If Rocky Marciano fought Mike Tyson, George Foreman, or Muhammed Ali who would win?

Question

If Rocky Marciano fought Mike Tyson, George Foreman, or Muhammed Ali who would win?

Answer 1

The only one he would have had a chance with is Tyson. Marciano was a bull and would not have been intimidated by Tyson. Tyson was bigger and quicker, but I think when Marciano came back at him hard, tough and composed, he would have broken Tyson, just like Holyfield did in their first fight. Holyfield laid out the blue print for taking apart Tyson in that fight and Marciano would have been physically and mentally capable of doing the same thing himself. Even then, Tyson at his very, very best, in his initial title run, might have had the physical ability to end the fight quickly.

George Foreman, in his prime, I believe would have demolished Rocky Marciano--it would have been a terrible mismatch for Marciano. I'm basing my opinion quite a bit on the way Foreman demolished Frasier. Frasier, like Marciano, was a great heavyweight champ, as tough as any fighter ever, and he just didn't match up well at all with Foreman, and got clobbered.

I don't believe any heavyweight in history beats Ali at his very best. His combination of perfect body type, athletic ability, mental toughness, physical intelligence and pure will are unmatched in the history of the division.    

Answer 2

A prime Tyson WITH ROONEY would own all fighters.  The best chance for Rocky would be to stick and move away and try to stretch out the fight as long as possible.   Though one Tyson uppercut to the chin puts The Rock out!  Against Foreman Rocky must due a similar tactic of staying away from the bombs.  If little Rocky get nailed its good night again.  Though Rocky did avoid punches well and whereas Tyson had speed to match power Foreman did not, therefore Rock takes this one in 7 rounds.  Against Ali Rocky needs to win on points because he does not have the power to KO Ali.  He must outstrategize Ali and avoid and counter Ali's punches.  Though he won't avoid ALL of Ali's punches with Ali's speed.  So Rocky goes down in 10.

Answer 3

marciano would beat tyson, as the rock has more heart and would want it more....tyson on the other hand got frustrated when things didn't go his way, and he's falter.

foreman would kayo marciano, and ali would outpoint him rather easily, or stop him late.

Answer 4

Tyson shouldn't even be included in the question...... now moving on.

George Forman could break ribs he hit so hard, very devastating puncher

Ali in his prime was a heavyweight with the hand speed and quickness of a lightweight, something no other heavyweight has possed past or present.

Answer 5

I'll not waste to much time answering this Question as it will always be speculative. The main Differences that Marciano faced was there was only one true Honest Champion and no such thing as a Cruiser Weight division. Granted today he would have been fighting in the cruiser weight division and i'm certain there are those who would find excuses for him to loose against one or two previous cruiser weight champions. So do i think he would have beaten any of the mentioned former Champions.My answer is i honestly do not know as each fighter had his attributes that made him a Champion and who ever would beat who would depend on how well they were able to over come that which made them great....

Answer 6

Every decade athletes specialize more. The time period doesn't allow Rocky to win.  

Answer 7

Marciano vs. Tyson = Marciano

Marciano vs. Foreman = Foreman

Marciano vs. Ali = Ali

Answer 8

One thing for certain, Rocky was the better conditioned fighter of them all. His 187lbs. was the epitome of a fighter whose body was suberbly conditioned without excess weight. He had the stamina,heart,and punching power to knockout all three of those fighters.If either of those fighters didn't bring their A+ Game,They might find themselves with another LOSS on their records. And in response to: He didn't fight anybody, The World has an enormous population and he just happened to be The Champion of The World. Right, Jersey Joe ?

Answer 9

All these styles Rocky would have had trouble with. Tyson was short and compact. His early days from 1985-88,89 he was powerful and quick. He could ko you but also had good defense. If he could not take Rocky out by 8 he would lose a decision to the well conditioned Rock.

George Foreman would just be too big and strong for the Rock. He would come at George which would be his downfall. George should blast him out in 3 maybe 4.

Muhammad Ali 15 round decision with speed. He said in the computer fight that Rocky was harder to hit than people think. It would have to be Ali at his best however to win.  

Answer 10

Marciano would get beat badly. I'm not knocking Marciano but you should ask if he were to fight Tarver, Dawson, Calzaghe, Hopkins, Pavlik, and Haye. Marciano was much smaller than Tyson, Foreman, and Ali. As far as fighting any lightheavy or cruiser, Marciano would be P4P the best.

Answer 11

This is a very good question.  Though we've seen discussions of "Marciano vs "Pick one" many times before, the question is interesting by the way it's presented.

