Joel strives to be a good person, but his developmental difficulties and poor socialization constantly stand in his way. For example, asking him a simple question like "How are you doing?" will result in a detailed and annoying long-winded answer. 

Despite this, he saved the life of a friend suffering from a seizure. He rescued an elderly couple from a vicious wolf. He acts as a role model for an 8 year-old boy. He takes care of a pet turtle. He is very intelligent and articulate in book smarts but childish in maturity. He is impulsive, rarely thinking about the consequences of his actions. He is lonely, always in search of a friend or love interest. At the time of his death, the animals in the forest are his closest friends.

Have you seen the movie, Joker? If so, you’re familiar with pseudobulbar affect, which is involuntary laughter at inappropriate times. Joel suffers from this, which greatly hurts his socialization. He also suffers from low latent inhibition, causing him to overly process minor things that most people routinely look over. He was also diagnosed with frontal lobe autism spectrum disorder, bipolar 1 disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and constipation. Yes, that's right. Constipation.
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He was sloppy. He was crude. He lacked skill, speed, finesse and grace in the ring. But the boy could punch, and given Jack Johnson’s suspect chin, Tony has a chance in this fight. But before we get to that, let’s dissect Tony’s career and style. My primary focus will be on his most famous fight, where he twice hurt The Brown Bomber Joe Louis, even flooring him once.

Joe Louis was in his prime and destroying his opposition so quickly and easily that his opponents were nicknamed “Bums of the month.” Joe wound up being heavyweight champion for nearly 12 years and defended the championship a record 25 times. One of the guys he defended his crown against during this time was “Two-Ton” Tony Galento.

Tony was one of boxing’s first trash talkers. When asked once about Joe Louis, Tony replied by saying, “I’ve never heard of the bum.” 

During the weeks leading up to their fight, Tony would repeatedly call Louis and say, “I’m gonna moida ya bum,” and then slam down the receiver. Louis generally kept a stoic face and a cool head, but Galento wound up being one of the few fighters to piss him off. Louis even said to a reporter before the fight, “Why is that little fat man calling me a bum?” Not only did Galento hurt Joe in the ring, but he hurt the champ's feelings :(

Louis and Galento both sat down to discuss their infamous battle together in the video below. They went into detail on everything, including Joe mentioning how he planned to carry Tony for a long time to punish him for his trash talk, but got upset when Tony knocked him down, so he decided to end it fast. I must also point out that Joe always ended things quickly when an opponent hurt him or was a major threat to him. Galento is a great example of this, as was Max Baer, Jack Roper, Max Schmeling (rematch) and others.

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Put yourself in this situation. You’re a heavyweight boxer waiting for the bell to ring. Your opponent across the ring looks like a smooth-faced 17 year-old kid. He resembles a shy high school student. His trainer Cus D’Amato whispers words of encouragement in his young fighter’s ear.

The bell rings and your 5'11,189-pound opponent comes at you crouching and weaving with his hands up protecting his face as if he's playing a game of peek-a-boo. Once he's almost in range, you throw a jab but suddenly you see a bright light and the floor feels as if it rose and caught up with you. You lay on the ground in a daze. You never saw that left hook coming. It was impossibly fast and landed right on your chin with an explosive effect. Congratulations. You just went a few seconds with Floyd Patterson.

Let's try a different opponent. He has a physique men to this day are jealous of. He stands at 6'3, 220 pounds. The bell rings. You two circle each other a bit. He inches toward you, dragging his right foot. 

You throw a few jabs but he blocks them using a weird armadillo defense. You try another jab but before your lands, he's countered you with his own jab right to your face! You're surprised, but you try to jab again and he stuns you with another counter jab square on the nose. You finally say, “The hell with it,” and prepare to throw a mean hook, but he blasts you in the body with a body shot. As you grimace, he hits you in the jaw with a thunderous right hand. As you stagger backward and get caught by the ropes, you feel your jaw is really loose. It's broken. Congratulations. You just went one minute with Ken “The Jawbreaker” Norton.

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Both Patterson and Norton were vulnerable to the heavy-handed sluggers. Floyd was damn near killed by Sonny Liston on two occasions. Norton was easily destroyed by Foreman and Shavers. But throughout their careers, Patterson was down more times than Norton was. I don’t see Norton getting floored seven times in one fight by someone like Ingemar Johanson. That’s one of several reasons I feel that Norton had a better chin than Patterson.
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​Now let's fast forward back to 1962. It wasn’t until President John F. Kennedy expressed his wishes to see a Patterson-Liston fight that Floyd finally gave into peer pressure and offered Liston the title opportunity that he deserved for years.

Floyd was paralyzed with fear during both encounters with Sonny Liston. While Patterson doesn’t have the chin to ever survive Liston, he never gave himself a fair chance either. If you watch closely, Floyd was making Liston miss a lot of punches. His bobbing and weaving made him a hard target for Liston to initially hit. Instead of countering all of those missed punches the way Frazier or Tyson would have, Floyd just dodged the punches and waited to be hit. It didn’t take long. 
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What I’m saying is that if Floyd had thrown counter blows to the body and the chin, he could have given Sonny to think about, or at least made a better fight out of it. Floyd was so embarrassed that he wore disguises in public after the fight. He once said in an elevator that someone casually said, “Hi, Mr. Patterson” while Floyd was decked out in a disguise. Funny.

Given his reputation for getting knocked out by huge punchers, Ken Norton likely would have gone down against Liston too, but he would have been a tougher cookie for Liston to crumble than Patterson was. Muhammad Ali nick-named Patterson “the rabbit” for good reason.
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The black community was temporarily harsh on both of these men. In these blogs I rarely talk about things that happened outside the ring, but since both of these guys had trouble with the African American public at certain times, I feel the need to address it.
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Norton was criticized by playing a slave in the 1975  movie, Mandingo. Years earlier, former light heavyweight champion Archie Moore faced similar criticism for playing Jim in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But during Archie’s time, there were not many roles for African Americans that were not slaves, butlers, or dancing bug-eyed fools. Because of that, I don’t have a huge issue with Archie playing a slave. It was likely the only movie role he could get at that time in U.S. history.

By the 1970s, on the other hand, things had lightened up. For example, Duane Jones had already played the lead character in 1968’s Night Of The Living Dead. Ken Norton didn’t have to play a slave. He had more options. Because of this he was slammed by the black press.

Floyd Patterson was famously (and repeatedly) called an Uncle Tom by Muhammad Ali and other Civil Rights leaders. Here’s the thing. Guys like Joe Louis and Joe Frazier, for example, were not great speakers like an MLK, Muhammad Ali or Malcolm X. It just wasn’t their gift. The same is true of Floyd Patterson. But unlike Patterson, Louis and Frazier did what they could behind the scenes to make change for African Americans.

Joe Louis refused to entertain only white troops during WW2, and desegregated the United States Army as a result. Joe also desegregated the PGA golf program during the 1950s after his final retirement. Similarly, Joe Frazier stayed out of the spotlight with his good deeds also, most notably going to then-President Nixon to persuade him to give Muhammad Ali his boxing license back.

