The Formula for Greatness
Rocky batters Archie Moore.
What was it that made Marciano a successful fighter? A combination of factors molded The Rock. He was fortunate in having Charlie Goldman as a trainer and teacher, a man who knew how to work with a fighter's strengths as well as his weaknesses.(It was Goldman who tied a piece of cord between Rocky's ankles to keep him from throwing wild, off balance punches.)
He had the natural physical strength, as well as the heart that all great fighters must have. And he had determination.
"He trained himself down to that fine condition, he trained himself fanatically, because that type of fighter...has to be able to take the punishment early in the fight while the other fighter is fresh, until he starts to wade through the punches and wear his opponent down.
It's the toughest kind of fighter to be and that's why there've been so few great fighters in the heavyweight division of that kind. Dempsey, Marciano, Frazier, all of a type. Indomitable will, get knocked down, get up, keep coming on until they just impose themselves on their opponents no matter who they were." Larry Merchant on Marciano.
Toughness
First and foremost, Marciano was tough! A man who seemed impervious to pain or the fear of pain. Who could take and ignore the hard punches of his opponents.
"If Marciano's jaw isn't made of iron, it's at least made of poured concrete."Arthur Daley
Self Confidence
A fighter must believe he will win the fight. Many fighters talk like they expect to win, but often what they say and what they really believe are two different things. Rocky always felt he could beat whoever he fought.
"He goes in for a fight the way I go in for a beer."Charlie Goldman.
"Well, he'll have to prove it to me. I do understand that he is a confident man and I guess most of the challengers have been that way, also." Marciano to reporter on Archie Moore's saying he expected to beat Rocky.
"I just think that in my prime, I could have fought with anybody alive."Rocky in retirement.
"Before a big fight, Marciano is as nervous as a fire hydrant."Life Magazine,1952.
"I never saw a fighter so confident, so sure every punch he was throwing was the knockout." Jack Hurley, Harry "Kid" Matthew's manager
"If I said I could beat Patterson, you'd think I was bragging. If I said I couldn't, I'd be lying." Rocky to a group of high school kids about then champ Floyd Patterson
Conditioning
Marciano trained religiously, never letting himself get out of shape between fights, and going into the gym months before a bout. He would run 9 miles a day. He was as well conditioned as any fighter that ever stepped into a ring, able to attack as relentlessly for 15 rounds as most heavyweights can for 4-5 rounds. Why did Marciano never clinch? A clinch is for the fighter who is either tired or hurt. He was never tired or hurt. That is not to say he wasn't cut, but that he was never hurt in the way of someone who looks like they might not make it out of the round.
The two times in his career that The Rock was knocked down, by Walcott and by Moore, there was no doubt that he was getting back up. Between the two knock downs he spent a total of 7 seconds on the canvas.
Power
There is a page on this site devoted to Rocky's power punching. Suffice it to say, he hit VERY hard! His punches started from his toes, traveled up his tree-stump legs, and exploded from his short, powerful arms.
Recently(10/7/97), on Tuesday Night Fights this was said as Omar Shieka crumpled his opponent with bruising shots:
"You see the way he's putting power into his punches? That's how Mike Tyson and Rocky Marciano hit! A lot of fighters can't do that. Some things you can teach in the gym and some you have to have naturally." Sean O'Grady
Eye of the Tiger
It is doubtful Rocky ever heard the phrase, but he surely had it. That relentless attack on the oposition, never backing down, never lettng them control the fight, coming at them like a hungry tiger. There could not have been any more agressive fighter than Marciano, since every one of his fights had him constantly advancing,swinging from every angle, asking no quarter and giving none. Like Dempsey in his early fights, Rocky was a mauling, battering natural force.
"Marciano was an ultra agressive fighter." Joe Frazier
"The bell would ring he'd be on you. The bell ring he'd stop. The bell would ring again and he'd be right back on you. He was relentless." George Foreman
Determination
Call it will power, call it unquenchable fighting spirit. Whatever the term, Marciano is the definition. He was dedicated to winning every fight, willing to take whatever punishment it required, training for months on end; losing was not an option. Because he'd lost a couple of close decisions in the amateurs, Rocky tried to take the matter out of the hands of the judges by knocking his opponent out, as he did 43 of 49 times.
"The kid's got nothing as a boxer, but he's got a helluva punch and plenty of determination." Charlie Goldman's report to Al Weil after seeing Rocky.
"He was the most determined heavyweight I have ever seen in my life. That man got in the ring and there was no way he was going to lose... Determination is based in the mind. How far can you go? What is your limit? With Marciano there was no limit." Floyd Patterson, heavyweight champion.
"Don't ever tell me how good a guy is. I don't want to know. I've got to beat them all." Marciano's response to being told in an early fight that his opponent was 15-1 with 14 KO's. (Rocky was 3-0)
"I can't afford to slip up even once. I've got to win every time out. And I can do it." Marciano to sportswriter after his knockout of Rex Layne.
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