The tragic death of legendary boxer Rocky Marciano, who died in a plane crash, was an avoidable tragedy.
The Italian pronunciation of Marchegiano was "markedano".He finished his career without a loss.His six title defenses were against Jersey Joe Walcott, Don Cockell, Ezzard Charles, and Archie Moore.
He has been included in lists of the greatest boxers of all time and is currently ranked as the 21st greatest pound-for-pound boxer in history.BoxRec gave him a 5-star rating for five of his fights.He is the only fighter to have stopped every opponent he has faced for a world title, and holds the highest knockout-to-win ratio in title fights.His knockout-to-win percentage is one of the highest in boxing history.
Pierino Marchegiano and Pasqualina Picciuto were his parents and he was raised on the south side of Brockton, Massachusetts.His parents were from Italy.His parents were from Ripa Teatina and San Bartolomeo in Campania.Two brothers, Louis and Peter, and three sisters, Alice, Concetta and Elizabeth, were siblings to Rocky.He almost died from pneumonia when he was 18 months old.
He used a stuffed mailbag that was hung from a tree in his back yard as a heavy bag and worked out on homemade weightlifting equipment.He played both sports at the high school.He was cut from the baseball team because he joined a church league that was against school rules.After finishing tenth grade, he dropped out of school.
He was a chute man on delivery trucks for the ice and coal company.He worked as a ditchdigger, railroad layer and shoemaker.The house he lived in on Main Street is still standing.
He was drafted into the United States Army for two years in 1943.He helped ferry supplies across the English Channel.After the war ended, he finished his service at Fort Lewis.[8]
The amateur record was 8–4.He won the amateur armed forces boxing tournament while awaiting discharge.His amateur career was briefly interrupted on March 17, 1947, when he stepped into the ring as a professional competitor at the Valley Arena Gardens of Holyoke, Massachusetts.He knocked out Lee Epperson in three rounds.Marciano returned to the amateur ranks and fought in the Golden Gloves All-East Championship Tournament in March 1948.He was beaten by Coley Wallace.He continued to fight as an amateur and competed in the Boston Garden during the spring.He hurt his hands during the bout and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.His last amateur bout was that one.It was [13].
In March 1947,Marciano and a group of friends traveled to North Carolina to try out for a baseball team.The man lasted three weeks before he was cut.After failing to find a spot on another team, he returned to Brockton and began boxing training with his friend.His managers were Al and Chick Wergeles, as well as his trainer and teacher, Charley Goldman.
Although he had one professional fight on his record, he became a professional boxer on July 12, 1948.He beat Harry Bilazarian (3–6–0).He won his first 16 bouts by knockout, all before the fifth and ninth rounds.Don Mogard was the first boxer to last the distance with "The Rock", but he lost by unanimous decision.
He changed his name to Marchegiano early in his career.The ring announcer in Providence, Rhode Island, couldn't say it, so they created a pseudonym.The first suggestion was "Rocky Mack", which was rejected byMarciano.[15]
After winning three fights by knockout, he met Ted Lowry.The winning streak continued forMarciano, as he beat Lowry by a unanimous decision.Four more knockout wins followed, including a five-round fight on December 19, 1949, with Phil Muscato being the first "name fighter"Marciano faced.
The Phil Muscato fight was three weeks after the Carmine Vingo fight.Carmine was 16-1, but his loss was controversial.At the time of the fight, he was 24-0.The white hope in the division would be determined by the winner.Vingo was gaining steam by the fifth round after being dropped in the first and second.In the sixth round, Vingo was knocked out by a right uppercut fromMarciano.Vingo was taken to the hospital on a stretcher because there were no ambulances available.Vingo was given his last rites by a priest and had a 50% chance of survival.Vingo befriendedMarciano later on in life.
On March 24, 1950,Marciano defeated La Starza by split decision.It is possible that La Starza could have defeatedMarciano as a professional boxer.The score for the bout was 5–4.New York and Massachusetts used a supplemental point system at that time.In the fight, the scoring system did not award an extra point for a knockdown.The bout was decided by the referee.Both boxers had perfect records before the fight.
After scoring three more knockouts in a row,Marciano again won by unanimous decision.After scoring four more knockouts and a decision over Red Applegate in late April 1951, he was showcased on national television for the first time, knocking out Rex Layne in six rounds on July 12, 1951.
On October 27, 1951, Joe Louis was defeated by the 28-year-oldMarciano.He was a 612-to-5 favorite going into the bout.Louis lost his last career bout toMarciano.
The world title was up for grabs after four more wins, including victories over 35-year-old Lee Savold and Harry Matthews.
On September 23, 1952, Jersey Joe Walcott, the World Heavyweight Champ, faced off againstMarciano in Philadelphia.Walcott built a points lead after droppingMarciano in the first round.Walcott used his trademark feint to set up his right hand, but Marciano's "Suzie Q" landed first, a powerful right hook causing Walcott to slump to his knees with his arm draped over the ropes.After being counted out, he lay motionless for a long time.Walcott was leading on all scorecards at the time.
