Biography:

Rocky Marciano

Boxer Rocky Marciano (1923-1969), who held the heavyweight boxing title for four years during the 1950s, is the only boxing champion to ever retire undefeated.

Certain names always come up, and always will come up, when boxing fans discuss the question of who was the greatest heavyweight boxing champion of all time. Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey are all names which have their supporters. So is Rocky Marciano, who held the title for four years in the 1950s and who has one accomplishment no other heavyweight champ can claim: He is the only one ever to retire undefeated.

Boxing Not First Choice

Marciano was born Rocco Francis Marchegiano on September 1, 1923 in Brockton, Massachusetts. His father, Pierino, worked at a shoe factory. His mother's name was Pasqualena, and Rocky would spend much of his life making sure she didn't have to live in the poverty Rocky knew growing up. Rocky was a typical American kid growing up, playing baseball and football and dreaming of a professional career in one of those sports. He didn't take up boxing until after 1943, when he was drafted into the army. He took the sport up mainly as a way to avoid KP (assisting the cooks) and other less desirable activities, but he showed a natural ability and fought as an amateur following his discharge in 1946.

Tries Baseball

In 1947 Marciano had a tryout with the Chicago Cubs as a catcher, but was let go because he couldn't make the throw from home plate to second base with accuracy. It was the end of his baseball dreams, and the following year he turned professional in the ring. By the spring of 1949 his boxing skills had garnered some attention, as he knocked out his first 16 opponents. The quality of his opponents improved over the latter half of 1949 and 1950, but Marciano continued to beat all comers, knocking out most of them.

Proved Doubters Wrong

There were those who thought not much would become of the 190-pound heavyweight from Brockton in the early days, however. Goody Petronelli, noted fight trainer, caught one of his early fights and recalled for Sports Illustrated, "I never thought he'd make it. He was too old, almost 25. He was too short, he was too light. He had no reach. Rough and tough, but no finesse." The hometown folks became believers, though, traveling in groups to Marciano's fights in nearby Providence, Rhode Island and yelling "Timmmmberrr" when Rocky had an opponent ready to go down.

Boxing Technique

The trainer Charley Goldman taught Marciano his trademark technique, which would serve him well as champion. Legendary trainer Angelo Dundee remembered for Sports Illustrated Goldman telling him for the first time about his new young fighter: "So Charley told me, 'Ange, I gotta guy who's short, stoop-shouldered, balding, got two left feet and God, how he can punch!'" He went on, "Charley taught the technique that if you're tall, stand taller. If you are shorter, make yourself smaller. Charley let him bend his knees completely in a deep knee squat. He was able to punch from that position, come straight up from the bag and hit a heck of a shot…. It was just bang-bang-bang-bang-BANG and get him outta there. And he was the best-conditioned athlete out there."

Marciano Defeats Joe Louis

On October 26, 1951, with 37 wins and 32 knockouts under his belt, Marciano faced his most formidable opponent in former heavyweight champion Joe Louis. Louis was past his prime and when Marciano knocked him out in the eighth round, he had such mixed feelings at beating his hero that he cried in Louis's dressing room after the fight. Sentiment aside, however, the fight established Marciano as one of the marquee fighters in the heavyweight division, and assured him of a title shot before too long.

Takes the Belt from Jersey Joe

Five fights later, on September 23, 1952, he got that chance. Jersey Joe Walcott was the defending champion and Marciano the challenger when the pair met in Philadelphia. Marciano pulled out a victory which would be remembered as typical of his tough-guy, never-say-die style: Way behind on points and struggling offensively all night, he caught Walcott with a short, overhand right on the jaw in the 13th round which knocked him unconscious, giving Marciano the championship belt.

Marciano only defended the title six times, but some of those fights are considered classics by boxing fans. He knocked out Walcott in the first round of their rematch in 1953, then knocked out Roland La Starza later that year. He won a decision against Ezzard Charles in 1954, and almost lost his title in their rematch later that year. In the sixth round Charles cut Marciano's nose so badly his cornerman couldn't stop the bleeding. With the ring doctor watching the cut closely and considering stopping the fight, Marciano erupted against Charles in the eighth round and knocked him out.

Marciano defended his title against Don Cockell in 1955, knocking him out despite organized crime enticements for him to throw the fight. His last fight was September 21, 1955, his third Yankee Stadium defense. He knocked out Archie Moore in the ninth round. The unofficial attendance through closed-circuit television across the great cities of North America was over 400,000.

