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ROCKY MARCIANO

By Patrick Scholz Photographs by Stanley Weston

He entered the ring forty-nine times and never lost a fight

Rocky Marciano had childhood dreams to become a Major League Baseball player. He did not make the majors but he did have fists of fury that earned him a place in the ring. He fought for his country, he fought for a better life, and he made it happen becoming world heavyweight champion in 1952. He entered the ring forty-nine times and never lost a fight with 43 of those fight winning by knockout.

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He was discharged from service in the winter of 1946 and began working for Brockton Gas Company in Massachusetts for around a buck an hour. With a career that was hardly getting him by he fought his first professional boxing match on March 17, 1947 in Holyoke, Massachusetts.

His opponent was a local fighter named Lee Epperson.

The fight was nothing to speak of but Rocky knocked him out in round three with a right uppercut. He was promised $50 for the fight but only got $20, story is that you only get $35 bucks for three rounds and that $15 went to fees. To say the least Rocky was not happy about it but thats just how it was back then. Though he had won the fight Rocky actually never really looked to boxing as a career, he really wanted to play baseball. Plus his mother would have never approved of him fighting and most of his early fights his mother never knew about. So in 1947 he tried out for the Chicago Cubs but he did not make the cut. It was then that he turned to boxing realizing his dreams of playing in the majors had been crushed. So Rocky started boxing and fought in about thirty amateur fights while still delivering coal. He was not skilled as a

R

ocky Marciano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1923. Both parents emigrat-

ed from Italy to the United States in the 2nd decade of the 20th century. Brockton, Massachusetts was a working class town 20 miles south of Boston. As a family and in his youth they lived in a small two bedroom apartment with no running hot water or central heat, they were poor and the great depression made them poorer. Rocco (Rocky) did not finish high school so he turned to finding work. He drifted from job to job, delivering coal,

digging ditches, and even worked with his father in the same shoe factory. As time went on and as World War approached he eventually was drafted and on March 4, 1943 he went into the United States Army. While in the Army he was introduced to the sport of boxing and in 1945 he entered a few Army tournaments.

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“Then he hit Chancey with a roundhouse right which nearly put a hole in the guy’s head...” boxer and his face was often met with the leather. Yet he always kept charging, swinging wildly until he connected with one of his power punches. He lost four amateur fight but won several regional Golden Gloves and Amateur Athletic Union titles.

In the summer of 1948 Rocky Marciano traveled to New York City to meet a fight manager by the name of Al Weill.

This would be a meeting that would begin Rocky’s professional career in the sport of boxing. Soon after the formal meeting was over he was off to the gym where Al Weill and trainer Charles Goldman set up a sparring session to gauge Rocky’s skills. Marciano at age 25 standing at 5’ 10” with short arms, was old for a novice fighter about to enter the professional sport and looked nothing like a professional boxer . His trainer Goldman said years later “I’ll eat my derby hat if I ever saw anyone cruder then Rocky.

He was so awkward that we stood there and laughed.

He didn't stand right. He didn't throw a punch right. He dint block right. He dint do anything right. Then he hit Chancey with a roundhouse right which nearly put a hole in the guy’s head, and I told Weil that maybe I could do

something with him.”

Marciano soon after this meeting entered his 2nd professional fight on July 12, 1948 under the management of Al Weill. The fight was scheduled to be fought in Providence Road Island, his opponent was Harry Belzarian and the purse was $40 to the winner. Rocky won with a knockout in the first round. Belzarian spoke years later about the knockout, “The first time he knocked me down, he broke my tooth. When I got up I was afraid Id swallow it. Then he knocked me down again.

Then I don't remember anything.”

Following the fight his manager Weill was still not convinced Rocky had the goods so Rocky was used more to test other younger prospects.

This was also around the time that Weill suggested that Rocky change his name from Rocco Marchegiano to Rocky Marciano due to the announcers and referees having so much trouble pronouncing it. Rocky was not a fan of the idea but was ok with it so long it still connected to the Italian roots. Really all that was done was the removal of Marc’heg’iano = Marciano so Rocky approved of it.

