jack johnson vs rocky marciano

[DeeMoney]

I feel like I have to ask the same question for any Jack Johnson mythical fight as I do when predicting any Tyson Fury fight: how much holding, grappling, clinching will the ref allow.
The more thats allowed, the more I favor Johnson.

Then there is the standard Marciano question for a mythical matchup: is he too small?
In this case, I would say 'no'; Johnson has 2 inches of height, and 6 inches of reach, and in his prime probably 10-15 pounds

[HOUDINI563]

Johnson is not holding. He is controlling. Flynn was able to punch at all times. Johnson continually blocked the head shots and muffled the body blows taking away their power. That was the beauty of Johnson’s skills. He would beat the swarmers at their own game.

[The Old LefHook]

As soon as the referee warned Johnson for excessive clinching a few times, he would be all through. His main defense against Rocky would be the Ruiz clasp.

[HOUDINI563]

Johnson is not clinching. Opponents were free to punch.

[QueensburyRules]

- -What was JJ milking muscle stats vs Rocky?

[Dr. Z]

Marciano threw far more punchers and hit harder. On film Johnson for the most part doesn't throw a lot of punches. He didn't move his feet enough or it harder enough to keep Marciano. Eventually Marciano's pace and swarming style would catch up to Johnson, and take him out.

Over 12 or 15, I like Rocky via mid round TKO.

[GhostofDempsey]

Marciano wasn’t McVea or Jeannette. He wasn’t going to stand in the middle of the ring with Johnson trying to win a clinchfest and rabbit punch contest. Rocky would bob, weave, and muscle his way inside. Blast out Johnson’s ribs and end it in the middle rounds with a barrage of unanswered hooks to Johnson’s liver and jaw. If Rocky could sc**** out wins over Walcott and Charles—who were superior boxers to Johnson, he can handle Johnson.

[HOUDINI563]

Neither Walcott nor Charles rates with Johnson. Historically many experts stated Johnson was the greatest. Johnson was rated top 3 for many decades by most.

No expert worth his salt has ever stated the same concerning Walcott or Charles.

Marciano gives Ali or Holmes hell but is completely shut down vs Johnson. Johnson’s greatness was his defensive ability inside and when he wanted he had a great destructive jab and movement at distance. However vs Marciano Johnson would step inside within the first 30 seconds of round one and dominate from there. In the end Marciano is cut to ribbons and Johnson unmarked as he wins over 15. The most frustrating night of Marcianos career.

[Marchegiano]

Marciano batters that fool. I'm a huge JJ fan but Rocky's using techniques and power he's not ready for. People don't really respect Roland LaStarza these days and that's kind of sad because even though it he didn't live up the the hype around him there was good reason many, many, people believed in LaStarza. No one before him employs the ropes like he did. He was a pioneer of Ali's most famous technique. Roland's addition to the game is absorbing punishment with the ropes to mitigate damage. It was brilliant and in Ali's hands it was proven. According to Bill Libby, Marciano broke Rolands arms anyway. It's not that his defense wasn't good enough, it was, Marciano destroyed his body. This isn't Tommy Burns or Sam Langford. You don't simply block and clinch The Rock. He's going to break you for it. Archie Moore complained about being able to keep his arms up. Charles got battered into oblivion. Walcott got his best move cut off and slept for the attempt. I don't think JJ fairs any better. I love the chopping guard. I love the reaching and grabbing and bulling around the ring, there's plenty Johnson does that made him a great bully, but Marciano is the better bully.

Something like 25 of Marciano's 49 opponents retired from the sport five fights or less after facing Marciano. Some crush cans, The Rock crushes souls

[HOUDINI563]

LaStarza was not Jack Johnson. Johnson was an elite ATG heavyweight champion. His skill set would dominate Marcianos skill set. Johnson’s skill set was designed to overcome strong infighting swarmers. Marciano would land very few clean blows over the 15 round distance.