Louis and Frazier were not public civil rights activists, but they discreetly made change. Just because they were quiet about it didn’t make them “Uncle Toms” no matter what Ali said. That was wrong of him, especially publicly slamming Frazier, who went out of his way to give Ali a shot at his championship.
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That brings me to Floyd Patterson, who not only didn’t do anything to bring about change for his people, but openly sucked up to the white man. Floyd publicly said that Muhammad Ali was “not an American.” What the hell, dude? And he also refused to call him “Muhammad Ali,” instead referring to him as Cassius Clay. Some fellow boxers (both white and black) such as Joe Louis and Rocky Marciano, initially didn't agree with Ali's new name and other political statements, especially refusing the induction into the Army. But once they got to know him, they understood. Louis confirmed this in his autobiography, and Peter Marciano mentioned this in his interview on the Marciano v. Ali Computer Fight documentary. 

But even Marciano and Louis didn't publicly slam Ali the way that Patterson did, and for Patterson to say these things about another black man (especially one fighting for Civil Rights) was a blatant sell-out move in my opinion.

Floyd was commonly referred to as “the good Negro,” especially in his fights against the “thug” Sonny Liston and the “militant black Muslim” Muhammad Ali. In fact, many former heavyweight champions like Rocky Marciano, Jim Braddock, Ezzard Charles, Jersey Joe Walcott and Ingemar Johanson picked Patterson to beat Liston, but they were thinking with their hearts. I honestly think their prediction was a pick against Liston rather than a pick for Floyd. As former heavyweight champions, they had to know Patterson would lose, especially Ingemar, who basically made a habit of dropping Patterson. If he could hurt Patterson, surely Sonny Liston would. 

There’s more I could get into here...a lot more. But I prefer to talk about boxing rather than politics. Let's move on to the final segment.
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​Known as the Ambling Alp (What kind of name is that?!?!) Primo was the biggest heavyweight champion in history until the arrival of the 7-foot tall Nikolai Valuev. Carnera was incredibly strong, even working as a strongman and professional wrestler at one point.

Primo naturally had an intimating presence because of his size, but his scary reputation increased when he fatally knocked out Ernie Schaaf in February 1933. In the 13th round, a jab from the giant sent Schaaf sprawling to the canvas, and he never entirely woke up. He briefly awoke paralyzed in the hospital, but lapsed back into a coma and passed away 4 days later. Here is a clip of the knockout.  

That 19-second demolition you just witnessed is the entire David Tua-John Ruiz fight. Many of Tua's early fights went like this, and he was referred to by many as "The Samoan Mike Tyson." Like his hero Mike Tyson, David Tua often ended fights early in an explosive fashion.

After turning pro in 1992, David gained a reputation for being one of boxing's most feared sluggers. His trainers were Lou Duva, Ronnie Shields and Kevin Barry. Duva was friends with Rocky Marciano and said during one of Tua's  post-fight interviews that he gave his pupil a “Rocky Marciano style.” That may have been Duva's intent, but in my opinion David combined Tyson's aggressive approach with Joe Frazier's explosive left hook and stamina. Throw in a granite chin, and the result is David Tua.

David had a reputation for destroying guys within the first round, but he was also dangerous because he could go the distance no problem. There were many fights where David was behind on the scorecards but his bomb of a left hook bailed him out at the last second. Well, I guess you could compare him to Marciano in that regard. Marciano and Tua both had fights where their one-punch power saved the day at the last second.

Tua also had a chin of absolute granite. He was rarely hurt or staggered. Those huge tree trunk legs kept him sturdy.

Tua's first loss came to Ike Ibeabuchi in one of the best fights of all time. The battle was close. I had it 6-4-2 for Ike Ibeabuchi. Tua had issues adjusting to Ike's jab during the first four rounds, and Ike fought like hell to survive the last round, outpointing Tua. If not for his late start, Tua would have won.

Despite losing, this was Tua's best performance. He threw devastating combinations of hooks and uppercuts, he threw dozens of punches to the head and body almost consistently. Both guys wanted the win badly, and wound up having the highest number of punches thrown in a heavyweight fight.
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​Primo fought as an upright, outside boxer. He used his long 85-inch reach and jab to fight from the distance.

Tua, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He charged right at you and launched his thudding hooks and uppercuts in close range.

If we go by what Louis said, Primo had a “pretty decent jab” and pushed with his right. What we know is that when sluggers slipped under his guard and landed on Primo's chin, he went down in a heap.

Max Baer and Joe Louis are the hardest punchers Primo fought, and they both shattered him easily once they landed their first significant punch. Louis wisely concentrated on a body attack during the early rounds to "soften" Primo up. Once Primo was visibly getting fatigued and began to drop his guard to protect his ribs, that's when Louis got aggressive and went for the kill. 

But Max Baer? He was a wild swinging madman. No finesse, no grace, no setup, just wild crazy random swings. If he could connect on Baer, I'm almost sure anyone could.

The difference between their victories against Primo is that Louis started setting Primo up as early as the first round, so it took less knockdowns to finish him later. Primo was broken down and ready to go by round 6. Baer hurt Primo earlier, but because he didn't "weaken" him the way Louis did, it took him a lot longer for Baer to finish the giant. (11 rounds).

Lewis and his trainer Emanuel Steward had Tua all figured out long before the fight. In addition to keeping Tua at bay with his telephone pole jab, Lewis held his right hand near his jaw, protecting it from Tua's only threatening punch – the left hook.

Despite being bigger than Lewis, Primo didn't jab nearly as much, nor was his right hand as vicious. I also don't think he'd employ any set strategy to keep Tua off of him. Because Primo lacked proper defense, it's more than possible that Tua would sneak through and blast his jaw the way Louis and Baer did.

Then again, Tua could be a lazy fighter at times. There were many fights he had against big guys with minimal talent similar to Carnera –  David Izon, Oleg Maskaev, and Danell Nicholson immediately spring to mind. These guys were far from great fighters but they were having a fun time dismantling Tua until he suddenly landed that big left hook that put them to sleep.
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​Lennox Lewis was too good for Tua, but Tua could have given himself a chance if he'd thrown more punches. In Lewis' next fight, Hasim Rahman destroyed him with one punch and took his championships. Tua is a much harder puncher than Rahman. The difference between the two is that Rahman actually threw punches in his title fight with Lewis, and Tua didn't.

Tua lost his fight against Bryd for similar reasons. He spent the whole fight looking to smash the elusive Bryd with his fierce left hook. Bryd has a great chin and could roll well with a punch if he saw it coming. Tua landed plenty of body punches throughout the fight, but by the time Bryd started to slow down because of it, it was round 11 and the fight was nearly over.

Lennox Lewis said it best. “It takes a whole arsenal to beat Lennox Lewis, not just a left hook and a haircut.” A cocky statement, but true.

If I had to rank Carnera and Tua, I'd rank Carnera ahead. For starters, Primo actually won the heavyweight title, something Tua never did. Even sadder for Tua is that there were four heavyweight titles during his era and he never picked up a single one, while many lesser fighters did.

Secondly, Primo's biggest losses were understandable. Tua, on the other hand, fell in love with his power and had no strategy against Lewis and Bryd aside from smashing them with a huge left hook to the chin.

​As far as mobility goes, Primo moved a bit better than Jess Willard, but he was no gazelle. Still, Carnera wasn't necessarily slow, but you could see most of his punches coming. You could say maybe he was average at best.

