hook was set up by right uppercuts.
Rocky would turn up an extremely high uppercut, and often times it would miss the target. Furthermore, the uppercut was a good following punch to the uppercut because after twisting to the left as he threw the right, he could throw the left hook as he turned back. Rocky was a come-forward fighter. He loved to back his opponent up, and apply intense pressure, as much as he could. A very useful skill for such a fighter to have, is the ability to seamlessly shift.
Rocky, however took it a step further, shifting from orthodox, to southpaw, to orthodox again, and could punch effectively in between doing so. Rocky had a unique left hook.
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