Retired from Boxing

On April 27, 1956 Marciano retired from boxing at the age of 31. "I thought it was a mistake when Joe Louis tried a comeback," The New York Times quoted him as saying. "No man can say what he will do in the future, but barring poverty, the ring has seen the last of me. I am comfortably fixed, and I am not afraid of the future." He said he wanted to spend more time with his family; it has been said since that he resented having to pay 50 percent of his earnings to his manager.

The Last Years

Marciano spent the years following his retirement making money from personal appearances. Notoriously frugal, Marciano insisted on bumming rides from friends with private planes, even though he could usually be given paid transportation to and from any of his personal appearances. On August 31, 1969, the day before his 46th birthday, he died in a private-plane crash near Des Moines, Iowa. He was survived by his wife of 19 years, Barbara, and two children, Rocco Kevin and Mary Anne.

Remembered for his Grit

Although he may not rank in the top five boxers of all time in terms of skill, speed, or power, Rocky Marciano was tough enough to compensate, and his fans recognized his grit. A sports writer commented that if all the heavyweight champions of all time were locked together in a room, Marciano would be the one to walk out.

Rocky Marciano
Statistics
Real name	Rocco Francis Marchegiano
Nickname	The Brockton Blockbuster, The Rock from Brockton
Rated at	Heavyweight
Nationality	American
Birth date	September 1 1923(1923--)
Birth place	Brockton, Massachusetts
Death date	August 31 1969 (aged 45)
Death place	Des Moines, Iowa
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	49
Wins	49
Wins by KO	43
Losses	0
Draws	0
No contests	0

Early years

Marciano, an Italian-American, was born and raised in Brockton, Massachusetts to Pierino and Pasqualena Marchegiano. Rocky had 3 sisters -- Alice, Concetta, and Elizabeth and 2 brothers - Louis and Peter. When he was one year old, he contracted pneumonia, from which he almost died. As a youth, he played baseball, worked out on homemade weightlifting equipment, and used a stuffed mail bag that hung from a tree in his back yard as a heavy bag. He attended Brockton High School, where he played on the American football and baseball teams. However, he was cut from the school baseball team because he had joined a church league, violating a school rule forbidding players from joining other teams. He later dropped out of school after finishing tenth grade. Marciano then worked as a chute man on delivery trucks for the Brockton Ice and Coal Company. He also worked as a ditch digger and as a shoe salesman. Rocky was also a resident of Hanson, Massachusetts where the house he lived in still stands on Main St.

In March of 1943, Marciano was drafted into the army for a term of two years. Stationed in Wales, he helped ferry supplies across the English Channel to Normandy. After the war ended he completed his service in March 1946 at Fort Lewis, Washington.^[1]

Amateur circuit

While awaiting discharge, Marciano, representing the army, won the 1946 amateur armed forces boxing tournament. His amateur career was interrupted on March 17, 1947, when Marciano stepped into the ring as a professional competitor. That night he beat Lee Epperson by a knockout in three rounds. In an unusual move, however, Marciano returned to the amateur ranks and fought in the Golden Gloves All-East Championship Tournament in March 1948. However, he was beaten by Coley Wallace during the tournament. He continued to fight as an amateur throughout that spring and competed in the AAU Olympic tryouts in the Boston Garden. There he knocked out George McGinnis, but hurt his hands during the bout and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. The McGinnis fight was his last amateur bout.^[2] His amateur years, with an 11-3 record, would be the last time Marciano experienced a loss.

In late March, 1947, Marciano and a few of his friends traveled to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to try out for the Fayetteville Cubs, a farm team for the Chicago Cubs baseball team.^[3] Marciano lasted three weeks before being cut from the team. After failing to find a spot on another team, he returned to Brockton and began boxing training with longtime friend, Allie Colombo. Al Weill served as his manager and Charley Goldman as his trainer and teacher.

Professional career

Although he had one professional fight (against Lee Epperson) on his record, the night of July 12, 1948, marked the time when Marciano began fighting permanently as a professional boxer. That night he notched a win over Harry Bilizarian. He won all his first sixteen bouts by knockout, all before the fourth round, and nine before the first round was over.

Don Mogard became the first boxer to last the distance with "The Rock," but Marciano won by decision.

Early in his career, he changed the spelling of his last name. The ring announcer in Providence, Rhode Island could not pronounce Marchegiano, so his handler said to call him Marciano.