Tua's hand speed wasn't on the Tyson or Ali level, but when he's in range that left hook could certainly catch you by surprise. Ask Darroll Wilson about that. He and Tua were scuffling up close, and Wilson all of a sudden went down. Tua had snuck a left hook to his chin. 1st round knockout.

People used to compare Tua's left hook to Joe Frazier's, but Joe's was clearly better. Joe could launch that punch from any angle, and you often couldn't see it coming.

Joe would “double” his hook, throwing one left hook to the body and then another one to the head. BANG! BANG! It was this combination that sent Muhammad Ali staggering into the ropes during round 11 of the fight of the century in 1971.

Sometimes Frazier threw the left hook after a jab in one motion, and sometimes he threw the left hook after a right hand set-up.

Tua was more predictable, often leaning a bit to his left just before launching the punch. Generally, you could see his hook coming if he were more than a foot and half away. But up close? You'd never see it coming.... and wake up in the locker room.  
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Here's what you've been waiting for. One guy (Tua) had awesome power, a concrete chin and no problem going the distance. The other (Carnera) was one of the biggest men to ever lace up the gloves and even killed a man in the ring. How does the fight go?

Well, it depends on Tua. The 1994-97 version of David Tua would attempt to smash Carnera immediately. It took Louis and Baer a few knockdowns to keep the giant down for good, but they succeeded. They also connected their blows rather easily.

If Louis said he had issues getting under Primo's guard during the first few rounds, so would Tua, who lacked Louis' defense and was even shorter. Louis broke Primo down with his jab and counters to the body, waiting for the perfect time to strike. That moment finally arrived in round 6.

The '90s version of Tua still had issues adjusting to jabs, but because Primo didn't throw that many and Tua kept attacking, he'd land that big left hook  midway through the fight after struggling a few rounds to close the gap. A surprised and outgunned Carnera would be repeatedly put on the canvas.

If it's the overweight David Tua that lost to Lennox Lewis, Carnera may stay in the game a bit longer, but it'd be the same result – Carnera tries to survive, but the referee stops the fight after the big man takes one left hook too many.

David Tua Wins By Sensational Knockout in Round 5.

​Agree? Disagree? Duke it out in the comments!
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​Both men had reputations for occasionally being dirty fighters, so it would not surprise me if anyone was blinded or headbutted in this fight.

Muhammad Ali was famously blinded during the 5th round against Liston in 1964. Now, being in the ring with Sonny is a scary enough thought, but to fight him without vision? Muhammad Ali was some man. He deserves all-time great status for this action alone.

You could argue that Ali being blinded was an innocent mistake. However, two previous fighters who were also fighting well against Sonny Liston (Zora Folley and Eddie Machen) both complained about something getting in their eyes. Unlike Ali, they couldn't turn things around and wound up losing.

Is it a coincidence that every guy who was on the verge of upsetting Liston suddenly got blinded during the fight? I seriously doubt it.

Evander had reputations for headbutting his opponents. In this writer's opinion, not all of them were on purpose.

If you closely watch “The Bite Fight” with Tyson, you'll see that Evander dips for leverage before unloading his punches. From his crouch, he'd spring upward and throw his blows with full force. Tyson fought like a bull, always charging forward. The result was a clashing of heads.

But this wasn't always the case. In their first fight in 1999, Holyfield deliberately charged into Lennox Lewis with his head. He also tackled him to the ground at one point.

On commentary, George Foreman called him out for these dirty tactics. Larry Merchant defended Holyfield's blatant cheating by saying, “He's a rough fighter because it's a rough game.”

​Foreman's reply? “You'd never see Joe Louis resorting to all of this.”

Larry Merchant's comment was just another example of Holyfield unfairly getting away with these shenanigans because people liked him. I don't like that. Just because he is a Bible-toting man healed by the Power of Jesus doesn't mean we should ignore his wrongdoings.
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Holyfield should be favored on paper due to their distinctive styles, but Holyfield's biggest strength was also his biggest flaw - his heart. What happens if Sonny hits Evander after the bell? Evander would surely want payback and duke it out with the "big bear" in the next round and put himself in peril.

Holyfield has a granite chin. He withstood absolute bombs from Mike Tyson, George Foreman, Lennox Lewis, Riddick Bowe, Bert Cooper, Ray Mercer and others. With the exception of Bowe, none of these men knocked him out, and the Bowe loss had more to due with Holyfield being sick and weak due to Hepatitis A. You could argue that Evander was at his best against the sluggers.

But in a fierce shoot-out war, Liston would inevitably win. He was just too powerful. 

Could Evander get around that heavy Sonny Liston jab? I would say yes. Holyfield didn't have the gazelle speed of Muhammad Ali, but his mobility was enough to keep him out of danger. Lennox Lewis had a long 84-inch reach and telephone pole jab just like Liston. In their rematch, Holyfield neutralized his jab by jabbing him in the body. Lewis didn't like that and opted to slug it out. I'm sure Liston would do the same, so the Liston jab wouldn't be a factor for long.

What about Sonny's left hook? During clinches, Holyfield leaned his head on Tyson's left shoulder to avoid his uppercut while at the same time smothering his left arm, restricting Tyson from utilizing his left hook. Holyfield also did this against Mercer, and no doubt he'd do it successfully against Liston too.
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​Evander was a four-time heavyweight champion, but he never dominated the way a heavyweight champion is expected to. Coming after the five-year reign of Tyson dominance, Evander wasn't really taken serious as heavyweight champion. He was fighting for respect.

Later in his career, Evander won the WBA title in a fight with John Ruiz, becoming the first man to win the heavyweight championship four times.

Sonny Liston only held the heavyweight championship from 1962 to 1964, but everyone knows he should have been given a crack at the title much sooner. Despite Floyd Patterson clutching the belt and blatantly ducking Liston for five years, Sonny Liston was dominating the heavyweight scene.

If you're comparing legacies between Holyfield and Liston, Liston looks better as far as win-loss ratios go. He adjusted to his declining skills much better than Holyfield did, evidenced by him winning 15 out of 16 out his fights after being embarrassed by Muhammad Ali. Not only that, but he won 12 by knockout. Aging or not, he was still a legitimate threat to anyone that fought him. That power was still there.

Evander picked up more championship wins and fought much better competition than Liston overall. He got some huge wins, but fought way too long and picked up some unnecessary losses that hurt his record.

Evander twice beat Tyson, who was the monster of his era. Sonny, however, lost twice to Ali, who was the biggest name he shared the ring with. Sonny was more consistent overall, but Evander was an overachiever with much more championship success, both at heavyweight and crusierweight.

It's really apples and oranges to compare. It depends on how you evaluate greatness.

But if I had to rank them I'd rank Sonny above Evander but not by much. Head to head Sonny had more success and lost fights less often than Holyfield did. Liston only lost four times. Marty Marshall broke Liston's jaw, a fight that Sonny understandably lost. Sonny's last loss was to Leotis Martin as an old fighter. Sonny's only huge losses were to Ali. I can forgive that.  

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Before I start, remember that Evander is famous for standing up to bullies. He thrived on standing up to bigger men and surprising them. Sonny is just that kind of bully. There would be no fear from Holyfield.

Ring The Bell!!!!!

