bill1234 said:
He did to LaStarza. Its pretty obvious. I guess you didn't notice the way he layed off of LaStarza when he was hurt, or the way he abnormaly didn't go all out when LaStarza was on the ropes? Rocky wanted to punish Roland, and he did. It pushed him over the limit when Roland called him punch drunk. He was thrown into a rage, and carried Roland to punish him, to make him pay. It was very unusual for Marciano.
On Rocky TV show "Main Event" he never said that. It wasn't in Rocky to carry anyone. He wanted to get the KO as fast as he could, and LaStarza wasn't any different. If he saw the opening he would try to finish it.
Here's a report of that bout:
In the first six rounds LaStarza outboxed Marciano and Rocky got away with almost every foul in the book. In the seventh he took control and was hitting hard. LaStarzas nose was bloody and he had a cut under the right eye. In the 11th Rocky threw a right to the jaw and a sweeping hook followed by a right and a hook. LaStarza was down. Although he managed to beat the count, the referee stopped the fight only seconds later.
Here's another one:
The rematch! LaStarza had never let up on his claim that he had won their first fight, and to make matters worse, he was quoted as saying that Marciano must be punch drunk from all the blows he had been taking. This infuriated Rocky, and he told those close to him that he would make LaStarza regret his words.
Roland's record had gone to 54-3 and until this fight he had never been knocked out. Marciano was at 44-0.
The fight started out with LaStarza frustrating Marciano with his clever style and his well executed combinations. He moved away from The Rock's attacks and slid along the ropes, proving to be what many, including Marciano, called "The best defensive fighter of the heavyweight division." When Rocky would get him momentarily pinned, he resorted to what Ali would later dub, "The rope-a-dope". Finally, a frustrated and worried Marciano was told by his trainer Charley Goldman, "Bang his arms until he brings them down."
From then on, Rocky savagely beat LaStarza's arms and upper body, until huge hematomas began appearing on the forearms. By the 10th round, Roland could barely lift his gloves above his shoulders. In the 11th, Marciano battered him terribly, knocking him down and through the ropes before the referee stopped the slaughter. LaStarza had chipped bones in his elbows and ruptured blood vessals that turned to hardened clots in his forearms and had to have surgery to repair the damage.
Before the bout was stopped, 1 judge had it even, another one had Rocky ahead by 2 points and the referee had him ahead by 4. So the bout was fairly close if you go by the score cards, so why would Rocky take that chance.
I did read about how Roland called Rocky punch drunk, and Rocky didn't like it and wanted to hurt Roland, BUT he would never carry him.