He won three more fights by knockout, and then he met Ted Lowry, who, according to many scribes and witnesses, probably managed to win three or four of the ten rounds from Marciano. Nevertheless, Marciano kept his winning streak alive by beating Lowry by decision. Marciano fought Lowry again and both times the bout went the scheduled ten round distance. Four more knockout wins followed, and then he gained another hard-fought ten-round decision victory over his 1953 world title challenger Roland La Starza in 1950. He won three more knockouts in a row before a rematch with Lowry. Marciano again won, by unanimous decision. After that, he won four more by knockout, and, after a win in six over Red Applegate, he was showcased on national TV for the first time, when he knocked out Rex Layne in six rounds on July 12 1951. One more win, and he was again on national TV, this time against Joe Louis. Marciano defeated Louis in what would be the latter's last career bout, a result that left him with mixed emotions as Louis had been the idol of his childhood.

Championship

In no time Marciano was a ranked heavyweight. After four more wins, including victories over Lee Savold and Harry Matthews, Marciano faced world heavyweight champion Jersey Joe Walcott in Philadelphia on September 23, 1952. After being dropped in round one, Marciano got up and knocked Walcott out in the thirteenth round, becoming the new world heavyweight champion. A rematch was fought one year later, and, in Marciano's first title defense, he retained the title with a first-round knockout of Walcott. Next, it was Roland La Starza's turn to challenge Marciano. After building a small lead on the judges' scorecards all the way to the middle rounds, Marciano won by TKO in the eleventh round.

Then came former world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles, whom Marciano had beaten by a decision in their first bout. Ezzard Charles was the only man to ever last fifteen rounds against Marciano; the champ later praised him as one of the toughest men he ever fought in his life. After having his nose split in round six of the rematch, Marciano retained the title with an eighth-round knockout win. Then, Marciano met British and European champion Don Cockell and stopped him in nine rounds.

Marciano's last title bout was against Archie Moore on September 21, 1955. The bout was originally scheduled for Tuesday, September 20, but because of hurricane warnings it had to be moved to the 21st. Marciano was knocked down for two seconds, but he got up and knocked out Moore in the 9th round. Moore was also knocked down in the 6th and 8th round but was saved by the bell. There was a game before the boxing match and all the fights started late. When Marciano was proclaimed winner, it was already morning of September 22.

Marciano announced his retirement on April 27 1956.^[4] After his retirement Marciano received some criticism about retiring without having fought Floyd Patterson. During Marciano's reign, Patterson was not a contender for a heavyweight title and he was not a ranked heavyweight. In fact, during Marciano's reign, Patterson fought mainly at the light heavyweight limit.

After boxing

Marciano considered a comeback in 1959 when Ingemar Johansson won the heavyweight championship from Floyd Patterson on June 26, 1959. After almost a month of training, Marciano decided against it and never seriously considered a comeback again.^[5] Patterson also had a rematch clause for a return bout with Johansson which would have complicated any attempt by Marciano to fight for the title.

After his retirement, Marciano invested in restaurants, though many of his investments (such as buying Florida wetlands) were disastrous. Many times, the money he gave to his friends was not repaid.

He hosted a weekly boxing show on TV for one year. For a brief period, he worked as a troubleshooting referee in wrestling (Marciano was a good wrestler in high school). He continued as a referee and boxing commentator in boxing matches for many years.

In July of 1969, shortly before his death, Marciano participated in the filming of the fantasy, The Superfight: Marciano vs. Ali. The two boxers were filmed sparring, then the film was edited to match a computer simulation of a hypothetical fight between them, each in their prime. The bout was aired on Tuesday, January 20, 1970. Marciano won by KO in 13.

Death

In 1969, on the eve of his 46th birthday, Marciano was a passenger in a small private plane, a Cessna 172 ([1]) headed to Des Moines, Iowa. It was at night, and bad weather set in. The pilot, who was not certified to fly in such dangerous conditions, tried to set the plane down at a small airfield outside Newton, Iowa, but hit a tree two miles short of the runway. The plane was out of gas as well. Rocky, the young pilot, and another passenger (alleged Iowa mob boss Louis Fratto's son) were killed on impact. Marciano was on his way to give a speech to support a friend's son and there was a surprise birthday celebration waiting for him. He had hoped to return early morning for his 46th birthday celebration with his wife. He was coming from a dinner in Chicago at STP CEO Andy Granatelli's home where he reportedly gave Granatelli's son boxing lessons after he was being picked on in school. Marciano died intestate (without a will). He is interred in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Cemetery in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His wife, who died five years after him at the age of 46, is entombed next to him. His father died in March 1973, his mother died in early January 1986.

