Lennox Lewis vs Rocky Marciano in their prime, who would win? Would it resemble the Evander Holyfield vs?

Question

Riddick Bowe fights? Smaller man slug it out with bigger man showing alot of heart...

Answer 1

I really can't add anything to James, Aceman or Blogbabba's answers. If Hasim Rahman and Oliver McCall can knock out Lewis so can Rocky. I always have a problem rating Lewis because of those losses. Rocky would need to get underneath and inside Lewis's jab, but he did fight and beat taller heavier fighters in his career so it's not like that's something he didn't do before .

Answer 2

Lewis will win easily.  Lennox wasn't just a huge heavyweight, he was also a highly skilled boxer-puncher and an excellent ring tactician.  He had no problem with both big (Golota) and small (Tyson) heavyweights, always keeping them at bay with his long and crisp left jab, which was one of the best in the division.  He also had decent KO power, especially with the right hand.  Marciano was a small heavyweight, even smaller and much much lighter than Tyson.  He couldn't box long range because of his very short reach so his strategy was to come inside at all costs and land one of his power punches hoping to send his opponent down for good.  Against Lewis, however, he wouldn't be able to do that without getting hit big time by Lewis' jabs and crosses.  And since Marciano was cut-prone, his face would surely be a mess before he could land his vaunted KO punch, if he could land at all.  Lewis would simply be too crafty, too tall and too long for Rock to hit.  I'd say Lewis will win either by UD or by stoppage inside 8 rounds due to cuts on Marciano's face.

Answer 3

You know it would be interesting to see if Rocky would get past Lennox's jab. IF he could do that, I think he would knock Lewis out cold. Rocky was a rugged, tough, son of a gun with fists of rock. Lennox has a GREAT right hand and knocked out many of a guy, but I think that Rocky would get on the inside, and as we know Lennox's chin is NOT the greatest, then catch him and put him to sleep

Answer 4

Lewis would win and I dont think it would resemble holyfield vs bowe fights.

Answer 5

Well the official ROCKY homer is here to say that Marciano was down only twice in his career and recovered to kayo his opponents. And both fighters were all time greats. People can argue that modern conditioning, steroids, e.t.c. and the size of todays fighters would be no match for the old timers. Wrong, sometimes the size of a heart will overcome the size of a man. And nobody had more heart, stamina or chin like ''The Brockton Blockbuster''. Judge him all u want but he beat everyone in his era and retired undefeated. No other heavyweight can say that.

Lewis was a underrated champion who had a great jab and an awesome right hand. His achilles heal was his chin, one good shot and he would go down. And trust me if Rocky Marciano could land his legendary right Lewis would be out like a light. His only chance would be to try and box and stop Rock on cuts or go for the dec.

And one thing people forget was the unbeleivable training regime Rocky would do. How many fighters nowadays punch nonstop into a bucket of beach sand? Or shadow box underwater with dumbells in their hands? Or do 10-15 miles of roadwork a day? Like I said earlier the ones who say the conditioning and size of fighters nowadays would be too much need to watch videos of the old greats, when fighters were real men not like nowadays when they pull a muscle and call off a fight.

Rocky within 10 hard fought rounds.

Great question as always Gannoway.

Additional: And yes I said dumbells in a pool. I have the video and u can go on Rocky Marciano's official website and purchase old workout videos to see for yourself. Never knew one of my answers would start such a $hitstorm! lol. I feel special now. LMAO.

Answer 6

This is a much smaller man - these questions are impossible.  Everyone is talking about Rocky punching power being a deciding factor....do you all think Michael Moorer, when he was a light heavyweight (basically the same size as Marciano) and knocked out every fighter they put in front of him could have stepped in the ring, at 188 pounds, and knockout Lennox Lewis?  Lewis didn't have a great chin, and therefore I would have trouble picking him against a lot of the very good modern heavyweights, but he stood up to punches from Shannon Briggs best shots, Holyfield's, Vitali's, Tyson, Morrison, etc. all of them were much bigger the Rocky Marciano.  Heart, guts, determination are important, but when you are slower, prone to cuts, techincally and physically inferior, and in with a world class fighter you have NO chance.

That said, if you were to compare their standing in history, based on accomplishments and other intangibles - Rocky ranks higher in my book: 49-0 is sort of mythical, that big right hand, always moving forward, KO's against Joe Louis, Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore - he one of the heroes in the history of the sport, that definately counts for something too.

Answer 7

But Lennox Lewis is far bigger than Rocky and his style is far different too....

....Poor Rocky will borrow face from dog.