Ultimately, it depends on which Evander we put in the ring with Liston. The 1990 version of Evander that swiftly defeated Buster Douglas would get blown away by a peak Sonny Liston. At 28 years old and 208 pounds, Evander was too small. He had great experience as a cruiserweight, but Dokes and Qwai are like puppies compared to Liston. Besides, if Evander was hurt so bad by Bert Cooper, I'm sure Sonny would have damn near killed him.

But what about the older Evander from 1997? To me, this was the best Holyfield. He had bulked up tremendously, gained much more experience by this time, and could find a way to beat almost anybody. His best performance as a heavyweight in my opinion was his 1997 WBA/IBF Heavyweight Championship fight with Michael Moorer.

Evander never looked better on that night. He never punched harder and maintained his punch accuracy. He floored Moorer 5 times, and outsmarted him consistently once he figured out Moorer's fight patterns.

Even more impressive is that this was a clean win. No headbutts, no football tackles, nothing illegal. On that night, Evander combined the ring smarts of Ali and the vicious attack of Jack Dempsey. Perfect.

Now this version of Evander would give Sonny a fight!!

​Liston would make himself vulnerable by lunging with that long powerful left hook of his, leaving himself open to counter-punches, which is what Holyfield excelled at. It would be the phantom punch scenario all over again.

Sonny may temporarily hurt Evander a time or two, but Evander had the chin to recover fast and the wits to fight back or clinch to survive. Knowing that the left hook, jab and right uppercut were his most powerful blows, Evander would neutralize them using angles and clinches just as he did against Tyson.

I see Evander discouraging Liston throughout the fight with his mobility and combinations of hooks and uppercuts to the body and head. Evander also had much better stamina than Liston, hurting the Big Bear's chances if the fight went the distance. Sonny didn't necessarily fade during the later rounds, but he gradually became less effective the longer the fight went.

Eventually a frustrated Liston gets dropped by a perfectly timed counter-punch, and refuses to get up.

​Evander Holyfield Wins By 9th Round TKO

Elvis Presley was the King of Rock And Roll during the 1950s, but the king of the boxing ring was a young, hard-punching kid from Brockton, Massachusetts named Rocky Marciano. (49-0, 43 Knockouts) Bobbing and weaving, Rocky routinely knocked out opponent after opponent. Eventually he won the heavyweight championship in 1952 and retired as the only undefeated heavyweight champion in boxing history in April 1956.

But Rocky's particular style and signature aggression reminded many boxing fans of an echo of the past – the Manassa Mauler Jack Dempsey. (60-7-8, 50 Knockouts) Jack Dempsey was boxing's first celebrity. During his prime, his popularity escalated to the point where it rivaled Babe Ruth and Charlie Chaplin. Dempsey was also the primary inspiration for Mike Tyson, who borrowed many of Dempsey's signature moves in the ring.

Dempsey and Marciano fought during different eras, but it's rare that one is discussed without the other eventually being mentioned. How similar and dissimilar were they? Who would have won if these two legends clashed in the middle of the ring? Let's discuss...

​I shudder to think what boxing would be like today if Jack Dempsey never existed. Obviously, there were always boxing fans. Jim Jeffries was a popular athlete and Jack Johnson was a notorious one. But Jack Dempsey changed boxing forever when he smashed the jaw of Jess Willard with that dynamite left hook on July 4, 1919. Dempsey was so popular that he drew boxing's first million dollar gate. Because of his savage aggression and knockout records, he attracted people who were not boxing fans. Before the arrival of Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey was the most popular boxer of all time.

It was Dempsey who wrote the textbook for Tyson, Marciano and Frazier. Each of these men channeled Dempsey's bobbing and weaving and powerful hooks and uppercuts. Dempsey's dynamite hook to the body is still imitated to this day.  

​Dempsey and Marciano often drew comparisons to each other. In fact, when Marciano first appeared on the scene, some writers labeled him “another Dempsey.” On the surface it's easy to see why people said that, but when you examine the two guys, you'll see a lot of differences in their styles.

As you can see in the picture, Dempsey often threw straight punches. This worked well for him because it didn't leave him as open as a haymaker would, and it helped his punches to land right down the pipe. Dempsey was crude, but his punches were not half as wild or wide as Marciano's. Like Frazier, Dempsey didn't generally throw the wild haymakers until he was finishing someone off.

Marciano was totally different in this regard. He threw each punch as if it was a baseball. He threw every punch as hard as he could, and he often put all of his weight behind it. The problem with this is that if he missed, he was off balance and vulnerable to counter attacks.

​This is precisely how Archie Moore was able to drop him. In the second round of that fight, Rocky was swooping in with a lunging punch and Moore clocked him when he was off balance diving in. Observe.

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But here's the thing – Rocky threw these looping blows but he threw them from all directions. From his crouch, he could punch upward from down below, or he may throw a wild shot from elsewhere. He just kept attacking and there was no way to see where each punch was coming from, giving you no chance to protect yourself sufficiently. 

Moore had early success against Rocky but as the rounds progressed, Rocky beat the man and beat the man and beat the man until he wilted.

Rocky fought like a propeller that kept moving right in on you. He once said that he fought as if there's a fire right behind him and the guy in front of him is constantly in his way.

Dempsey was more like Mike Tyson in the sense that he attacked in spurts. Dempsey would attack his way inside, but once there he didn't punch as much, leaving him open to be clinched or giving his opponent time to counter or run away. But you gotta watch out for that left hook, which was the punch that got most guys in trouble. See below.

I realize that Dempsey was past his best during their fights, but I believe that Gene Tunney had the style to always befuddle him. (No, I'm not saying this means he would automatically beat Dempsey; I'm just saying Dempsey would always have problems mowing him down).

Gene wasn't awkward, slow moving and huge like the guys Dempsey developed a reputation for destroying. Those guys stood and fought Dempsey, and paid the price for it.

However, Gene was much smaller and more elusive, playing boxing as if it were a game of tag. He would pop Dempsey and get the hell out of range before Dempsey could retaliate. Tunney closed both of Dempsey's eyes in their first fight. After losing, Dempsey's handlers had to lead him across the ring to shake the new heavyweight champion's hand.

How would Rocky Marciano do in the same situation against Tunney? Well, the Tunney-Dempsey bouts were similar to Rocky's first battle with Jersey Joe Walcott. Yes, Rocky was behind on points at the time of the stoppage, but Rocky was always on the attack and cut the ring better than Dempsey. Walcott was a much better escape artist than Tunney, even utilizing a shuffle and sneaky sucker-punch to his arsenal. But in the 13th round, Marciano was able to corner Walcott and feint a jab.

Walcott raised his right hand to counter the “jab,” but Rocky blasted a surprised Walcott with his Suzy-Q right hook. Walcott slumped to the canvas unconscious, and we had a new heavyweight champion.  

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Both Marciano and Dempsey were relatively small heavyweights with a huge wallop in both hands. But the main difference between them power-wise is that Marciano's right hand was his sledgehammer, while Dempsey's fierce left hook generated some of his most famous knockouts.

Dempsey could punch alright, but I think it was the speed and ferocity of his attacks that made his blows so brutal. Jack would leap off the mat to land a punch. He also developed the “Dempsey Roll,” which was a string of vicious hooks in succession. Until the day he died, Jess Willard swore that Jack had a pipe hidden in his gloves. He just couldn't fathom that the much smaller man could pack such an unbelievable wallop.