Legacy

In 1971, Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer named Marciano as the tenth greatest heavyweight champion ever.^[6] In 1998, Ring magazine named Marciano as the sixth greatest heavyweight champion ever. In 2002, Ring Magazine numbered Marciano at #12 on the list of the 80 Best Fighters of the Last 80 Years. In 2003, Ring Magazine rated Marciano #14 on the list of 100 greatest punchers of all time. In 2005, Marciano was named the fifth greatest heavyweight of all time by the International Boxing Research Organization.^[7] A 1977 ranking by Ring magazine listed Marciano as the greatest Italian-American fighter. In 2007, on ESPN.com's list of the 50 Greatest Boxers of All Time, Marciano was ranked #14. A 1968 radio computer simulation by Murry Woroner concluded that Marciano was the greatest heavyweight champion.[2]

Marciano holds the record for the longest undefeated streak by a heavyweight and for being the only World Heavyweight Champion to go undefeated throughout his career. This record was challenged by Larry Holmes in 1985 when Holmes went 48-0 before losing to Michael Spinks twice. Light heavyweight Dariusz Michalczewski also challenged Marciano when he was 48-0. Mexican legend Julio César Chávez holds the record for longest win streak with eighty-eight straight until he suffered a draw in 1993. Ricardo Lopez also retired undefeated in 2001 from the light flyweight division at 51-0-1.

Throughout history, other boxers have retired undefeated, but many had at least one draw, including the super middleweight Sven Ottke 34-0 and middleweight Laszlo Papp 28-0-2. Willie Pep, a lightweight, had a perfect 63-0 record before he was defeated. Packy McFarland was a lightweight (fighting between 1904-1915) who lost his first fight and then won his next 98.

Marciano was knocked down to the canvas only twice in his professional career. The first occurred in his first championship bout, against Jersey Joe Walcott and the second occurred against Archie Moore. On both occasions, he rose to knock his opponent out.

Marciano was named fighter of the year by Ring Magazine three times. His three championship fights between 1952-54 were named fights of the year by that magazine. In 2006, an ESPN poll voted Marciano's 1952 championship bout against Walcott as the greatest knockout ever. Marciano also received the Hickok Belt for top professional athlete of the year in 1952. In 1955, he was voted second most important American athlete of the year.

Marciano is a member of the International Boxing Hall Of Fame.

In popular culture

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The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

Numerous books have been written about Marciano, including: Rocky Marciano, Biography of a First Son.

Marciano was the subject of the 1999 made-for-TV film, Rocky Marciano as well as Marciano in 1979. In the movie Rocky, Rocky Balboa's trainer, Mickey, told him that his boxing style and heart reminded him of Marciano. In Rocky V, a flashback shows Mickey giving Rocky a necklace with a gold cufflink shaped like a boxing glove that he said was given to him by Rocky Marciano.

Marciano has also been the subject of several paintings and is on a commemorative US postage stamp issued in 1999.

