Rocky Marciano v Lennox Lewis

[El Kabong]

If size was not an issue then it would be a competitive fight because Rocky could fight up to any skill level and Lennox could fight down to any skill level. Marciano never came out flat for a fight that I know of, whereas Lennox was known to do so and he had troubles with opponents he should have demolished: McCall, Rahman, Bruno.

It's just a very odd match to even attempt to think about because Rocky was under 190 and Lennox usually 240 or higher. Rocky fought in an era where everyone was roughly the same size, nobody towered over him, nobody used their height to supreme advantage like Lewis and he wouldn't have fought anyone as strong as Lewis. Let's not be naive here, Rocky could get hurt, he could get caught off balance and knocked down and since size routinely played a factor in Lennox's ability to hold on in difficult fights it's hard to take that part out of this fight even if it's hypothetical.

I find myself more intrigued by a Marciano-Tyson matchup as they were closer in size & stature. Rocky being 5'11, 188 pounds, 67" reach and Tyson being 5'10, 218 pounds, 71" reach...I mean 30 pounds isn't too terrible but when you're talking about giving up 40-50 pounds you're sure as hell going to notice a difference. Rocky vs Dempsey, Johannsen, Tunney, Holyfield, Liston, Bob Foster, Joe Frazier, Floyd Patterson, Michael Moorer, Michael Spinks, Dwight Qawi, Dick Tiger etc those smaller heavyweights, larger/better skilled light heavyweights & cruisers are the ones I'm more curious about.