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| Floyd Mayweather's clan jousts with Rocky Marciano's as record-tying fight approaches.... http://todaystalk.com.ng |
The youngest brother of boxer Rocky Marciano wants to make something clear.
In 49 professional fights, Marciano knocked out 43 of his opponents and beat some in brutal fashion. But outside the ring, he was known as a gentleman. And if he were alive today, Marciano would be ready to congratulate Floyd Mayweather Jr., if, as expected, Mayweather Jr. beats Andre Berto Sept. 12 and ties Marciano’s career record of 49-0, said Peter Marciano, youngest brother of the legendary boxer.
“I guess I’m maybe just not as charitable as that,” Peter Marciano said. “I absolutely, unequivocally will tell you that I would like to see (Mayweather) get beat.”
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With one of boxing’s most noted records at stake — Marciano has had sole possession of it since knocking out Archie Moore 60 years ago — members of the Mayweather and Marciano clans have traded verbal shots.
Earlier this month, while declaring his son will tie Marciano’s record with a victory in the upcoming fight against Berto, Floyd Mayweather Sr. said Marciano fought “bums.”
“You look at Rocky Marciano’s record,” he said. “You will not find no name that ever stood out in boxing. Nobody but Joe Louis, and he was the old man.”
During recent interviews with USA TODAY Sports, Peter Marciano and Rocky Marciano Jr., son of the legendary fighter, responded with jabs.
“He’s not an exciting fighter,” Peter Marciano said of Mayweather Jr., adding that he once heard Mayweather Jr. express disrespect during an interview for Marciano’s 49-0 record. “He’s just a great defensive fighter, a master. And that equates to very uninteresting boxing matches.”
Although he did not use the word bums, Marciano Jr. questioned Mayweather’s decision to fight Berto — who has lost three of his last six fights — for what Mayweather has said will be his last fight.
“I feel disappointed,” Marciano Jr. said of the matchup. “When he’s had control of his career, he’s been able to pick and choose the fighters just like he picked Berto. There’s probably some other fighters that would maybe give him more of a challenge.
“If my father’s guilty of anything, he’s guilty of fighting whoever they put in front of him. He wanted a shot at the championship, and whatever roadblock they put in front of him, he confronted and overcame.”
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More than engaging in a war of words, the Marcianos said, they want to set the record straight about the 49-0 mark and the man who set it.
The oldest child of Italian immigrants, Rocky Marciano initially thought professional baseball was his path to a more prosperous life than his father could afford as a shoe factory worker. Marciano, a catcher, got a a tryout with the Chicago Cubs after serving in the army between 1943 and 1946.
The Cubs passed.
So at the suggestion of a friend, Marciano decided to give boxing a try. Never mind that at the age of 24 Rocky Marciano’s skills were unrefined and at 5-11, 190 he looked undersized for the heavyweight division.
What he lacked in precision and stature, he made up for in power.
Between his professional debut in 1947 and his knockout of Moore in 1953, fewer than half Marciano’s opponents lasted three rounds with him.
“My father bascially stalked you the whole fight,” Rocky Marciano Jr. said. “If you watch (tapes of) my father, he very rarely took a step backward. He was always moving forward, following a fighter, chasing him around.”
His most notable victories came against Jersey Joe Walcott, Ezzard Charles and an aging Joe Louis.
Peter Marciano said his brother retired in part because there were no opponents left challenging enough to inspire Rocky Marciano to train — although did get back in the gym in 1969 to prepare for a fight against Muhammad Ali.
It was billed as The Super Fight, and the outcome was determined by computer. The two fighters sparred and filmed sequences that were patched together for the fight, broadcast in theaters around the country.
Rocky Marciano won in the 13th round, and Peter Marciano said he will never forget the last sparring session between the two boxers.
“Muhammad had this old brown paper bag,” Peter Marciano said. “And inside the brown paper bag he had three or four grapefruits. He said, ‘Rocky, would you care for some?’ And Rocky said, ‘Oh, I love grapefruits.’
“Muhammad Ali was actually peeling the grapefruit and ripping the wedges apart and he offered me some and I ate a couple of them. They were talking and at the time the country had had a bad situation, things were not good.”
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Racial tension simmered across the country, recalled Peter Marciano, and he said his brother and Ali hatched the idea of barnstorming across the country and using their own friendship — the retired white champion and the black superstar — to address the problem.
But not long after that discussion, on the eve of Marciano’s 46th birthday, Marciano died. He was one of three passengers in a small private plane that crashed in Iowa.
Ali was among the boxers who attended the wake, Peter Marciano said.
“The respect they had for each other was something to behold,” he said. “This was genuine respect.”
The same clearly is not true of the Mayweather and Marciano clans, and Peter Marciano wants to make one other thing clear before Mayweather Jr. steps into the ring.
Rocky Marciano fought against heavyweights, while Mayweather Jr. has fought welterweights, men some 50 pounds lighter than the boxers Marciano beat.
“I’m hoping he can see the difference,” Peter Marciano said of Mayweather Jr.