There's also the story of the robbers that attempted to mug an elderly Dempsey, who proceeded to knock them both to the ground. The men said that it felt like he had rocks in his hands.

Marciano was not slow of hand, but Dempsey's hand speed was better, and overall his accuracy was better.

But Jack Dempsey himself stated that Rocky hit harder. This is what he had to say about The Rock's power in the 1953 fall edition of Fight Magazine...

“What everyone forgets is that Marciano can punch harder with a right hand than any modern-day heavyweight. In his first fight with Walcott, Rocky needed only one blow to win the title. The power in his right scrambled Jersey Joe's brains at Chicago.”
​
“I've scored my share of knockouts along the way, but more often than not my opponents got up after being knocked down and had to be knocked down repeatedly. The same is true of Joe Louis. But Marciano only needs one solid smash and it's over. That's why I say Rocky Marciano is the hardest-hitting heavyweight champion I have seen.”
​
What he said is very much true. Jack rarely knocked guys cold the way Rocky did. For example, Willard went down numerous times in that brutal first round but Jack could never finish him and exhausted himself trying. Compare this to Marciano's knockout victims. Walcott, Louis, Vingo, Matthews and many others were put to sleep. Others, like Archie Moore, were too beaten and battered to continue on.

Part of what made Rocky special was his freakish punching power. He was a small 184-pound man that punched with the strength of someone twice his size. Even Muhammad Ali famously said, “Man, he hit hard. My arms were sore from just joking with him.”

Rocky also knocked out a lot of guys with his left hook, especially early in his career. His knockout of Harry Matthews was a brilliant example. It was evident that trainer Charlie Goldman's teachings were starting to pay off. During the second round, Rocky absolutely destroyed Matthews with a Joe Frazier-esque double left hook.

Overall, Rocky was a better puncher than Dempsey. Rocky's knockout percentage was 88% while Dempsey's was 65.22%

​Both guys had a lot of heart and toughness. Jack Dempsey was famously knocked out of the ring by Luis Firpo. The image was painted by George Bellows. The fight was an exciting one. There were 11 knockdowns in two rounds before Jack knocked him out. It's not often that a guy gets knocked out of the ring only to come back and knock out his opponent.

Oh my bad! That's the wrong picture.
​

Jack literally fought to eat during his hobo years. If he didn't win, he didn't eat. That would motivate anyone.

While Marciano never lost, Dempsey was only knocked out once during his 6 losses. No one knows the true story of what happened when Firemen Flynn knocked him out in 25 seconds. There were reports that Jack hadn't eaten in four days. Some, including Dempsey's wife, said that he threw the fight because he was offered more money to lose. Either way, Jack got his revenge by knocking out Flynn in the first round of their rematch.

Marciano was a clutch fighter. The closest he came to defeat was when Ezzard Charles split his nose. With blood constantly pouring, Rocky needed an emergency knockout. The ring doctor only gave Rocky one more round. Rocky responded by pummeling Ezzard to the canvas to maintain his championship and undefeated record.
​
Another scare Rocky had was against Walcott. As I explained earlier, Rocky managed to maneuver Walcott to the ropes and get his punch to the target. Rocky always found a way to win in urgent situations.

​Dempsey fought much bigger and heavier opposition than Rocky did overall. Dempsey destroyed the huge 6'6 Jess Willard. Prior to beating up Willard, Dempsey knocked out the 6'4 Carl Morris in one minute of the first round of their December 1918 battle. Likewise, it only took Dempsey 23 seconds to put away Fred Fulton that same year.

Dempsey was pretty good at knocking out much bigger men. His secret? His sparring partner was the talented 6'6 Big Bill Tate. Because he was African American, Bill unfortunately never got a crack at the heavyweight title. But from all accounts he deserved one. He was a damn good fighter from what I read and seen. Regardless, he helped shape the history of boxing by preparing Dempsey to clash with the then-heavyweight champion Jess Willard, who was the same size as Tate, but not as good of a fighter.

During his first round with Willard, Dempsey was more than prepared. At first he circled his prey, waiting for an opportunity. The moment Willard missed a loose jab, Dempsey exploded with his left hook, dropping Willard and allegedly breaking his jaw in 7 places.

During Marciano's reign, there were not many giants to fight. It'd be easy to assume that Rocky would be clueless on how to get inside and fight big men because he never had to when he was at the top level, but history proves he could handle big guys when he needed to.

For starters, Rocky damn near killed Carmine Vingo, who was a big Italian fighter standing at 6'4. Unfortunately there's a lack of footage of this fight available, but Rocky's sledgehammer right hand literally knocked Vingo into a coma.

When Rocky was a journeyman, there were other big men he knocked out, and according to the numbers, he often conquered them quickly in a vicious, Dempsey-esque manner. 
​
Here's a short list of some of the men over 200 pounds that Rocky defeated.

​Bill Hardeman (206 pounds) : KO 1
James Connoly (213 pounds) :TKO 1
Artie Donato (201 pounds) : KO 1
Elbridge Eatman (206 pounds) :TKO 3
Johnny Shkor (220 pounds) :TKO 6
Bill Wilson (229 pounds) :TKO 1
Keene Simmons (200 pounds) :TKO 8

Add to this Rocky's time filming the computer fight with Muhammad Ali. The two sparred for 75 one-minute rounds. Muhammad at the time was still in his prime. He had great mobility and flash lightning hand speed. On the other hand, Rocky was balding, overweight and hadn't fought in over 13 years. But yet, Ali said he could hardly land his jab on Rocky, and even demanded more money because Rocky injured his ribs with a body attack.

Rocky was able to cut off the ring and bring the fight to the great 6'3 Muhammad Ali, who had the speed of a graceful gazelle. Keep in mind also that Muhammad danced on his toes, which made him actually around 6'5 as he skipped around the ring. This didn't deter Rocky.

Would Jack Dempsey have the same success against Ali? I say no, because Dempsey wouldn't consistently overwhelm him with a high work-rate the way Rocky and Frazier did. Also, Dempsey wasn't so hot against “stick and move” guys in the Gene Tunney-Muhammad Ali tradition. But he did possess the one punch Ali was always most vulnerable to throughout his career – the left hook. But a Dempsey-Ali fight is a story for another blog.

​Some say Marciano fought during a weak era. You could argue that, but he knocked out at least four hall of famers – Moore, Charles, Walcott and Louis.

Let's be real here. Ezzard Charles was only 33 and two years older than Rocky when they fought. (Rocky was 31). Jersey Joe Walcott reminds me of Lennox Lewis and the Klitschko brothers in the sense that he got better as he aged and put on his absolute best ring performance ever against Rocky until he got cracked in the 13th round. 

Archie Moore was aging for sure, but the problem was that each time he fought a quality heavyweight, he was knocked out. In addition to Marciano, Moore  was also KO'd by Floyd Patterson and a young Muhammad Ali. Moore recaptured the light heavyweight title not long after losing to Rocky. All of this confirms to me that Archie was still great, but was just out of his element against heavyweights.
​

​Joe Louis was still fundamentally sound at the time he fought Rocky. With the exception of his loss to Ezzard Charles in 1950, Joe was winning his fights.

However, his victories often lacked the impressive knockout flash of his prime years. Joe was confident and had a great fight plan against Marciano, but his timing and reflexes were gone.

