By Charley Stone
A FIGHT I WOULD LIKE TO SEE Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Frazier for the Heavyweight Championship of the World THIS IS HOW I IMAGINE IT WOULD BE.
THE SETTING:
Both fighters in their prime. 15 rounds for the Heavyweight championship of the world.
Joe Frazier weight: 209 pounds.
Rocky Marciano weight: 185 pounds.
Rocky Marciano is undefeated in the prime of his boxing life. He is coming off the 1st round destruction of former champ Jersey Joe Walcott . His record is 43-0 with 38 KO’s .
A tremendous puncher with incredible endurance. A deadly combination. A punching machine. He’s ready for this fight.
He expects Joe Frazier will be a very difficult opponent. He has been in training for 3 months for this fight, known as a gym rat, this is even long for his standards.
Joe Frazier is ready. He always wanted this fight. And he vows to bring the fight to Rocky Marciano. Joe as always, is in excellent shape.
He is coming off his spectacular knockout of lightweight champion Bob Foster in round 2. Joe Frazier record is 26-0 with 23 KO’s.
Joe Frazier has rocketed thru the heavyweight division. Leaving in his wake Jerry Quarry, Oscar Bonavena, and Jimmy Ellis.
LOCATION:
This fight is being held in Las Vegas the center of boxing. The odds makers have pegged Rocky Marciano as a 6 to 5 favorite. Larry Merchant thinks it’s a pick’em fight. It’s a full house on fight night. And time for the main event 15 rounds of boxing for the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world.
FIGHT NIGHT:
The excitement is in the air, as it always is, at heavyweight championship fights. Rocky enters the ring first, to a tremendous ovation. He seems to be in excellent condition.
Joe Frazier follows shortly after, he said he wanted to make Rocky Marciano wait in the ring, for a while. But I guess he’s anxious, to get this fight started. The crowd is buzzing.
Lets get ready to rumble……………………….. 15 rounds of boxing, the lights dim, and the before you know it the fight begins. The tension in the crowd is thick, you can feel it.
ROUND ONE
Joe Frazier comes out smoking. He said he would impose his size and strength on Rocky, and that is what he’s doing. They immediately exchange punches in the middle of the ring. There is no feeling out process the fight is on.
They fall into a clinch and Joe Frazier immediately moves forward toward Rocky Marciano. Rocky fires a right that bounces off Joe’s head. The force of the punch momentarily stops Frazier in his tracks, he snorts like a bull and just keeps coming.
Joe’s throwing hard punches and is looking to end it early. Rocky Marciano outweighed grudgingly gives ground under Joe’s assault. A powerful left hook catches Rocky on the jaw and down he goes, he’s up quickly but Joe smells blood.
Rocky’s up at the count of five, and takes the standing eight, he too, is anxious to return to the fray. They meet in center of the ring and exchange a series of heavy punches the bell sounds. Round one is over and it’s a big round for Joe Frazier. Joe Frazier 10 Rocky Marciano 8
Rocky is bleeding inside the mouth.
MINUTE REST
The corners are working furiously over their men. Rocky’s conner is asking if he’s alright, Joe Frazier’s corner gives him instructions telling Joe “to go after him and try to take him out while you can.” Rocky’s bleeding inside his mouth but otherwise seems no worse for wear.
The bell sounds. The crowd roars!
ROUND TWO
They meet again in mid ring This time however Marciano whips a overhand right the lands squarely on Joe’s jaw and down he goes. Marciano can’t wait, to get at him. Joe is up quickly and as the count reaches 8 Rocky is on him.
Throwing punch after punch, Joe is firing back. It’s war. And someone must go down…………. And someone does, Joe is down again and this time, he looks hurt. Rocky is a great closer and he doesn’t want to waste this chance.
Joe Frazier always gets up. And he climbs to his feet again. The crowd is screaming for blood. Frazier is still hurt. Rocky is on him again. Firing shot after shot. Frazier begins to fire back ! 35 seconds left in the round. Frazier lands a left hook that stuns the Rock but he keeps firing back.
A overhand right from Rocky Marciano lands and down goes Frazier! The Fight is over. Frazier again climbs to his feet. At 2:47 of the second round the fight has been stopped by the ref, due to the three knockdown rule. The winner and still Champion Rocky Marciano.
POST FIGHT INTERVIEWS
Rocky Marciano: Joe Frazier hits harder with one punch, than anyone I ever fought. You don’t have to look for him he is always right there in front of you. Great fighter!
Joe Frazier: I hurt him when I hit him. You saw it, I knocked him down. I thought I might get him out of there early. He hit me before I hit him. It could have easily been him. I wanna fight him again. Next time things would be different. I want him again.
Reporter : What happened when you got hit?
Joe Frazier: When I got hurt, Rocky just wouldn’t give me a chance to regain my sense’s
He pushes and punches and keeps moving in. Once your hurt he’s tough to handle.
POST FIGHT ANALYSIS
Joe Frazier came out smoking, hurting Rocky in the first round. Joe normally a slow starter, jumped on Rocky sending him down with a wicked left hook.
Seeing he could hurt Rocky, underestimating the danger, Frazier moved in for the kill.
In that moment, when the pursuer, swelled with confidence, loses even for a moment, the concentration necessarily to finish the kill. The tables can turn.
Rocky Marciano then caught Joe coming in. Much like, Oscar Bonavena did, with a overhand right. And with that punch, the tables and the fight had turned.
Rocky Marciano vs. Joe Frazier, a great fight for the ages.