Professional boxing record

49 Wins (43 knockouts, 6 decisions), 0 Losses, 0 Draws [3]
Result	Opponent	Type	Rd., Time	Date	Location	Notes
Win	Archie Moore	KO	9 (15), 1:19	1955-09-21	The Bronx, NY	Retained World Heavyweight title, which he relinquished upon his retirement on 1956-04-27.
Win	Don Cockell	TKO	9 (15), 0:54	1955-05-16	San Francisco, CA	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	Ezzard Charles	KO	8 (15)	1954-09-17	The Bronx, NY	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	Ezzard Charles	Decision (unanimous)	15	1954-06-17	The Bronx, NY	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	Roland La Starza	TKO	11 (15)	1953-09-24	New York City, NY	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	Jersey Joe Walcott	KO	1 (15), 2:25	1953-05-15	Chicago, IL	Retained World Heavyweight title.
Win	Jersey Joe Walcott	KO	13 (15), 0:43	1952-09-23	Philadelphia, PA	Won World Heavyweight title.
Win	Harry Matthews	KO	2 (10), 2:04	1952-07-28	The Bronx, NY
Win	Bernie Reynolds	KO	3 (10), 2:21	1952-05-12	Providence, RI
Win	Gino Buonvino	KO	2 (10)	1952-04-21	Providence, RI
Win	Lee Savold	TKO	7 (10), 0:00	1952-02-13	Philadelphia, PA
Win	Joe Louis	KO	8 (10)	1951-10-26	New York City, NY
Win	Freddie Beshore	KO	5 (10), 0:50	1951-08-27	Boston, MA
Win	Rex Layne	KO	6 (10), 0:35	1951-07-12	New York City, NY
Win	Red Applegate	Decision (unanimous)	10	1951-04-30	Providence, RI
Win	Art Henri	TKO	9 (10), 2:51	1951-03-26	Providence, RI
Win	Harold Mitchell	TKO	2 (10), 2:45	1951-03-20	Hartford, CT
Win	Keene Simmons	TKO	8 (10), 2:54	1951-01-29	Providence, RI
Win	Bill Wilson	TKO	1 (10), 1:50	1950-12-18	Providence, RI
Win	Ted Lowry	Decision (unanimous)	10	1950-11-13	Providence, RI
Win	Johnny Shkor	TKO	6 (10), 1:28	1950-09-18	Providence, RI
Win	Gino Buonvino	TKO	10 (10), 0:25	1950-07-10	Boston, MA
Win	Eldridge Eatman	TKO	3 (10)	1950-06-05	Providence, RI
Win	Roland La Starza	Decision (split)	10	1950-03-24	New York City, NY
Win	Carmine Vingo	KO	6 (10)	1949-12-30	New York City, NY
Win	Phil Muscato	TKO	5 (10), 1:15	1949-12-19	Providence, RI
Win	Pat Richards	KO	2 (10), 0:39	1949-12-02	New York City, NY
Win	Joe Dominic	KO	2 (10), 2:26	1949-11-07	Providence, RI
Win	Ted Lowry	Decision (unanimous)	10	1949-10-10	Providence, RI
Win	Tommy DiGiorgio	KO	4 (10), 2:54	1949-09-26	Providence, RI
Win	Pete Louthis	KO	3 (10)	1949-08-16	New Bedford, MA
Win	Harry Haft	KO	3 (10), 2:21	1949-07-18	Providence, RI
Win	Don Mogard	Decision (unanimous)	10	1949-05-23	Providence, RI
Win	Jimmy Evans	TKO	3 (10)	1949-05-02	Providence, RI
Win	Jimmy Walls	KO	3 (10), 2:54	1949-04-14	Providence, RI
Win	Artie Donato	KO	1 (10), 0:33	1949-03-28	Providence, RI
Win	Johnny Pretzie	TKO	5 (10), 1:46	1949-03-21	Providence, RI
Win	Gilley Ferron	TKO	2 (6), 2:21	1948-12-14	Philadelphia, PA
Win	James Connolly	TKO	1 (8), 0:57	1948-11-29	Providence, RI
Win	Bob Jefferson	TKO	2 (6), 2:30	1948-10-04	Providence, RI
Win	Gilbert Cardone	KO	1 (4), 0:36	1948-09-30	Providence, RI
Win	Bill Hardeman	KO	1 (6)	1948-09-20	Providence, RI
Win	Jerry Jackson	KO	1 (6), 1:08	1948-09-13	Providence, RI
Win	Jimmy Weeks	TKO	1 (6), 2:50	1948-08-30	Providence, RI
Win	Eddie Ross	KO	1 (6), 1:03	1948-08-23	Providence, RI
Win	Bobby Quinn	TKO	3 (4), 0:22	1948-08-09	Providence, RI
Win	John Edwards	TKO	1 (4), 1:19	1948-07-19	Providence, RI
Win	Harry Bilzerian	TKO	1 (4)	1948-07-12	Providence, RI
Win	Lee Epperson	KO	3 (4)	1947-03-17	Holyoke, MA

References and Notes

^ Skehan, Everett M. (1977). Rocky Marciano: Biography of a first son. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 39. ISBN 039525356X.
^ Skehan, Everett M. (1977). Rocky Marciano: Biography of a first son. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 70. ISBN 039525356X.
^ Skehan, Everett M. (1977). Rocky Marciano: Biography of a first son. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 66. ISBN 039525356X.
^ Mullan, Harry (1996). Boxing: The Definitive Illustrated Guide to World Boxing. London, England: Carlton Books, 81. ISBN 0785806415.
^ Skehan, Everett M. (1977). Rocky Marciano: Biography of a first son. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin, 257. ISBN 039525356X.
^ The Ring Online (September, 1971). Classic Columns. Retrieved on [[January 18, 2007]].
^ International Boxing Research Organization (March, 2005). All Time Rankings. Retrieved on [[January 18, 2007]].

External links

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Rocky Marciano

Preceded by Jersey Joe Walcott	Heavyweight boxing champion 1952-09-23 – 1956-04-27 (Vacated)	Succeeded by Floyd Patterson filled vacancy
Preceded by Sugar Ray Robinson	Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1952	Succeeded by Bobo Olson
Preceded by Bobo Olson	Ring Magazine Fighter of the Year 1954 and 1955	Succeeded by Floyd Patterson

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Rocky Marciano

Rocky Marciano

Early years

Amateur circuit

Professional career

Championship

After boxing

Death

Legacy

In popular culture

Professional boxing record

See also

References and Notes

External links