To hear Rocky tell it...

"What surprised me was that Joe didn't have much of a right. They told me he had lost some of his power, but I didn't expect nothing. That's what his right
hand was – nothing."  -Rocky Marciano

This says a lot, because ring officials literally had to scrape Jimmy Braddock off the canvas after he got knocked out by Louis' right hand years earlier.

The best guys Dempsey fought were basically just more impressive from a size perspective. Jess Willard was aging, out of shape, and had been largely inactive since winning the title from Jack Johnson. Luis Firpo was a real warrior at times but far from all-time great material. Jack Sharkey was a capable heavyweight but, like many others, crumpled when he felt Dempsey's left hook.

​Dempsey was not a great heavyweight champion in my opinion. Instead of defending the crown he once worked so hard for, he went to Hollywood and got a nose job. Since he used to be a hobo, he quickly took advantage of his rich new lifestyle. I wish he'd have been an active heavyweight champion.

Following orders from his management, Dempsey avoided facing black challengers. Because he refused to fight black athletes and was inactive for much of his championship reign, I don't think we ever got to see Jack Dempsey at his best. All we saw were brilliant flashes of potential in a number of fights.

Marciano was the exact opposite. He came into each fight in perfect condition. In fact, he trained twice as hard as his opponents, which gave him an edge in stamina. As his opponents got winded and tired later in the fight, Rocky was still fresh as ever.

Rocky never ducked anyone and fought everyone in front of him and won. That's what a heavyweight champion is supposed to do. Dempsey got caught up in Hollywood life after winning the title, but when Rocky held the strap, he wanted to prove that he was the absolute best fighter in the world.  
​

Marciano also never spoke on or endorsed the “great white hope” nonsense. His boxing role model growing up was Joe Louis, and he was also a fan of Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. Eventually, he got to defeat each of his heroes in the ring.

Rocky also got really close to Muhammad Ali during the filming of the Computer Fight. His brother Peter Marciano revealed how the two shared a grapefruit and discussed how they could bring society together during a time of racial bigotry.

I respect Marciano as a man. I interviewed Marciano biographer John Cameron, who explained that Rocky didn't have a racist bone in his body. Aside from having a chief black sparring partner, Dempsey seemed to be a man of his time. (There are news accounts confirming Dempsey's racism, but I won't get into that discussion on here).

Because of his small size, clumsy movement and short reach, Rocky had no business boxing and much less being heavyweight champion. But he overcame these “handicaps” and not only won the heavyweight title, but he is to this day the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. This is why when people say that Rocky Marciano is the greatest heavyweight champion of all time, I never argue.

Finally! I know this is what you're here for. This is a hard one to call. To do a round-up...

Dempsey was a fast starter who ended fights early, while Rocky generally had to warm up into the fight and scored knockouts later.

Dempsey had faster hands than Rocky.

Rocky hit a little harder than Dempsey.

Rocky cut much easier than Dempsey.

Rocky was dropped two times in early rounds, the time of the fight when Dempsey is at his peak. 

Hmmmmm..

When you look at that, you'd assume that Dempsey wins and probably by a quick blowout. But it's not that simple for me.

​
​Before I make my prediction, I must note that Rocky was actually 5'9 according to his biographer John Cameron, while Dempsey was around 6'1. Dempsey being taller is not an advantage. In fact, I bet it would work against him. 

Also, I feel that Rocky was smarter than Dempsey. The way Rocky set up Walcott with that jab feint was a thing of beauty, as was his impressive double left hook knockout against Harry Matthews. Rocky always had tricks up his sleeve. Dempsey, however, came out with one plan - to destroy you and go home.

I see the fight going like this – Rocky is overwhelmed initially and hits the canvas. He gets up and smothers Jack by clinching, mauling and pounding away to his body on the inside. (This is how he responded after getting floored by Walcott)

Dempsey's style is based on him being the shorter man, but in this fight he'd be the taller man and would have to adjust to that. And I don't think he could. 

Marciano was also a much busier inside-fighter than Dempsey. He would be in his element. It's Jack who would get uncomfortable and start backing away. Once Rocky gets inside and starts wearing on you, you're gonna go eventually.

Inevitably, perhaps sooner than later, Rocky would land a severe punch – the kind of punch that would take Dempsey by surprise and make him respect him. From that point on, Dempsey wouldn't be as aggressive and fight a bit more cautiously. That's when Rocky would step up his pace and land punch after punch, punch after punch, until eventually an exhausted and battered Dempsey loses by TKO late in the fight.

My official prediction? Rocky Marciano defeats Jack Dempsey in round 7 by Technical Knockout.

What's yours?
​

On the boxing section of this website, I started a thread a few years ago asking if Fight Night Champion Protagonist Andre Bishop was a real boxer, would he be an all-time great? The discussion among fans is pretty divided, both stating good opinions on why he is or isn't. However, one way to determine if he was the real deal or not is to see how he does head to head with some of the greatest heavyweight champions. 

Muhammad Ali would embarrass Andre the way he did most of his opponents. Too fast, too pretty. Andre was a very capable boxer, but what does he bring to the table that could help him beat Muhammad Ali? For starters, I don't see how Andre could cope with Ali's speed. Granted, Andre would be too smart to wear himself out trying to blast Ali with lunging haymakers the way Sonny Liston did. I don't think Andre would leave himself open for too many counters. But he would lack offensive opportunities against Ali. No way does Andre knock Ali out, especially considering Ali had one of the best chins of all time and Andre was not the world's biggest slugger. Andre would not give up, but I see Ali winning a boring decision over Andre, who would patiently try to press and catch Ali but not land enough punches to make a dent or score points.

Winner: Muhammad Ali by unanimous decision

Andre would show a lot of heart against Rocky Marciano, but that may be the exact thing that gets him killed. I would personally pick Andre to beat a lot of sluggers. But not Marciano. Unlike Isaac Frost, Marciano would not tire. No matter what strategy Andre attempts, Rocky is going to keep coming. To make another Isaac Frost comparison, Isaac got weaker and weaker as the fight progressed; Marciano had a habit of getting stronger. Due to Andre being a counter-puncher, it is possible that he takes advantage of Rocky's crude swings and hurts him with counters. Like Ezzard Charles, Andre could alternate between brawling and countering, which frustrated Rocky to a degree because he didn't know what to expect at any time. That would be Andre's best strategy.

But Andre never faced anyone quite like Rocky. Both guys had heart, but Rocky's was bigger. I don't see Rocky giving in and staying on the floor in a fight against Raymond Bishop the way Andre did. I dunno. This would be a fast-paced war of attrition that Andre would not be prepared for. I see Andre doing OK against Rocky in the early rounds, but once Rocky finds his rhythm, Andre would be unable to keep Rocky off of him and would take a beating, leading to a late round stoppage. I imagine this fight would be similar to Rocky's fights with Archie Moore and Ezzard Charles.

Winner: Rocky Marciano by TKO during the late rounds

I don't see any way for Andre Bishop to beat Joe Louis. He may surprise him with a good right hand, but that wouldn't be enough. Joe was arguably the best finisher of all time, sometimes setting you up for the knockout as early as round 1 and you wouldn't know it. In each round he's working you over at his own subtle pace.

