Rocky Marciano Vs Joe Frazier: What If? – Part 2 of 3 of Legendary Mythical Fights

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By Dave “Mythical” Siderski

In the first episode of our three part series, Marciano withstood tremendous punishment and a badly cut left eye, rallying to score a 9th round knockout victory over Sonny Liston. Tonight, he faces another relentless slugger in “Smokin” Joe Frazier. Frazier is five months removed from his March 1971 victory over Muhammad Ali and comes in tonight with a record of 27-0, 23 KO’s. Marciano is coming off his rematch 1st round knockout victory over Jersey Joe Walcott in May 1953 and comes in with a record of 44-0, 39 KO’s.

Fight night has arrived! More than 60,000 fans have gathered at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York City to witness an epic showdown between Rocky Marciano and “Smokin” Joe Frazier. Marciano enters the ring first and wears white trunks with black trim. He weighs 200 ½ lbs for the fight. Frazier enters the ring wearing green and gold and weighs 207 pounds. Frazier has a 1 inch height advantage along with a slight weight advantage. Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughn perform a dual instrumental guitar version of the “Star Spangled Banner” to the delight of the crowd. Referee Arthur Mercante brings the fighters to the center of the ring and issues final instructions. The bell rings for round one.

LET’S SETTLE THIS IN THE RING

Rocky presses the action against a slow-starting Frazier in the first round. He forces “Smokin” Joe to the ropes and bangs him to the body. Late in the round, Marciano lands a wicked overhand right which rocks Frazier. Marciano continues to control the action in round two, tattooing Frazier with hard power shots over the first two minutes. Frazier momentarily backs Marciano off with a left hook. However, 15 seconds later, Marciano lands a tremendous overhand right which sends Frazier to the canvas. Smokin Joe is up at the count of 6. He holds on and manages to survive the round.

Frazier began to work his way into the fight in the 3rd round. After Rocky dominates the first half of the round, Frazier controls the second half. Towards the end of the third, Smokin Joe lands a wicked left hook to the body that causes Marciano to audibly groan. The fighters go head to head and chest to chest in the 4th round. Frazier rocks Marciano early in the round with a left hook, while Rocky responds with a wicked right uppercut late which staggers Frazier.

The action really heats up in the 5th round. Frazier traps Rocky along the ropes early and batters him to the body. Smokin Joe snaps Marciano’s head back with a vicious left hook. Rocky fires back with a left hook, right cross combination which shakes Frazier. The fighters work their way back to the center of the ring and wail away at each other with impunity for the remainder of the round. Frazier has the better of the action of the first half of the 6th round as it is clear by now that he is physically stronger than Marciano. However, Rocky turns the tide late with a tremendous overhand right which staggers Frazier. Smokin Joe is badly hurt but demonstrates an iron chin in surviving the round.

The fighters continue to trade furiously in round 7. Joe is outmuscling Marciano on the inside, however, Rocky’s punches are crisper and harder. By the end of the 7th, Frazier is starting to swell under his left eye. By the 8th, Frazier’s superior strength is becoming an increasing factor. He forces Rocky to the ropes and lands wicked shots to the body and head as the round comes to a close. Rocky is gasping for air as he returns to the corner

Frazier is now in control of the fight as round 9 starts. Rocky spends much of his time on the ropes as Frazier tees off to the body. Marciano’s power is still evident as he occasionally backs Frazier off with his powerful right but “Smokin” Joe is relentless. He staggers Rocky with a left hook late in the round. By the end of the 9th, Rocky is cut over his left eye. By the 10th,
Rocky is tiring as Frazier pounds away on the inside. A wicked Frazier left hook rocks Marciano towards the end of the round.

Frazier dominates the first half of round 11. However, Rocky lands a vicious overhand right which turns the tide of the fight. Frazier is badly hurt and Marciano batters him against the ropes. Frazier gamely tries to fire back. Rocky lands another left hook which hurts Frazier again. As the bell rings for the end of the round, it is now Frazier that looks weary. Rocky looks to close the show in round 12. He lands a tremendous overhand right which staggers Frazier. Marciano pursues Frazier to the ropes and lands a left hook to the body followed by a right to the head which buckles Joe’s knees once again. However, Smokin Joe fires back off the ropes and hurts Rocky with a right uppercut. Rocky’s left eye is bleeding badly by the close of the round.

The 13th round is brutal with both men wailing away at each other over the course of three frenetic minutes. Frazier staggers Marciano mid-way through the round with a left hook that turns his legs to jelly. However, Marciano responds late with a right cross which nearly tears Joe’s head off. Both men are forced to hold as the round comes to a close.

As the bell rings for the start of round 14, the fight is up for grabs. Marciano and Frazier battle on even terms over the first half of the round. By the 1:30 mark, Rocky’s face is a bloody mask. Frazier backs him to the ropes and with 1:00 remaining he uncorks a devastating left hook which sends Marciano to the canvas. Rocky is up at the count of 6 and gamely tries to fight back but he can no longer see. A vicious four punch combination by Frazier forces the referee to step in and stop the fight at the 2:37 mark of the round.

Frazier wins by 14th round technical knockout!

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