His first defense was against Walcott, who was knocked out in the first round.
Next was the challenge by La Starza.After building a small lead on the judges' scorecards through the middle rounds,Marciano won the second fight by technical knockout in the 11th round.
The only man to ever last 15 rounds against Ezzard Charles were the two previous bouts.The first fight took place at Yankee Stadium on June 17, 1954.The referee scored the bout 8-5-2 for the champion.Both Judge Artie Aidala and Judge Harold Barnes scored it differently.The fight ended in an eighth-round knockout.British and European champion Don Cockell was met byMarciano.He was knocked out in the ninth round.
Archie Moore defeatedMarciano in a title bout on September 21, 1955.The bout was delayed a day because of the warnings from the hurricanes.After being knocked down for a four-count in the second round, he recovered and retained his title with a knockout in round nine.
In the summer of 1959 there was a possibility of a comeback byMarciano, who had lost the title to Floyd Patterson.After only a month of training,Marciano decided against a comeback.[20]
After his retirement,Marciano entered the world of television, first hosting a weekly boxing show on TV in 1961, and later appearing in the Combat!"Masquerade" is an episode of the show.Marciano was a good wrestler in high school and he worked as a referee for a short time.He was a referee and boxing commentator for many years.He was a partner and vice president of Papa Luigi Spaghetti Dens, a San Francisco-based franchise company formed by Joe and James Braly.He built a custom home in the suburb of Fort Lauderdale.The house is still standing.
The Superfight:Marciano vs. Ali was filmed in July 1969 shortly before his death.The film was edited to match a computer simulation of a hypothetical fight between the two boxers.The first version had Ali winning and the second hadMarciano winning.[21]
On the day before his 46th birthday,Marciano was a passenger in a small private plane.It was dark and the weather was bad.Glenn Belz had 231 hours of flying time, 35 of them at night, and no instrument rating.Belz tried to land the plane at a small airfield in Iowa but it hit a tree two miles from the runway.The oldest son of Lew Farrell was in the back of the plane.They were killed on impact.It was 23 and 24.
The pilot attempted an operation exceeding his experience and ability level, continued visual flight rules under adverse weather conditions and experienced spatial disorientation in the last moments of the flight according to the National Transportation Safety Board report.There was a surprise birthday celebration forMarciano, who was on his way to give a speech to support his friend's son.He wanted to return in the early morning to celebrate his birthday with his wife.He arrived at Andy Granatelli's home after a dinner in Chicago.There is a citation needed.
There is a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.His wife Barbara died of lung cancer at the age of 46, and is entombed next to him.[28]
Nat Fleischer, a boxing historian and founder of The Ring, named Muhammad Ali as the 10th greatest boxer of all time.Fleischer wrote thatMarciano wasrude, wild swinging, awkward and missed a lot.He missed almost two-thirds of the punches he threw when he had Archie against the ropes, a perfect target for the kill.
Critics don't rate Rocky with the great ones, like Jeffries, Johnson, Tunney and Louis.He didn't face top fighters like they did.There was a lack of talent when Rocky was boxing, but it was not his fault.He fought them all and that is what a champion should do.
A December 1962 The Ring poll of 40 boxing experts had Jack Dempsey rated the number-one boxer of all time, with Joe Louis second, Jack Johnson third and Marciano seventh.Two boxing historians,Herb Goldman and Charley Rose, and John McCallum's Survey of Old Timers (survey of a group of historians and writers) ratedMarciano at number seven, number eight and number nine, respectively, of the best heavyweights of all time.[29]
The sixth greatest champion ever was named by The Ring in 1998.The 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years was compiled by The Ring in 2002.The Ring rankedMarciano number 14 on their list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.The International Boxing Research Organization named him the fifth greatest boxer of all time.The greatest Italian American fighter was listed by The Ring in 1977.In 2007, he was ranked number 14 on the list of the 50 greatest boxers of all time.
John L. Sullivan and Brian Nielsen are the only ones who have not lost a fight.There is a citation needed.He holds the record for being the only world champion to never lose a match.Willie Pep had a perfect 62–0 record before he was defeated.Packey McFarland lost his first fight and then won his next two, but he never won the lightweight title.Gene Tunney retired as champion after only losing one fight in his career.
Only a few boxers have retired as world champion.They all retired with perfect records, without defeats or draws.Most of the fighters had problems with their records.Simon stopped working while he was in prison.Valero was still an active champion when he committed suicide.Ottke spent all of his career in Germany, while Loewe and Kandelaki ended their careers due to injuries.The records of Calzaghe and Mayweather have been the subject of a lot of controversy.Chayaphol Moonsri, who is 33 years of age, fights at mini-flyweight and is currently 53–0 as of May 2019.
Over the course of his career,Marciano has the highest knockout percentage of any champion in history.He was knocked down twice in his career.He won his first championship against Jersey Joe Walcott, 38, and the second against Archie Moore.
John Lennon can be heard joking and reflecting on a meeting he had withMarciano in which he talked about Joe Louis.There is a citation needed.