​Joe would sometimes end things early if his opponent hurt him (Tony Galento, Max Baer) or if he viewed him as a threat - (Max Schmeling, John Henry Lewis, Buddy Baer, etc). Given Andre's reputation for winning fights with a broken hand, knocking out Isaac Frost, I believe Louis would see him as a threat and not waste time once the bell rings.

Once The Brown Bomber hurts Andre with his first significant punch, it would be the beginning of the end. That's when Louis would put his finishing blows together and put Andre to sleep. Andre can't out-slug Louis nor can he out-box him. Andre may get a good lick in here or there, but this fight only lasts as long as Joe wants it to.

Winner: Joe Louis by Knockout

I think Andre is capable of beating Lennox Lewis, just as the old version of Holyfield nearly did in late '99. I'm not saying it would be an easy task, however. Andre would have to get past the long telephone pole jab of Lewis and be aware of that right hand or uppercut when he gets in range.

But I feel that Andre could be smart enough to pull off a victory here. Lewis had a habit of abandoning his jab when guys repeatedly hit him in the body. (See his battle with Ray Mercer and his rematch with Holyfield for references). If he employs a constant body attack early on, Andre would be able to manipulate Lennox into a close-range brawl, which works to Andre's advantage. It's possible that maybe he'd counter Lewis and sneak something past him to get a knockout, but most likely he'd win a close decision in a toe to toe war. If old Holyfield and Ray Mercer could nearly push Lewis to the brink by forcing him into a shoot-out, then I think Andre has a real chance here.

Winner: Andre Bishop by decision, but it could just as easily go the other way.

This would be basically the same as my prediction on a bout between Andre and Rocky Marciano. Joe Frazier would be swarming all over Andre. I doubt Andre would be able to fend off an attack from Smokin' Joe.  Watch Joe Frazier at his peak during the years 1970-71. The way he cut the ring, combined with the fierce and relentless tenacity of his attack, makes him one of the best heavyweights ever. He fought at such a frantic pace that not many guys would survive.

Like Marciano, Frazier does not tire. So any hope of wearing Frazier down for a late stoppage is futile. Andre doesn't have the big punch of a George Foreman to stop Joe, and he's not built for a nose-to-nose 15 round slugfest with him either. Joe works him over with big hooks and body attacks, eventually stopping him with a thunderous left hook. Andre would be too battered and beaten to continue.

Winner : Joe Frazier by late TKO

I don't see Andre being able to cope with Larry's jab, stamina and toughness, both mental and physical. With big wins over men such as Shavers, Cooney, Norton, Witherspoon, etc, Larry has enough experience under his belt to make Andre look like an amateur. I just don't see Andre posing a threat to him unless he exposes Larry's weakness of dropping his left hand after the jab and cracking him with an overhand right. But if Larry could survive a near-fatal knockdown from Shavers (and keep in mind that it took THREE knockdowns from a peak Tyson to keep Larry down) then Andre doesn't have a puncher's chance of stopping Larry. Larry would give Andre a boxing lesson and Andre would not be able to keep up.

Winner: Larry Holmes by unanimous decision

Two counter-punchers. In this fight, Andre would be forced to fight as the aggressor. He can't sit back and try to counter Johnson. He'd have to lead, and it wouldn't go well for him. Jack (like Ali and Louis) has too much in his bag of tricks for Andre, who would be in far over his head in this fight.

But on the other foot, Andre has a puncher's chance against Johnson, who had a suspect chin. I think Johnson would slap Andre silly for the most part, but Andre has a puncher's chance and had a history of outsmarting some of this opponents. Would it work against Johnson? I'm not sure. Johnson might just be too tricky for Andre. But in a 12-15 round fight, Andre would find a way to set up the big punch he needs.

Winner: Andre Bishop by knockout

 Evander Holyfield is probably the best heavyweight to compare Andre to. Both guys had great strategies and ring intellect to make up for their lack of size, both were natural counter-punchers, and both achieved huge shock victories as underdogs. But Evander had more experience than Andre. Much more. And he beat much better competition than Andre, whose biggest victory was over Isaac Frost. The Evander Holyfield of '96-97 would find a way to beat Andre in a competitive fight while it lasts. The well-conditioned Andre Bishop who defeated Isaac Frost was a very patient fighter who has a legit chance against almost anyone, but the Evander Holyfield who demolished Mike Tyson and Michael Moorer in the late '90s was a more proven warrior with enough ring experience to get the win.

Winner: Evander Holyfield by TKO during the late rounds.

To make it short, the Klitschkos would beat Andre. They were a little too patient for Andre to find anything to play off of. While Isaac Frost was similar in size to the Klitschkos, he fought a predictable and stupid fight, trying to blast Andre out of the ring during the early rounds. The Klitschkos would bide their time and counter. With a lack of punches to counter and play off, Andre wouldn't be able to bring anything to the dance. He would be on the outside of their long jabs all night. Andre could attempt to work them over with body shots, a'la Isaac Frost, but the Klitschkos wear their trunks up so high that he might get disqualified for "hitting low." There's just too much against Andre in a battle with these guys. He loses by decision or maybe a knockout if the Klitschkos decide to later in the fight.

I realize that Wlad and Vitali are two different fighters and fans of theirs may be offended that I grouped them together. After all, Vitali is a more awkward fighter, but has the better chin and is more comfortable in a slugfest if the opportunity arises. Wlad, on the other hand, is more of the classic boxer-puncher type. He arguably hits harder than his brother, but doesn't take a punch as well and avoids aggressive encounters as much as possible. But to save time here, the Klitschkos would beat Andre the same way, which is why I put them together in this list.

Winners: The Klitschkos by Unanimous Decision or late TKO

Sorry to group these guys together, as they all had different styles. But I'm confident that Andre knocks them all out. Foreman and Liston were big, crude men who hit like trucks. But they could be outsmarted (as Muhammad Ali proved) and they faded during the later rounds. Ultimately, Andre facing them would be repeats of his battle with Isaac Frost.

​Max Baer had better stamina than Liston and Foreman, but his crude haymakers would leave him open for counters from Andre.

Tyson and Dempsey were smaller than Baer, Liston and Foreman, but they were at their best during the early rounds. Andre was smart enough to avoid getting caught up during their early blitz and would take them apart when they slow down after round 4 or 5.

Winner: Andre Bishop by late knockout

​I realize that Andre is a fictional video game character and these fights naturally will never happen, but the guy was quite tough. I have him going 7-8 against the top heavyweight champions of all time, which isn't terrible by any means. And I pick him to put on a good show against most of the men that would beat him. Also, here is the thread on my boxing site where we discuss Andre's legacy. If you're a Fight Night Champion fan, take a look and share your thoughts!

When I was a teenager living in Memphis, TN, I remember browsing my local Blockbuster Video Store. (RIP, Blockbuster). I stumbled across a movie called Rocky Marciano. Being a boxing fan, I was immediately intrigued. In case you're unaware, Rocky Marciano retired with a record of 49-0 with 43 wins by knockout. At the time, I knew almost nothing about Marciano other than the fact that he retired undefeated and, according to Eddie Murphy, beat up Joe Louis when he was 175 years old.

I rented the film but I wondered how a movie like this would work. We know Rocky never lost a fight, so what would be the conflict? How do you make a movie where everyone already knows the ending? Turns out, Director Charles Winkler did a great job spinning around this issue, and the film became my favorite boxing movie to date. 

