Rocky Marciano last fought on September 21, 1955, his sixth title defense, knocking out Archie Moore, ?The most unappreciated fighter in the world??
?Boxing, of course, still has its fans, but it?s not the same.??Russell Sullivan
Rocky Marciano last fought on September 21, 1955, his sixth title defense, knocking out Archie Moore (?The most unappreciated fighter in the world,? as the ?Old Mongoose? once signed off on a letter to A.J. Liebling) in the ninth at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. He officially retired on April 27, 1956, as the sole undefeated champion in the history of the heavyweight division. He won all 49 of his bouts, 43 by knockout. Only Don Mogard, Ted Lowry (twice), Roland LaStarza, Red Applegate, and Ezzard Charles managed to go the distance. Each win came by way of unanimous decision, save for that over LaStarza, which was by split decision, and each was a 10-rounder, except for the one against Charles, which went 15. Marciano only went the distance once as champ, against Charles, whom he kayoed in the eighth in their second bout, at Yankee Stadium on September 17, 1954 (The Ring?s Fight of the Year). He stopped LaStarza by 11th-round TKO, also in their second bout, at New York?s Polo Grounds on September 24, 1953 (another Fight of the Year).
The heavyweight division hasn?t seen anything remotely like ?The Rock? since. And never will again.
?Since the mid-1950s there have been dozens of heavyweight championship fights,? writes Marciano biographer Russell Sullivan. ?Few, however, have possessed the crackling excitement and old-style glamour that was present in the days of Rocky Marciano. The heavyweight crown has also lost much prestige and standing.?
Only four heavyweights have attained an almost godlike status because of their championship: John L. Sullivan (America?s first sports legend), Jack Dempsey (who was even more beloved than Babe Ruth), Joe Louis (the gracious antidote to snarky Jack Johnson), and Rocky Marciano (who filled the black hole of Louis? retirement). Muhammad Ali? ?No boxer?arguably, no athlete in the history of sports?enjoyed the worldwide fame of Ali,? Sullivan readily concedes. But Ali wasn?t so much famous for being Heavyweight Champion of the World as for being Ali. His ?fame was due less to his connection to the history of heavyweight championship boxing and more to his own magnetic personality,? continues Sullivan, who also points out that ?he?not the institution of heavyweight championship boxing?supplied the electricity,? adding that ?his individual brilliance and charisma did not restore the kingdom of heavyweight championship boxing but merely obscured the fact that it had crumbled years before.?
Indeed, interest in the division diminished post-Marciano, never to recover.
All sorts of reasons for all the ho-humming, not least of which was the lack of charisma evinced by the men who bore the title, as well as bored the fans. Regardless of unquestionable skill and toughness, they just didn?t come across as championship material.
This had happened before, of course. Following the retirement of Gene Tunney, for instance, came the ?champions of little worth,? in the harsh words of A.J. Liebling: Max Schmeling, Jack Sharkey, Primo Carnera, Max Baer, and James J. Braddock. Ah, but then along came Joe Louis to set the stars once again right in their courses. Ezzard Charles succeeded ?The Brown Bomber,? followed by Jersey Joe Walcott. Wonderful fighters? No question, as well as gents, but the passionless Charles (?a true Ferdinand the Bull,? wrote W.C. Heinz) was looked upon with disdain for, through no fault of his own, not being Louis. As for Walcott, despite actress Joan Blondell thinking him the bee?s knees (the racy Republican liked that he was ?the Bible-thumping father of six?), he, too, was a ?prince of prudence,? as Red Smith once described him. Underwhelmed by their paper-cup personalities, fans unceremoniously relegated them to boxing?s dusty and cobwebbed attic with the coming of Rocky Marciano. And post-Rocky? When does a lull become a state of permanence?
However worthy of boxing fans? respect, Floyd Patterson, Ingemar Johansson, and Sonny Liston never captured the public?s imagination. The same is true of Joe Frazier (who, however unfairly, tended to be seen as little more than a cardboard cutout, courtesy of the Muhammad Ali Prop Department), George Foreman (except, at least to some extent, during his second reign), and Ken Norton (whose title was more awarded than earned). Leon Spinks? Please. Mike Tyson came awfully close, but Buster Douglas winning the title by kayoing him in the 10th at the Tokyo Dome on February 11, 1990, in one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport, put paid to that (not helped any by his brutish persona and considerable naughtiness). Larry Holmes today looms large in the hearts and minds of many boxing fans (though that certainly wasn?t the case when he was champ, as he was disliked for having stopped Ali?the only man to do so?retiring him in the 10th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on October 2, 1980, as well as for his occasional boorishness, including, of course, ?Rocky couldn?t carry my jockstrap?), but ask your grandmother if she ever heard of him. A 1950s grandmother, however, who would have neither known nor cared to know anything about the Sweet Science, was well aware that Rocky Marciano was Heavyweight Champion of the World. Evander Holyfield has always been highly regarded by most boxing fans, however unknown to the general public. While some current aficionados rank Lennox Lewis among the All-Time Top 10, he ?never completely won over the fans with his personality and turned them off on his bad nights,? as boxing writer Frank Lotierzo quite rightly points out. In any event, he?s another one who isn?t exactly a household name (except perhaps in his native Britain). As for Riddick Bowe, he never generated much in the way of affection. The Klitschkos? Nope. Tyson Fury? Nope. Joseph Parker? Second-tier. Anthony Joshua? When pigs fly. ?Reckless and wild? Deontay Wilder? When polka-dot pigs fly (Lotierzo?s observation that ?in 38 pro bouts against suspect and limited opposition, Wilder has shown terrible defense and poor balance? is putting it mildly). The seemingly endless number of sorta champs?such as Gerrie Coetzee, Trevor Berbick, Francesco Damiani, Siarhei Liakhovich, and Charles Martin?need not apply.
?Marciano, then, was the last man to derive his fame from the institution of heavyweight championship boxing,? Sullivan writes. ?As it turned out, although no one knew it at the time, he was the last of a dying breed.?
While every kingdom does indeed need a king, to paraphrase Sullivan, post-Marciano champs are ?no longer royalty.? Upon their heads, a paper crown.
