[Skinnyboy]

I found an old Rocky Marciano documentary at the library and decided to give it a look. I've seen some of Rocky's fights on TSN, but never his life story. This HBO produced video was made in 1990 and includes interviews with family and friends.

Amazing! Marciano was a true warrior who appeared to be more interested in his rep than anything else. This was demonstrated by his insistance of having rematches against guys he had close fights with included Lastarza, Walcott and Charles.

None of the fights are shown completely, but rather highlights of some Rocky's biggest fights. His last fight with Moore was crazy. You get to see the last 2 rounds where Marciano tirelessly throws punch after punch sending Moore to the canvas in the second last just before the bell. Moore, sitting, has a look on his face that expresses complete bewilderment.

Great video.

[WEREWOLF]

I will have to hunt down a copy of that. Marciano's relentless punch output and indomitable will to win were an unbeatable combination. Did you ever see the recently released Marciano vs. Ali DVD? It is another great piece of boxing history.

[Skinnyboy]

Originally Posted by WEREWOLF

I will have to hunt down a copy of that. Marciano's relentless punch output and indomitable will to win were an unbeatable combination. Did you ever see the recently released Marciano vs. Ali DVD? It is another great piece of boxing history.

No. Haven't seen it anywhere. I'd probably have to hunt it down on Ebay to get a copy.


Hey Werewolf, here's a piece of Marciano trivia. Did you know that one of his brothers occasionally stepped in as a sparring partner? I guess sparring partners were hard to come by.

Here's another. When Marciano and Walcott were training for their first fight, Walcott supposedly sparred 30 rounds. Marciano? 80 rounds!

Last one. When Marciano was getting to the end of his career, his brother says he knew that Rocky would retire soon when he heard him say that he couldn't stand the smell of the gym anymore. From the impression I got, Marciano probably rung everything out of himself training for his fights and just had nothing left to give - burned himself out.

[dhk1980]

Originally Posted by WEREWOLF

I will have to hunt down a copy of that. Marciano's relentless punch output and indomitable will to win were an unbeatable combination. Did you ever see the recently released Marciano vs. Ali DVD? It is another great piece of boxing history.

i'm sorry wolf, i own a copy of that MArciano vs Ali "SUper fight" and it is just a load of crap. if ali fought marciano in a real fight, he would whoop up on Marciano. Ali has way too much mobility and speed. he would most likely do to marciano, what he did to foreman. it just would take a few RDs more. by the way, that computerized fight didn't prove anything. they were practically fighting in slow mo. by the way, i found a copy of the superfight in blockbusters.

[WEREWOLF]

Originally Posted by dhk1980

i'm sorry wolf, i own a copy of that MArciano vs Ali "SUper fight" and it is just a load of crap. if ali fought marciano in a real fight, he would whoop up on Marciano. Ali has way too much mobility and speed. he would most likely do to marciano, what he did to foreman. it just would take a few RDs more. by the way, that computerized fight didn't prove anything. they were practically fighting in slow mo. by the way, i found a copy of the superfight in blockbusters.

DHK I never said their computerized fight proved anything. It is a great piece of boxing history however. Marciano was pushing 50 at the time of these legendary sparring sessions which the movie was edited together from.

During one of these sparring sessions Marciano droped Ali for the count after Ali was taunting him. Marciano did not like being disrespected and at one point wanted to turn it into a real fight. Marciano also reportedly hit so hard that at one point Ali hopped out of the ring and demanded more money. See Everett Skehan's excellent biography: Rocky Marciano Biography of a First Son. These incidents were also confirmed by Lou Duva who witnessed these sparring sessions. Ali's respect for Marciano and comments about him after these sparring sessions are also telling.

I don't think the Foreman comparison is fair. Foreman had nowhere near the punch output or stamina of Marciano. Their styles were totally different.

The thing I found most interesting about these sparring sessions was Marciano's ability to repeatedly corner Ali with subtle footwork. I wasn't expecting to see that considering Ali's speed and mobility and Marciano's age.

I might be in the minority on this but I personally feel Marciano had the style to beat Ali in a prime on prime match-up. In my opinion he would have found a way to win just like he did in all of his 49 pro fights.

[dhk1980]

Originally Posted by WEREWOLF

DHK I never said their computerized fight proved anything. It is a great piece of boxing history however. Marciano was pushing 50 at the time of these legendary sparring sessions which the movie was edited together from.

During one of these sparring sessions Marciano droped Ali for the count after Ali was taunting him. Marciano did not like being disrespected and at one point wanted to turn it into a real fight. Marciano also reportedly hit so hard that at one point Ali hopped out of the ring and demanded more money. See Everett Skehan's excellent biography: Rocky Marciano Biography of a First Son. These incidents were also confirmed by Lou Duva who witnessed these sparring sessions. Ali's respect for Marciano and comments about him after these sparring sessions are also telling.

I don't think the Foreman comparison is fair. Foreman had nowhere near the punch output or stamina of Marciano. Their styles were totally different.

The thing I found most interesting about these sparring sessions was Marciano's ability to repeatedly corner Ali with subtle footwork. I wasn't expecting to see that considering Ali's speed and mobility and Marciano's age.

I might be in the minority on this but I personally feel Marciano had the style to beat Ali in a prime on prime match-up. In my opinion he would have found a way to win just like he did in all of his 49 pro fights.

just like Igor would beat Fedor, right?? Igoramania, baby!!!

[WEREWOLF]

Originally Posted by Skinnyboy

No. Haven't seen it anywhere. I'd probably have to hunt it down on Ebay to get a copy.


Hey Werewolf, here's a piece of Marciano trivia. Did you know that one of his brothers occasionally stepped in as a sparring partner? I guess sparring partners were hard to come by.

Here's another. When Marciano and Walcott were training for their first fight, Walcott supposedly sparred 30 rounds. Marciano? 80 rounds!

Last one. When Marciano was getting to the end of his career, his brother says he knew that Rocky would retire soon when he heard him say that he couldn't stand the smell of the gym anymore. From the impression I got, Marciano probably rung everything out of himself training for his fights and just had nothing left to give - burned himself out.

Yeah, Marciano lived a sort of monastic lifestyle when he was an active heavyweight and was always in peak physical condition. He would train for many months before a fight. Very different from the often out-of-shape, overweight heavyweights we see today.

If you are interested in Marciano check out his recently rereleased biography by Everett Skehan now titled 'Undefeated- Rocky Marciano- The Fighter who Refused to Lose'.

[WEREWOLF]

Originally Posted by dhk1980

just like Igor would beat Fedor, right?? Igoramania, baby!!!

You know it!!!!

[don king]

Originally Posted by WEREWOLF

Yeah, Marciano lived a sort of monastic lifestyle when he was an active heavyweight and was always in peak physical condition. He would train for many months before a fight. Very different from the often out-of-shape, overweight heavyweights we see today.

Sounds like Fedor. Is it a coincidence that they have a combined total of 0 (real) losses?