Educate me on Nino LaRocca

[OBCboxer]

There is not much about him online but I heard about him from somebody who saw him back in the 80's.

[WhataRock]

He is from Italy.

[OBCboxer]

He is from Italy.

I know that much. I also see he fought Donald Curry. There's only one fight of his online and it's at the tail-end of his career.

[MRBILL]

He was a fast slickster with a very PADDED record... In the early 80s, he was kickin' lotsa' European ass and making himself a name..... BUT! His career hit a brick wall in 1984when he challenged Donald Curry for the WBA title....... Curry KO'd Nino LaRocca in 6 or 7 rds, and LaRocca just went down hill after that....... He was way over-hyped.....

MR.BILL

[OBCboxer]

He was a fast slickster with a very PADDED record... In the early 80s, he was kickin' lotsa' European ass and making himself a name..... BUT! His career hit a brick wall in 1984when he challenged Donald Curry for the WBA title....... Curry KO'd Nino LaRocca in 6 or 7 rds, and LaRocca just went down hill after that....... He was way over-hyped.....

MR.BILL

Did he look good before the KO in that fight?

[Sister Sledge]

Did he look good before the KO in that fight?

Larocca looked like a world-beater. He had a great record, he was flashy, the kind of guy you'd have on T.V. He was actually put on regular T.V. in the states quite a bit until Curry took him out. He totally outclassed Bobby Joe Young when Young was a good contender. He looked like a future HOFer, then the Curry fight and the bottom fell out.

Larocca was very fast, on par with Curry. He had and average chin with average power, though. His knockouts came from an accumulation of punches. Nino was a very good combination puncher and would just rain down combos on his opponents.

[Xplosive]

Donald Curry lit him up like a Christmas tree. All Larocca could do was run from the Cobra. But Curry hunted him down.

[Xplosive]

Did he look good before the KO in that fight?

No. Curry dominated.

[leverage]

I expected his fight with curry to be a competitive one because up until that point he looked like the real thing. He was called "the italian Ali" because he danced around the ring on swift feet and also had swift hands. He was also physically well suited for a welterweight, being 5-11"
and having a pretty long reach.

Larocca however, built his great record on the ""tomatoe can circuit" (with the exception of a few decent opponents) and had never faced someone the caliber of curry and it showed. He was exposed as being someone who didn't belong in the same ring and as having a suspect chin. In that fight he was stunned by right hand counters and before curry knocked him out he was holding on to curry for dear life. I wondered why he was doing this but was unaware of how badly he was hurt. When he went down it was for the count.

He weak chin was exposed a few fights later when he was disqualified for excessive clinching. Larocca was great against average fighters but against the top guys he couldn't cut the mustard.

[natonic]

Yeah he was hyped and had a padded record but he was very talented. The clip on Youtube (although certainly better than nothing)is not a prime Larocca.

[OBCboxer]

Thanks.

[GPater11093]

i had heard the name but didnt know alot about him cheers for info

you learn something everyday here

[Duodenum]

This Mali Africa native was basically a greyhound with boxing gloves. Sure beat the shit out of Bobby Joe Young though.

[MRBILL]

Did he look good before the KO in that fight?

I was fooled early on by LaRocca.... I thought he was gonna be THE CHAMP at 147 pounds....... However, by round 3 or 4 with Curry in 1984, I knew he was getting exposed as a fraud...... I have the fight on tape..... Curry kicked LaRocca's ass pretty bad and easy.......:|

MR.BILL

[MRBILL]

LaRocca had close to 50 or 60 wins with only 1 loss on his record when he faced Don Curry in 1984......... LaRocca lost on cuts to some French bloke named 'Giles Ebilia' or close to that just prior to his title shot..... I never saw the fight...... Nino LaRocca beat up a lot of tankers, stiffs & bums........

MR.BILL

[Cobra33]

Larocca gets a little underrated at times.He beat some decent fighters like Bobby Joe Young,a faded Pete Ranzany and such.He got destroyed by Curry who at that time was the best boxer in the world.

[Sister Sledge]

Larocca gets a little underrated at times.He beat some decent fighters like Bobby Joe Young,a faded Pete Ranzany and such.He got destroyed by Curry who at that time was the best boxer in the world.

I don't believe he was overrated. He was a gatekeeper with good skill and above average speed. His average chin and power kept him out of the b ig leagues

[OBCboxer]

If anybody has film, please post.

[sthomas]

I saw him school Bobby Joe Young on TV and Cosell was announcing. I thought he was the real deal based on that night. Then Curry snuffed him out as bad as LaRocca schooled Young.

[la-califa]

To be fair, LaRocca fought in the European circuit. & dominated the competition there before coming to America. He fought a couple of american contenders, but wasn't ready for true World class competition. He was called "The Italian Ali" because he moved & boxed strikingly simular to a young Ali. The fight with Ranzany was pure poetry. LaRocca moved perfectly & dismantling Pete. But these fighters were a far cry from the skills of Curry. & LaRocca wasn't ready, He was beaten pretty bad & it ruined the rest of his career.

[Mantequilla]

ranzany was shot when he fought Nino.

I don't think Larocca was ruined by Curry.He just didn't have much stomach for a tough fight and fought the same way before and after that bout.

He avoided most of Europes better Welters at the time like Jones, Rosi and Honeyghan who would have exposed him before he got to Donald.