We meet 10 year-old Rocky Marciano during the Great Depression when everyone was pissed off and money was scarce. His father (played by the late George C. Scott in one of his final roles) was a miserable Italian immigrant working at a Stacy Adams shoe factory. In the meantime, Rocky discovered a love of boxing. His hero was the great Joe Louis, the heavyweight champion at that time. We witness young Rocky hanging up a picture of Louis in his bedroom and celebrating with the locals on the legendary night when Louis knocked out Germany's Max Schmeling in one round.

As an adult, Rocky (Jon Favreau) had enough of work in the shoe factory and, reviving his love of boxing, decides to get involved in amateur boxing where he quickly suffers humiliating losses to Golden Gloves Champion Henry Lester and four other contenders. Ignoring the pleading of his best friend Allie Colombo, (Rino Romano) Rocky decides to turn professional. His strategy of training harder than his opponents sounded ridiculous at first, but his conditioning and hard-hitting style allowed him to win his first 12 fights by knockout. By the middle of the movie, he's already gone 25-0 against the best boxers in the world.

Around this time is where the problems begin to pile up, and boy did Rocky have a lot of problems on his plate! First, he meets a well-connected manager named Al Weill. Al may be good at booking fights, but he talks Rocky into signing a contract where he receives half of Rocky's earnings for the rest of his life. This begins a long flow of money problems Rocky faces throughout the movie. Next, Rocky nearly quits boxing when he literally punches the undefeated 6'4 Carmine Vingo into a coma. Vingo recovered and is paralyzed today, but the incident had a bad effect on Rocky. Around the same time, he asks his girlfriend Barbara Cousins (Penelope Ann Miller) to marry him and she turns him down. Damn.

Eventually she comes around, but Rocky is hit with tough news at their wedding when Al Weill announces that Rocky will have to fight his hero, The Brown Bomber Joe Louis!

This is the real conflict of the movie. Rocky loved Joe Louis. No, I mean, he really loved the guy. Everytime Louis was in Rocky's presence, he walked in slow motion and appeared to float. He was Rocky's hero since childhood. Louis defended the heavyweight title 25 times and was champ for almost 13 years. But he was forced out of retirement because of tax problems. Even though he was past his prime, he was still regarded by most in the film as "the greatest boxer who ever lived" and few gave Rocky a chance at beating him.

However, beating Joe Louis was the only way Marciano could get a shot at the heavyweight title and have enough money to rescue his father from that "damn shoe factory," as he put it. The money would also put Rocky in a better position to get away from the greedy Al Weill and the other gangsters lurking around.

Even though it's not entirely accurate, a lot of things were done right here. For starters, I like the way Favreau played Marciano. He gave him a bit of cool cockiness that made him likeable. He's someone you could easily be friends with and you want to see him succeed.

Secondly, Favreau and Duane Davis (who played Joe Louis) really did their homework on the fighting styles of the characters they played. Favreau did a great job mimicking Rocky's bobbing and weaving style, while Davis looked great portraying Louis' flat footed, boxer-puncher techniques, right down to crushing jab and swift, hard combinations Louis would throw. In the end, the climactic fight between the two was really well done and an excellent representation of the real battle between Louis and Marciano. To sum it up, Louis controlled the fight early with his jab, but Marciano's constant pressure and body attacks wore him out as the rounds progressed. Marciano floored Louis with a hard left hook in the 8th round and finished him moments later by knocking him through the ropes with a devastating right to the jaw.

Many friends of Rocky will tell you that he was a bit weird when it came to money. He only took cash, and hid money in odd places. The movie explains early on how The Great Depression effected Rocky during his childhood. After growing up poor, he made sure to save every penny he had. He didn't trust banks or checks. Only cash.

The film paid close attention to history, particularly in scenes like the one when Rocky was training for the Louis fight. Along with Allie and trainer Charley Goldman (Aron Tager) Marciano watches Louis' fights with Schmeling, looking for any potential weaknesses in The Brown Bomber.  Goldman points out that Louis drops his left hand, leaving him wide open for the overhand right. This shows the trio came up with Marciano's fight plan for Louis - kill the body and the head will die. In other words, hit Louis so much in the ribs and stomach that when he drops his hands to protect the body, smash him with a knockout blow upstairs. The strategy worked. Watching this is like being a fly on the wall in a real training camp. 

To me, the film landed all the right blows for a boxing movie. You care about the characters, the fight scenes were excellent, the acting was good, etc. Plus it's nice to see something done on a heavyweight champion whose last name isn't Ali or Tyson. No offense to those two, but other boxing legends are lost in their shadows and Marciano is one of them. In addition, Marciano is one of my favorite heavyweight champions of all time. In his prime he was exactly my size. (5'10, 184 pounds, although my long dreads may be extra weight). In boxing, my favorite boxers are the little guys with a big punch. Rocky had freakish punching power for someone so undersized, something else explored in the film. 

Also, in a time of racial tension in this country, Marciano was not a racist man. The film goes out of its way to show this several times, among them being scenes showing Marciano's respect for Louis, and the fact that he attacked a reporter who made a racist remark about Louis. Because of this, I respect Rocky as both a boxer and as a man. Also, if you pay attention, you'll notice that actor Tony Lo Bianco (who plays gangster Frankie Carbo in this movie) played Rocky Marciano in another Marciano biopic during the 1970s. But every movie has cons and sure enough, this one is no exception.

Only three things bother me about Rocky Marciano. One is the constant flashbacks. It starts to give you a headache after a while, especially when they arrive without warning. One minute Rocky is balding and happily retired. The next he's a young contender struggling with a corrupt manager and knocking people out. 

Second, the movie somewhat ignores Louis' age when he fought Marciano. Remember that in the beginning of the story, Rocky is a small boy celebrating a Louis victory. And as an adult, 13 years later, he's fighting the man! But strangely, no one really mentions Louis' age and everyone acts like the fight is prime versus prime. I understand at the time that Louis' legacy was already intact and Rocky was still a prospect, but the movie's writers basically ignored Louis' age. The producers should have given the Louis character a bald spot or gray hair or something to show that he was much older than Rocky.

Lastly, (and most important) the movie stopped too early in Rocky's career. The film ends just after his victory over Joe Louis, therefore we don't get to see his tough fight against Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight title, or the battles with Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore. Those fights were classics and would have been great to see. I understand that the movie would have to be a miniseries to include those highlights, but it would have been worth it, in my opinion. The producers did such a great job with the fight scenes that I know they would have done Marciano's later fights justice.

Other than those three minor quibbles, this film is great! HBO also scored a knockout with their 1995 movie, Tyson, which featured some of the cast from this film. That movie was awesome as well, but the Marciano movie edges it out a little, possibly because Mike Tyson's story has been told countless times.

As far as Rocky Marciano goes, I definitely recommend this movie. Even if you're not a fan of boxing, I think you'll like this one. Great storytelling, and my favorite boxing biopic of them all.

**** 1/2
 Four and a half stars out of 5

Listen to my interview with Rocky Marciano biographer John Cameron.

See what Joe Louis himself had to say about his brawl with The Brockton Blockbuster. (Scans taken from Joe Louis' autobiography, My Life).