Answer 8

Lennox Lewis

Answer 9

Back when Hearns and Camacho both fought on the same card in Detroit I ran into Lewis just about the time he and Emanuel Stewart started working together.  Lennox and I sat together during the fights and talked most of the night, and he didn't seem like the giant you guys seem to make him out to be, just like a normal person to me, and I am not a particularly large person.  To make this question even worse, I like the Lennox, he is really is a class act, intelligent, well spoken and very knowledgeable about boxing.   As a fighter he had great power, and an extremely dangerous jab, all the offense one would expect of a great heavyweight champion.   I have a great deal of respect for his accomplishments, and consider myself a Lennox Lewis fan.

But I am also a realist, and if Haseem Rockmon and Oliver McCall could KO Lennox, you have to figure Rocky Marciano would have eventually done the same, in spite of the physical differences.   Michael Moore was a foot shorter than Mike "the gaint" White, and granted White was the first to go the distance with Moorer, but Mike still dominated the much bigger man.  Neither Moorer nor White had anywhere near the ability of Marciano or Lewis, but Moorer/White is a good example of a smaller fighter with heart and power taking out a bigger guy.

I say Lennox's chin betrays him mid way through the fight and Marciano KO's Lewis, Rocky was a h**l of a lot more dangerous that Rockmon or McCall, and if they could KO Lewis, so could Marciano.

The Holyfield comparison has a great deal of validity, and Lewis did well against Evander but I don't believe Evander had the power Marciano brought into the ring.  Evander (with the exception of the Buster Douglas KO) was not a one punch KO artist, Holyfield wore his opponents down with combinations to produce most of his knockouts.  Marciano had the ability to drop a bomb and put away people with one shot.  A chin like Lennox sports would eventually get tested by Rocky, and I just don't think it would have passed.

Marciano by KO inside of 10 rounds.

Answer 10

good question.I see boxings Beavis and Butthead are back(Aceman and Blogbabble)with their intoxicating drivlle'he'd a punched him on thechin on the right side,and 'he'd a punched him to the ribs and cos the bolo punch wasnt invented Rock would have give him Suzy Q,and Lewis down for good!!etc etc,well,they Aceman your right,though dwarfed by Leweis Marciano had the strenghth and courage of a lion,Lewis Ko round 8 if Blogbabble didnt put a curse on him.That's Blogbabble 1/2!!

Answer 11

I really enjoyed watching Rocky fight and I'm old enough to remember his fights.  He faced some stiff competition and some stiffs, but he always put everything into his fights and made the other guy fight.

However, even though I'd rank him in the top 10 and not rank Lewis the same, Lewis would outpoint him by using his superior jab and height and - something Rocky lacked - footwork.

Lewis by majority decision.

Answer 12

Marciano never faced anyone of Lewis´ size and power. He would be dwarfed against Lewis, and it would in reality be a fight between a cruiserweight and a super-heavyweight. Normally an easy pick, but we ARE talking about Rocky Marciano here!

The key is Marciano's chin. If he had what it takes to stand up to Lewis for the first 6-7 rounds, he would win. Lewis would tire badly and Marciano would start to get under his long reach and land powerful shots. I think Marciano would survive. In his fights I never saw him hurt, and even though he fought smaller opponents than Lewis, the way he took some of those shots tells me he would stand up to Lewis as well. He would get hurt, and possibly wobbled a few times early on. Maybe even get knocked down, but in the end he would win.

Rocky Marciano by KO 8th rd.

Answer 13

aceman and james are you guys serious?? Once again hero worship comes in the way of simple logical reasoning, by today's standards marciano wouldn't even be a heavy weight, that been said, it is completely stupid to believe that Marciano's power would be a deciding factor after all Tyson and holyfield packed a LOT of power and were much better technically than Rocky and that was not enough to beat Lennox, I have said this before, some people tend to pick their favorite boxers and completely disregard common sense, Marciano was slow, and a brawler and when you take into consideration the weight difference it is really NOT THAT HARD to see who would win in this fight, i am sorry but hearts and guts are not always enough to win fights and this case they definetely would not be enough for Rocky Marciano.

Answer 14

ericktravel and peter H pretty much summed it up, i know there are a lot of people who still idolize Marciano especially on this forum,but I think it is time for people to get real, Marciano was too light and slow, he had virtually no foot work and his technique was rudimentary, Lennox is a modern day heavyweight champion, powerful,technical and very accurate and remember that styles make fights, and despite Marciano's remarkable power, Lewis could play with him all day long after all, power alone does not win fights, (If that was the case foreman and shavers would be the best fighters in the universe) If this fight ever occured it would be an easy decision for Lewis.