Where would Jersey Joe rank if he had beaten Rocky Marciano?

[BULLFROMBORNEO]

If Walcott didn't get caught and cruised to the UD that he was well on his way to achieving.. where would he rank among the HWs?

[Hank]

Some would have him in top 10, some would not. He was not really cruising, by the way, fight could have been draw if Marciano took rounds 14 and 15.

I think he would have fought Charles again, or Archie Moore, maybe Valdez. How he would be ranked depends on how he would have done after that fight with Marciano.

[Mendoza]

If Walcott didn't get caught and cruised to the UD that he was well on his way to achieving.. where would he rank among the HWs?

Even if Walcott won, he still lost too much to be considered a top 10 heavyweight.

I think the loss would move Rocky out of the top ten.

[flamengo]

Had Walcott finished Marciano in the first round, Marciano would be a could have been... and the win by Walcott would ensure the credibility of the 50s H/W division remained ridiculed lastingly, as it is, should be, and deserves to be. Marciano??? Lucky man to be around at the right time...

[mcvey]

If Walcott didn't get caught and cruised to the UD that he was well on his way to achieving.. where would he rank among the HWs?
Walcott was in front ,but he was hardly cruising,the thing is at that time Marciano was still viewed as somewhat raw and crude, [even by Walcott],if Joe had not gone back to the ropes ,using them as a springboard to launch his own punch ,and been beaten to the punch by Rocky ,he would probably slot in to the 12 to 15 mark in the ATG's.Marciano's legendary status has grown with every passing year,but in the 50's not everyone shared that opinion of him.So if Walcott had avoided SQ his status would be enhanced ,but not dramatically so.imo.

[janitor]

Even if Walcott won, he still lost too much to be considered a top 10 heavyweight.

I think the loss would move Rocky out of the top ten.

I tend to agree that by beating Marciano he would have automaticaly devalued the win.

If Marciano still ewent on to win the title and have a number of sucesfull title defences then it would be a bit like beating another Ezzard Charles.

[mr. magoo]

I think a win over an undefeated bonafied contender would have helped Walcott's standing a bit. He already makes most people's top 15-20 lists, and did afterall defeat the division's best contenders before ever even facing Marciano.

[BULLFROMBORNEO]

Maybe I jumped the gun by using the word " cruise " but I still had Walcott in the lead.

[janitor]

There's a huge number of people these days who believe Marciano fought hand picked dead men all the way to the title, so had Walcott won the fight, many people today would look at it as being a win over a powerful but limited undefeated prospect who never beat anybody of any substance.....

Only frustrated rap artists.

[groove]

Walcott is great for what? for how many times he lost? gimme a break.............Ali was undefeated until he met Frazier, Frazier was undefeated until he met Foreman......these guys are in a different league.

[Rebel-INS]

Walcott is great for what? for how many times he lost? gimme a break.............Ali was undefeated until he met Frazier, Frazier was undefeated until he met Foreman......these guys are in a different league.

What difference does that make? He still arguably beat Joe Louis (although was robbed of the decision) and beat Ezzard Charles twice.
He was a fantastic fighter and a definite ATG, who gets overlooked because he doesn't have a flashy record.

[groove]

yes he was good for his time.

[janitor]

Walcott is great for what? for how many times he lost? gimme a break.............Ali was undefeated until he met Frazier, Frazier was undefeated until he met Foreman......these guys are in a different league.

They were undefeated until they met eachother because they had long amateur careers, olympic pedigre and financial backing from the day of their profesional debuts.

Walcott never had any opf these things. No manager, no financial backing, no training camp, a few days notice before major fights and he would spend the previous day workiong on the docks.

Do you seriously think that Ali Frazier and Foreman would have gone undefeated for long periods if their careers had played out under these conditions?

Of course they wouldnt.

[Bummy Davis]

Walcott is already rated high by most renowned boxing experts...if he had beaten Marciano, rocky would be less esteemed and Walcott would be rated higher just like if Ali had lost the 2nd and 3rd fights to Frazier or if Norton and Young got the nod it would reduce him a bit...and raise the VICTOR

[Minotauro]

yes he was good for his time.

The guys is ATG if he was only good for his time why woul fighters like Hopkins and Toney try to model their style off his? Also Joe Louis said Walcott would beat Ali.

[Hank]

Walcott lost a lot of early fights for two reasons, one; he was late bloomer, did not tpeak till past 30, two; he often took tie off from boxing and took some fights on short notice. Rex Layne was solid fighter, and may have been champ if Marciano had not come along. Layne had win over Walcott in 1950. After Marciano fight Layne should have been retired, or at least had more time off. He was not same, had 3 fights with Ezzard Charles among others.