Marciano would have his best chance against Tyson but, still, it would be no easy task for him.  IT's not "Popular" to pick against Marciano, especially if the very "Unpopular" Tyson is the pick.  

Two of the most unrealistic topics on this board are:

1. Marciano's record and people's belief that he would never have been defeated had he fought others.

2. People's general dislike for Tyson and the belief, by some, that he would have been destroyed easily by many other greats.

FACT: Marciano would NOT have been undefeated had he fought in another era.  It's not his fault that there wasn't much competition during his time.  To his credit, he fought the best avaliable competition.

FACT: Win, Lose or Draw,  NO ONE would have had an easy night with a Prime Tyson.  Some would certainly beat him but it wouldn't be easy.

IF you take each fighter "AS IS",  Marciano would not have much chance to defeat any of these fighters.  He was probably the best conditioned Hvt. of all.  However, he was Much too small.  He would certainly beat many of the BIG men but lose to the very best of them.  

Marciano would last longer against Forman than Frazier did.  He punched a bit harder than Joe and also took a slightly better punch.  He would lose on points to ALI, or get stopped on cuts late in the fight.

Tyson's best chance would be to blast Rocky out early.  There is a very good chance of this happening as Tyson was about 30lbs heavier.    He was also much faster and stronger, espically in the early going.  Given the styles, it's not likely that Rocky would get through the fight without taking  a few hard shots to the chin.  He would land his share but not enough to deter Tyson's early on-rush.  

One thing Tyson is often given no credit for is his chin.  He has one of the best chins in boxing.  Look at all his losses and knockdowns.  Tyson was NEVER hit hard enough to be knocked down or out with one shot.  He was rocked by Tony Tucker but that was because he had Horrible balance.  Look at Tyson's calves.  I had always maintained that he was under-developed in this area.  Then there was the Holyfield knockdown.  Again, that was the result of Mike's poor balance.  Lewis KO'd him but after wearing him down.  

Tyson's other glaring weakness was his suspect stamina.   Even during his Prime, Tyson was never effective in the later rounds.  

In the real world,  Marciano would train differently and come in at around 202lbs.  He gives up a little speed but gains in power and endurance.  Any higher than 205lbs and he gives up too much.  People don't realize that Rocky walked around between fights at around 210lbs.  He Chose to melt down to 189lbs.  In a different era, he would have trained differently.

At 202lbs.  I still see Rocky losing to George Forman.  Styles make fights and, though he would not take as many punches as did Frazier, he would still take too many.  

Forman by KO in 5

Against ALI the added weight might not help Rocky much.  He would press on in the later part of the fight.  However, at 189lb. he just wouldn't be able to seriously hurt ALI.  At 202lbs. He would sacrifice speed and lose on cuts late in the fight.  He would cause a scare and maybe knock ALI down.  However, he would fail to keep him down.

ALI by TKO in 13

Against Tyson, Rocky loses at 189.  He's just too small.  IF he can effectively carry about 202lbs.  He has his best chance against Tyson.  Rocky would certainly catch some of Tyson's best leather in the early going.  however, the extra weight would allow him to wade through some of the barrage and land his own shots.  

Shot for Shot,  Tyson still would have the edge.  He would also take a better punch.  However, Tyson has always had problems with stamina.  Rocky might suffer a bit here as well but he would not have the stamina problems Tyson has.

Rocky would survive one or two early knockdowns and begin to work the body, something many of Tyson's opponents never did.  Rocky would press on and cause Tyson to spend himself by the middle rounds.  Heart is another thing Tyson isn't often given credit for.  He has a tremendous Heart.  It's his Poor Stamina and Balance that often betrayed him.

One thing Rocky isn't often given credit for is the fact that he was not as easy to hit as many thought.  He wasn't one of the best late round fighters in history because of his ability to take a punch ALONE.  He often slipped many punches as well.  

Rocky was always still fresh in the later rounds where Tyson was Rarely fresh after about round 6.  If, at 202lbs.  Rocky could survive Tyson's early rush, he wins late.  Tyson could take a lot of punishment but after a while he reaches his limit.  

IT's a stretch as it's not very likely that Tyson would lose to any of the fighters of his type.   Marciano was too small.  Dempsey wasn't strong enough and would fail to hurt Mike early.  Frazier was to easy to hit and vulnerable to the chin.

Rocky 189 has little chance.  He's just too small.

Rocky 202 would have a much better chance.  Tyson still has the slight edge here but there is a chance Rocky could survive to the middle rounds.  IF so,  He stops Tyson in 12.