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Originally Posted by niko
"More of this Rocky Marciano ... fought old men stuff? "(smiling)
Great post.
There is no magic age when all fighters are at their best.
I don't believe prime is just age. Some boxers just get better as time goes on(to a point)
Look at the age of some of your best fighters today.
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Thanks, Niko.
Niko ... youth is a tool, and youth is good. But it's not what wins fights!
Many fans ... or even most or near all .. just like fighters that are inexperienced and are novices ... think it all about power and speed, and youth. Those things are good. But that is not what it's all about.
It's strategy, it focus, it's skill.
Rocky Marciano had that! It wasn't really power and speed, or youth ... that make him a great fighter and world champion. It was strategy, focus, and skill.
Rocky was tough in body and in mind, and was perhaps the most well-conditioned heavyweight in the professional ranks in his day, he trained harder than any body, I don't think there can be any question about that. In fact, in his prime in the early 1950's some or even many believed that Rocky was the most well-conditioned athlete in the world.
Well, he had to train harder for he had alot of natural disadvantages to over come as a fighter. First off, he got started late ... he was too old. He was also too short for a heavyweight, and too light in weight for a heavyweight, his arms ... his reach too short ... and his legs were too thick.
But he had the punch, he had power.
But any fool, can throw a punch.
Largely, what make Rocky a great heavyweight fighter and world champion, was that he came to have a really great trainer ... little Charley Goldman, and Rocky was teachable and was a good student, and Goldman was able to develop abd cultivate Rocky into being a great fighter and world champion. Plus also in being that Rocky had a really good manager ... Al Weill, that had the connections ... ahd was smart .. and he carried Rocky right in not going too fast before Rocky was ready.
Rocky had of course, pride, determination and guts, and surrender was never an option with him. This was good, and helped, and Rocky had the punch. That helped too. But any fool can throw a punch.
I say, what make Rocky great was strategy, focus and skill.
For example, Rocky was relentless. Also he can hurt you no matter where he hit you, arms, shoulders, head any where he hit you, he could hurt you.
He'd bull an opponent and cut the ring off on an opponent and keep throwing punches and combination punches ...and he never backed off, always went forward, and he had the tools, how could an opponent put togather an offense of their own if he had to keep blocking Rocky's punches.
After what few people realized was that Rocky was a good defensive fighter too. Rocky was not as easy a target as he appeared to be. Ali found that out in the computer fight.
Ali's manager and trainer Angelo Dundee came to notice that about Rocky too. For example, Dundee, came to see how clever Rocky was ... in being that Rocky had his own technique in using his leg .. that caused Ali to have a hard time in reaching Rocky with his punches. Rocky, would appear to be standing still, but he was actually sliding away from the punch.
When talking about Rocky Marciano ... every body will focus on the pride he had, the determination, and guts he had, and surrender was never an option with him, and he had the punch. This seems to be the thing that every body gets all focused on especially when talking about Rocky Marciano and it seems to be the only thing most tend to really get him credit for ... but how little they know, and they don't know as much as they think they know, and much they they think they know, they don't know either.
First off, any fool can throw a punch, and all fighters had some measure of pride, determination and guts or else they would not be there. They would not be fighters, if they didn't have that in at least some measure.
I've said this before in recent posts ... and I'm now going to say it again, that boxing isn't all about power and speed, it strategy, focus and skill.
And as for youth? It's a tool, and youth is good.
When I was boxing amatuer ... and at the time not a novice ... of course, starts there in the amatuer ranks, and at the time I was an open-class middleweight fighter in the late 1960's at the time. I got some old guy, in the gym as a sparring partner one day, who didn't look like he could do much, who was an ex-fighter and not even in all that good of shape either, he wan't training really any more. And this guy, gave me a real hard time, I mean a REALLY hard time.
This is when my real education started that appearances are deceiving as far how tough a person is. But also that boxing isn't all about power and speed, but strategy, focus and skill.
I say, Rocky Marciano was a great heavyweight fighter and world champion, not largely because he had the punch, and pride, determination and guts, but skill.
JCC
Muhammad Ali
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