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Among BOXERS

Among boxers, Rocky Marciano ranks 2 out of 496.

He ventured into business and achieved significant success.

Tragic Loss

On August 31, 1969, just before his 46th birthday, Rocky Marciano died in a plane crash. He secured an amateur army championship in 1946 and continued to fight as an amateur after being discharged.

Professional Transition

On March 17, 1947, Marciano transitioned to professional boxing with a bout against Lee Epperson.

Traveling in groups to Marciano’s fights in Rhode Island, his cheering section would eagerly watch Rocky chop away at his opponent until he was ready to fall. Though he won by unanimous decision, many believed La Starza came closer to defeating him than any other opponent.

Championship Fight against Jersey Joe Walcott

In 1952, Marciano fought Jersey Joe Walcott for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Willing to absorb two or three punches for the chance to land just one, usually with Suzie Q (his pet name for his mighty right hand), Marciano was a challenger unlike any other.

Training was like a religious pursuit to Marciano who practiced a monkish existence in pursuit of the heavyweight title. Marciano refused to stay down and he refused to lose.

He played baseball and engaged in weightlifting using homemade equipment. Thirty seconds into the 13th round, Marciano delivered one of the most devastating hits in the history of the sport. Overcome with mixed feelings at beating his idol, Marciano cried in Louis’ dressing room after the fight.

Mixed feelings aside, the fight established Marciano as one of the preeminent fighters in his division and set him on the path to a title shot.

The long odds on Marciano really winning the title weren’t good.

Before him are C. F. Powell, Kliment Voroshilov, Allen Dulles, Saud of Saudi Arabia, Liu Shaoqi, and Jan Palach.

His father, who worked at a shoe factory, naturally wanted more for his son than the hard-scrabble life he had been born into. Rocky Marciano is the 2nd most popular boxer, the 399th most popular biography from United States (down from 218th in 2019) and the 2nd most popular American Boxer.

Rocky Marciano was a heavyweight boxer.

Addicted to exercise, Marciano had more stamina than any opponent he faced, another hidden strength that would propel him to the top of the game.

On September 23, 1952, Marciano met Jersey Joe Walcott at Philadelphia’s Municipal Stadium for a shot at the title. He might be bruised, battered, beat-up, and bloody, but he would not be beaten.

Earning the nickname “The Brockton Blockbuster,” Marciano possessed a phenomenal pain threshold and endurance level.

He knocked out his opponent within three rounds, but surprisingly, he returned to amateur competition.

Renaming and Professional Return

Before one of his fights, the announcer mispronounced his surname as "Marciano." Seeing the potential for a more marketable name, his agent convinced him to adopt it. After him are Peter II of Yugoslavia, György Ligeti, Marcel Marceau, Mas Oyama, Queen Anne of Romania, and Franco Zeffirelli.

In March 1943, he was drafted into the Army and served in Swansey, Wales, where he worked on a local ferry.

Boxing Career

Towards the end of his military service, Marciano discovered his passion for boxing. With the score stacked against him, Marciano needed a solid knockout to take the title.

Battered and bleeding, Marciano refused to give in.

Demonstrating a natural talent, when Marciano left the army in 1946, he began to pick up bouts on the amateur circuit as Rocky Mack.

In 1947 the dream of playing professional baseball finally came Marciano’s way.