Rocky Marciano's Underrated Defense

[generalbulldog]

Most boxing fans often envision an Marciano with a face first defense when they think of the great HW champ, a sort of HW version of Arturo Gatti that was all blood and guts and having no kind of defense.

This video debunks that myth. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b0yHvw-vW0

[Snakey]

This video makes him look like a mayweather lol But i have seen him take some big punches and not using great defense.

[El Kabong]

Sultan Ibragimov used a passive Marciano inspired defense vs Wladimir Klitschko.....when you bend down at the waist and create that odd angle you can be hard to hit, but Rocky wasn't a great defensive fighter, he maybe catches too much blame but the guy wasn't known for his defense and with his record of 49 wins and 46 KO's of course he's not going ot be known for defense.

It's like saying the Super Bowl Champion Dallas Cowboys teams of the 1990's should be known for their fantastic Special Teams play instead of Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Michael Irvin, et al.

[amat]

Even in the video when he's making those punches miss he's still not always employing great effective defense, no one gets hit ALL the time. He did get hit his fair share though plus he was fairly prone to cuts which obviously hamper anyone's defense. He was an offensive fighter though and I think sometimes underrated in that regard.

[CutMeMick]

Whoever made that video he/she pulled it out of their ass...

I'm sorry but Marciano comes nowhere near being a name that arises during a talk about defensive fighters...

Anyone can take snip its and pieces from fights and cut them up and make Gatti or even someone like Yaqui Lopez look like a defensive fighter.

But we all know that's not the case, Rocky was a straight forward fighter who crouched/bent at the waist leaning in an angle. Defense was not his forte and we all know that we don't need videos trying to prove it other wise all you have to do is watch his fights (which I've seen plenty) to see his defense is OK at best.

[Andre]

Tough little fellow, for a heavyweight.

[generalbulldog]

This is the last thing said on the video before it ends. "So while Marciano was not a defensive fighter, he still used a wide variety of defensive techniques that are easy to miss upon first sight."


SO not myself nor the maker of the video claim Marciano was a defensive master but thought he had underrated defense. No one claim he was a pernell whitaker or willie pep. Underrated defense that's it.

I thought it was an interesting video, nothing more nothing less.

[El Kabong]

Rocky never won fights because of his defense but then again he never lost a fight on account of poor defense...that's just my

[Taeth]

That was some of the worst technique and athleticism I've ever seen, by both Marciano and his opponents. Wow I am sure glad the sport has evolved so much since then.

[Master]

Rocky's best defence was his attack.

[Jimmy G-Force]

I wouldnt say Marciano had an underrated defence, that moniker goes to Roberto Duran as far as I'm concerned, extremely underrated and very, very clever defensively. Not the Sweet-Pea/Mayweather type clever, but aggressively clever and very effective. Duran in his Lightweight days was a phenomenal piece of work, the way he could bob, weave, and roll with the punches was masterful, and what was even more impressive was that he did it all off his opponents chest. As far as underrated defences go, Duran wins this for me.

[El Kabong]

Roberto Duran's defense was very subtle...he'd be on the inside and his opponent would throw everything at him, he'd slip, block, counter, and they would repeat variations of that until they tied up. Duran was very skilled.

[Chris Nagel]

Rocky's best defence was his attack.

A lot of the difficulty when fighting a guy that pours on the attack like Rocky is that when you're countering, you're also vulnerable. For instance look at Rocky's famous Suzy-Q on Walcott. Walcott was beginning to throw his own right (a counter), and was nailed in the process.

I think that a skilled boxer is going to notice a lot of openings when facing Rocky, but there in lies the risk. Logically you'd want to keep things at a distance, reducing their punch output taking away their combinations (less risk involved). With Rocky, there's the temptation. If you see money on the table, you want to grab it, but watch out!

[Master]

Rocky's best defence was his attack.

A lot of the difficulty when fighting a guy that pours on the attack like Rocky is that when you're countering, you're also vulnerable. For instance look at Rocky's famous Suzy-Q on Walcott. Walcott was beginning to throw his own right (a counter), and was nailed in the process.

I think that a skilled boxer is going to notice a lot of openings when facing Rocky, but there in lies the risk. Logically you'd want to keep things at a distance, reducing their punch output taking away their combinations (less risk involved). With Rocky, there's the temptation. If you see money on the table, you want to grab it, but watch out!

Ali would have found the gaps and made him pay.

[joe smith]

A person in these comments said anybody can cut up pieces and make a video, for years crazy idiots have bragged on highlights that show the best moments from guys of this era how about this the real way he fought



This looks novice like no one for a fact got anywhere in boxing fighting like these guys in 70s amateurs or '80s,