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n August 23, 1948 Rocky fought his 5th professional fight and knocked out Eddie Ross at 1:03 of the first round. He fought eleven times during the second half of 1948, scoring eight first round knockouts and two second Story Continues page 8

ROCKY MARCIANO’S TOUGHEST FIGHT

...and “BOOM” Marciano landed a right against Joe Louis’s jaw that sent him through the ropes with one leg hanging inside the ring.

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Photo by Stanley Weston Rocky Marciano vs Joe Louis 951

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round knockouts. One opponent made it to the third. Marciano even with this success had poor balance, defense skills and little understanding of how to throw a jab or hook. Goldman his trainer taught him how to stand properly for balance and

left hook which left him unconscious and in a coma how to get maximum power in his punches. He also taught him to fight from the crouch to compensate for his lack of height and the fundamentals of defense and body shots.

Retrained and refined Rocky started 1949 with four knockout fights. On October 10th Rocky 20and 0 with 19 knockout step into the ring against a tough “Tiger” Ted Lowry who fought 115 fights 58 of them wins, 48 losses with 9 draws. Marciano was beaten up pretty badly in the fight but won the decision after the 10th round. Decem-

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ber 2nd of the same year he fought in New York City for the first time on the under-card for a heavyweight fight. He knocked out his opponent Pat Richards in the second round. He fought again just a few weeks later on the 30th of December again in New York taking on Carmine Vingo. Carmine was a 20 year old New Yorker with 16 wins and 17 fights. The fight was brutal a real slug fest, Marciano lost his feet more then several times but never went down. Vingo was knocked down three times always getting back up at the count of nine and charging back at Rocky. In round six it was the end of Vingo, Marciano toyed with him like a cat toys with its pray before finishing him off. Vingo was knocked out by a left hook which left him unconscious and in a coma that lasted a week. Vingo never returned to the ring. In all Rocky fought thirteen times in 1949 and ended the year with a 25-and-0 record.

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n March 24,1950 Rocky returned to Madison Square Garden to face another New Yorker Roland LaStarza who was undefeated in 37 bouts.

This was considered Marciano’s first big fight and first

of his fights to be on TV. The fight would go the distance with a 10 round split decision that would go in Rocky’s favor. Marciano would go on to fight 6 fights in 1950 in winning them all increasing his record to 35-and-0.

On July 12 Rocky would meet his next big opponent Rex Lyne with a fight scheduled for ten rounds at Madison Square Garden. Layne was a 23 yearly old with one loss out of his 37 fights. This was considered a fight where Marciano was the underdog and not favored to win.

Rocky came out like a lion out of its cage and in the sixth round knocked Layne out cold for the count. It was after this fight that Marciano was beginning to be looked at not just as a real contender but also as a symbol as an All-American boy.

Then came the ten confrontation of the scheduled ten round bout, Marciano vs Joe Louis at Madison Square Garden on October 26 1951. Louis had been heavyweight champion from 1937 through his retirement in 1949. He came back to fight a year later and fought Ezzard Charles and lost a fifteen round decision but won eight fight thereafter. For Marciano fighting Joe Louis was fighting his idol

but would also be a huge stepping stone. Joe Louis was three inches taller and twenty-five pounds heavier then Marciano. Louis was a skilled master of the sweet science and was the favorite to win though his ripe age of 37 might have been looked at as a disadvantage. In round one Marciano staggered Louis with an overhand right. Louis then responded pounding Marciano’s face with jabs. By the sixth round Louis was looking tired and Marciano began to pursue his opponent. In the eighth round Marciano forced Louis against the ropes and with a short left hook rattled Louis, he lost his feet and was flat on his back. But Louis got back up, he was not out of it yet, Marciano charged after him, Louis was back up against the ropes and Marciano let two power left hooks go right onto Louis’s chin. He was still on his feet but they were jello, his eyes were tired and “BOOM” Marciano landed a right against Joe Louis’s jaw that sent him through the ropes with one leg hanging inside the ring. This was a big victo-

ry for Rocky and now his sights were set on the heavyweight championship which he would have his shot at in 1952.

