Rocky Marciano: He started boxing to avoid working in the military. Until recently, he was the only heavyweight who never lost

The name Rocky comes to mind thanks to the fictional film character portrayed by Sylvester Stallone in the series of the same name. The character is named after the legendary boxer who, like the film Rocky, had Italian roots. That legend is Rocky Marciano. For many years, the only heavyweight to never lose.

One of the best boxers in history made it big at 18 months

Rocky Marciano was born on September 1, 1923 in Brockton, America, to Italian immigrants. He was already big at birth, reportedly weighing nearly 5.5 kg. At 18 months old, he already had to fight a big battle when he had to beat severe pneumonia.

He had been playing baseball since he was young, and after coming to high school he also played football, but once he was kicked off the team he began to have attendance problems and did not finish school. Because of this, he had a hard time finding a job, so he tried different careers.

Basically, nothing in his life suggested that he would one day become a legendary boxer.

His life was fundamentally changed by World War II

At the age of 20, Rocky was drafted into the army at the height of World War II. It was here that Marciano’s talent for boxing became apparent, and he took up boxing for one reason – he wanted to avoid jobs such as helping out with the cooking.

He didn’t even finish his first ever non-professional fight, kicking his opponent in the groin in sheer exhaustion and was disqualified. After that, he started taking boxing seriously. He stopped smoking and drinking alcohol, but it still wasn’t his dream. Moreover, during one of his training sessions he injured one of the joints in his left hand so much that he even heard a prognosis that he would never be allowed to box again.

When he left the army in 1946, he tried to find a career in baseball. That didn’t work out. After one of his rejections, he had a dream of becoming a professional boxer. And that’s where it all began. He managed to dominate one amateur tournament that year, but his amateur record of 8 wins and 4 losses did not suggest a great career.

Marciano worked hard and developed several new methods and techniques

To prepare himself for the professional career, Rocky worked hard. He used to run 7 miles in heavy training shoes, and he honed the hardness of his punches by training in the water, which was a big novelty at the time.

In 1948, the moment finally arrived when one of the most amazing chapters in world boxing began to be written. Marciano made his professional debut and won his first fight out of 49.

Champion, record holder and legend

Rocky Marciano’s career was not a long one. After all, he started it in 1948 and ended it in 1956 when he was only 32 years old. He won the world title on September 23, 1952 when he defeated Joe Walcott in a legendary match. This match is still ranked among the best in history.

Against Walcott, Marciano went down for the first time, losing on points after 12 rounds. He needed to knock his opponent out and he actually did that in the 13th round. It’s worth noting that the fight took place in Philadelphia, a city later made famous by the fictional Rocky Balboa.

Marciano went on to defend his title six more times. He finished his career with a record of 49 fights without a loss or draw, winning 43 of them by knockout. He was the first heavyweight boxer ever to finish his career without a single loss.

Only recently the legendary Tyson Fury did the same, but he has one draw.

No one in the boxing world had a record like Marciano’s for a long time, until in 2015 he was matched by the equally famous Floyd Mayweather, who eventually surpassed him when he defeated Conor McGregor in his 50th fight.

It’s worth noting that Rocky also beat Joe Louis on his way to boxing history, a man who is considered by many experts to be the best boxer of all time. However, it took a while for Marciano to shake off the excessive respect he had for his idol.

Marciano died at the age of 45 in a plane crash while travelling to celebrate his 46th birthday, which he did not live to see.

Source: Sportskeeda, BoxRec, Boxing News