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ince the Joe Louis fight Rocky took some time off and it was not until February 13, 1952 he would have his next match against Lee Savold which ended with a sixth round knockout.

Rocky would continue to fight 3 more fights winning them all by knockout before meeting Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight title, September 23, 1952 at Municipal Stadium in Philadelphia.

The fight brought 40,000 in attendance with an additional 140,000 watching the bout on TV. In the first round Walcott dropped Marciano with a wicked left hook to his jaw. Marciano for the first time met the canvas in his professional career but

“Then - BANG!! It hit me. I still don’t know what hit me. I couldn’t even try to get up.” rose at the count of four and charged forward throwing punches. In the sixth round an accidental head butt opened cuts on both of them, though Marciano started to gain control of the fight. In round seven though Marciano had trouble seeing.

Something was burning in his eyes and weather it was coming from Walcott or his corner is something which can still be debated today. Even with his eyes burning Marciano kept at the champion never giving up. Between rounds Marciano’s cut man would take a soaked sponge and douse his eyes with water and in the ninth round his vision was beginning clear. In the eleventh round about halfway in Walcott hit Marciano with a body shot that sent Marciano wincing in pain, bending over only by luck being saved by the bell. Walcott had regained control of the fight and was winning the score cards which meant that Marciano need to knock Walcott out. It was the thirteenth round, thirty seconds into it Marciano had Walcott up against the ropes, they were exchanging blows for blows and then it came, Marciano landed a paralyzing blow to the jaw and Walcott froze, legs turned to jello and he collapsed. Walcott said in his dressing room, “I don't remember anything. I don't know if it was a right or a left. I wasn’t tired; I 10

KAYO • Febuary 2014

Rocky Marciano

felt good; I was setting my own pace. Then - BANG!! It hit me. I still don't know what hit me. I couldn’t even try to get up.” Rocky Marciano was the heavyweight champion of the world.

Rocky would defend his title with a rematch fight against Jersey Joe Walcott on May 15, 1953. He knocked Walcott out in the first round. He would go on to defend his title five more times with his last fight on September 21, 1955. Rocky Marciano retired from boxing in 1956 at the age of 32. As a professional, he won 49 straight fights of which 43 were by knockout.

Alias: The Brockton Blockbuster Birth Name: Rocco Francis Marchegiano Country: USA Hometown: Brockton, Massachusetts, USA Birthplace: Brockton, Massachusetts, USA Division: Heavyweight Born: 1923-09-01 Died: 1969-08-31 Stance: Orthodox Reach: 170cm Height: 180cm

At 45 years old on August 31, 1969, one day before his birthday Rocky Marciano was killed in a tragic plane crash in a field near Newton, Iowa. Still after his death it is estimated that his money, as much as two million dollars by some estimates has never been found. Rocky had a distrust for banks and hid large sums of money in curtain rods, light fixtures, toilets, and cities unknown.

Date

Opponent

Location

Result

Date

Opponent

Location

Result

1955-09-21

Archie Moore

Bronx, NY

W KO 9

1949-05-23

Don Mogard

Providence, RI

W UD 10

1955-05-16

Don Cockell

San Francisco, CA W TKO 9

1949-05-02

Jimmy Evans

Providence, RI

W TKO 3

1954-09-17

Ezzard Charles

Bronx, NY

W KO 8

1949-04-11

Jimmy Walls

Providence, RI

W KO 3

1954-06-17

Ezzard Charles

Bronx, NY

W UD 15

1949-03-28

Artie Donato

Providence, RI

W KO 1

1953-09-24

Roland LaStarza

New York, NY

W TKO 11

1949-03-21

Johnny Pretzie

Providence, RI

W TKO 5

1953-05-15

Jersey Joe Walcott

Chicago, IL

W KO 1

1948-12-14

Gilley Ferron

Philadelphia, PA

W TKO 2

His record still stands today, he entered the ring forty-nine times and emerged victorious all forty-nine times.

1952-09-23

Jersey Joe Walcott

Philadelphia, PA

W KO 13

1948-11-29

James Patrick Connolly Providence, RI

W TKO 1

1952-07-28

Harry Matthews

Bronx, NY

W KO 2

1948-10-04

Bob Jefferson

Providence, RI

W TKO 2

1952-05-12

Bernie Reynolds

Providence, RI

W KO 3

1948-09-30

Gilbert Cardone

Washington, DC

W KO 1

1952-04-21

A bit about the photographer Stanley Weston Photographs by Stanley Weston, the grandfather of Patrick Scholz. Stanley was a prolific American sportswriter, sports photographer and artist. He promoted the sport of boxing in innumerable ways throughout his career. An outstanding boxing artist, he painted 57 covers for The Ring magazine with his first cover, a painting of Billy Conn, for the December 1939 issue. He is said to have shot over 100,000 boxing photos including these of Rocky Marciano.

He was also an author who penned several of the definitive books on boxing history, including History of the Heavyweights, The Heavyweight Champions, The Best of The Ring, The Chronicle of Boxing and, with Steve Farhood, The Ring: Boxing the 20th Century which, according to amzon.com, ranks as one of the top 15 “must-have” boxing books of all time.

Stanley Weston was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2006.

Gino Buonvino

Providence, RI

W KO 2

1948-09-20

Bill Hardeman

Providence, RI

W KO 1

1952-02-13

Lee Savold

Philadelphia, PA

W RTD 6

1948-09-13

Humphrey Jackson

Providence, RI

W KO 1

1951-10-26

Joe Louis

New York, NY

W TKO 8

1948-08-30

Jimmy Weeks

Providence, RI

W TKO 1

1951-08-27

Freddie Beshore

Boston, MA

W KO 4

1948-08-23

Eddie Ross

Providence, RI

W KO 1

1951-07-12

Rex Layne

New York, NY

W KO 6

1948-08-09

Bobby Quinn

Providence, RI

W KO 3

1951-04-30

Willis Applegate

Providence, RI

W UD 10

1948-07-19

John Edwards

Providence, RI

W KO 1

1951-03-26

Art Henri

Providence, RI

W TKO 9

1948-07-12

Harry Bilazarian

Providence, RI

W TKO 1

1951-03-20

Harold Mitchell

Hartford, CT

W TKO 2

1947-03-17

Lee Epperson

Holyoke, MA

W KO 3

1951-01-29

Keene Simmons

Providence, RI

W TKO 8

1950-12-18

Bill Wilson

Providence, RI

W TKO 1

1950-11-13

Ted Lowry

Providence, RI

W UD 10

1950-09-18

Johnny Shkor

Providence, RI

W TKO 6

1950-07-10

Gino Buonvino

Boston, MA

W TKO 10

1950-06-05

Eldridge Eatman

Providence, RI

W TKO 3

1950-03-24

Roland LaStarza

New York, NY

W SD 10

1949-12-30

Carmine Vingo

New York, NY

W KO 6

1949-12-19

Phil Muscato

Providence, RI

W TKO 5

1949-12-02

Pat Richards

New York, NY

W TKO 2

1949-11-07

Joe Dominic

Providence, RI

W KO 2

1949-10-10

Ted Lowry

Providence, RI

W UD 10

1949-09-26

Tommy DiGiorgio

Providence, RI

W KO 4

1949-08-16

Pete Louthis

NewBedford, MA W KO 3

1949-07-18

Harry Haft

Providence, RI

W KO 3

Record to Date Won 49 (KOs 43) Lost 0 Drawn 0 Total 49