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50 Years Ago This Month, Rocky Marciano KOed Muhammad Ali
At the dawn of the year 1970, Rocky Marciano had been dead for five months and 1012 days had elapsed since Muhammad Ali had last stepped into the ring. But before the first calendar month was over, Marciano and Ali would sling leather in a battle witnessed by roughly a million people in theaters and arenas across North America and by millions more on TV in England and Japan.
What they witnessed, of course, was a simulation, a faux fight. But it wasnât as if Marciano and Ali were animated figures. They actually did share the ring, pulling their punches and occasionally landing a real punch by accident, over the course of 75 one-minute rounds filmed against a black backdrop behind locked doors at Chris Dundeeâs Fifth Street Gym in Miami. Dundee, the older brother of the famous trainer Angelo Dundee, served as the third man in the ring.
The âfightâ between the 45-year-old Marciano (49-0, 43 KOs) and the 28-year-old Ali (29-0, 23 KOs) was the brainchild of Murry Woroner. A man in his mid-40s who grew up in the Bronx, Woroner entered the radio field at a station in the coal-mining town of Harlan, Kentucky, and made several other stops before turning up in Miami where he started his own production company.
Three years earlier, the resourceful Woroner had concocted a heavyweight tournament consisting of 15 fantasy fights that he sold to 380 radio stations around the world. There were 16 entrants, seven deceased, and the last man standing became the mythical greatest heavyweight champion of all time.
A large panel of boxing historians rated each fighter on a host of variables, the results were coded onto punch cards that were fed into a bulky contraption called a computer, and the computer determined the winner of each match. (In the finals, Marciano rallied to stop Jack Dempsey in the 13th round.)
Ali, then known as Cassius Clay, was the only active fighter in the tournament. He was eliminated by turn-of-century stalwart James J. Jeffries in the second round.
Ali/Clay was so incensed by the verdict that he sued Woroner for defamation of character. Jack Johnson had run circles around Jeffries when Jeffries came out of retirement in 1910, and in Aliâs eyes it was absurd to think that he wouldnât have conquered Jeffries in a similarly one-sided fashion.
Murry Woroner reportedly gave Ali $10,000 to drop the suit with the proviso that Ali film a simulated match with Marciano if Marciano could be lured out of retirement. Exiled from boxing and with his bankroll slowly dwindling, Ali accepted the offer. He received an unspecified guarantee plus a percentage of the profits.
In the late spring of 1969, when Marciano consented to participate, he had been out of the ring for 13 years. In retirement, his legend grew his larger â he was the only former heavyweight champion to retire undefeated â and so also did his waistline. A proud man, he lost 50 pounds before the first fake punch was thrown.
Marciano was a bleeder. A lot of ketchup was used during the filming, but lore has it that during one segment Marciano was cut between the eyes so severely that it necessitated a three-week recess. But Ali wasnât unscathed either. He was sidelined, however briefly, when the lumps in his arms became too tender — or so it was written.
After the footage was edited and boiled down to a manageable length, it was placed in a vault where it was guarded, said Time magazine, more closely than the gold in Fort Knox. Only a handful of people knew how the âfightâ would turn out and they were sworn to secrecy. Couriers delivered the final cut to exhibitors less than an hour before it was to be shown, an added measure of protection.
This was a first-class production. Every living former heavyweight champion â except Gene Tunney, who declined to participate â and other ring notables such as The Ring magazine founder Nat Fleischer, was interviewed and appeared on camera. Veteran New York sportscaster Guy LeBow, who had narrated the radio tournament, returned as the blow-by-blow guy.
LeBow wasnât as well-known to boxing fans as Don Dunphy, but he was the perfect choice because of his familiarity with recreations. He had previously worked for the New York Giants baseball team whose road games (and all games in 1958, their first season in San Francisco) aired on a New York radio station with the announcer sitting in a studio working off a Western Union ticker.
Marciano vs. Ali ran on Jan. 20, 1970, a Tuesday, with the opening credits appearing at 7:30 PM Pacific time; three hours later, to the very minute, in the East. At a few of the venues, the movie was conjoined with other entertainment. At Boston Garden, it was paired with a six-fight card. The ending of the fight, which saw Marciano win by stoppage at the 57-second mark of round 13, met with the roaring approval of the Beantown crowd, especially the Italians in the audience who venerated Marciano as if he were the Pope.
Ali, who watched the movie at a theater in Philadelphia, was foiled once again, and once again by a dead man. Three weeks after the final day of filming at the Main Street Gym, and not quite five months before the film appeared on the big screen, Marciano died when the small airplane in which he was an occupant, crashed in an Iowa cornfield.
Of course, Ali held no grudge against Marciano. The two reportedly came to like and respect each other during the course of their Miami adventure. Aliâs beef was with the computer which he characterized as a Mississippi redneck.
Seven different endings were filmed. Itâs widely assumed that the version shown on TV in England was different than the version shown in the United States. Thatâs partly true.
Rocky Marciano wasnât as venerated in England as he was in his native country. Conversely, Muhammad Ali was a far less controversial personality. A much smaller percentage of the British population were inclined to root against him.
When the fantasy fight aired in England, there was a great outcry that Ali had gotten a raw deal. To appease their viewers, a different version was acquired by the TV network. The revision, which aired three days after the original broadcast, showed Ali winning the fight on cuts. However, the round in which the fight was halted wasnât perfectly clear.
Theater owners were forbidden to show the film more than once. If you missed it, you missed it, but eventually a surviving print was located and turned into a DVD. Released in 2005, it was re-titled âThe Superfight: Marciano vs. Ali.â The posters for the original included both names under which Ali was known, but the words âCassius Clayâ were dropped from the promotional materials for the DVD.
Murry Woronerâs fantasy fight hardly settled the argument as to who would have won if Ali and Marciano had met in their respective primes. Many that favor Ali believe he would have won in a cakewalk (similar to Jack Johnson over the aforementioned Jeffries), whereas those favoring Marciano invariably see him taking a lot of punishment before he wears down Ali with his relentless pressure (similar to the first Ali-Frazier fight with Marciano assuming the role of Joe Frazier).
Where do you stand?
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In an excellent fight climaxed by a furious 12th round, Argentinaâs Fernando Daniel Martinez came off the deck to win his rematch with Kazuto Ioka and retain his piece of the world 115-pound title. The match was staged at Iokaâs familiar stomping grounds, the Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo.
In their first meeting on July 7 of last year in Tokyo, Martinez was returned the winner on scores of 117-111, 116-112, and a bizarre 120-108. The rematch was slated for late December, but Martinez took ill a few hours before the weigh-in and the bout was postponed.
The 33-year-old Martinez, who came in sporting a 17-0 (9) record, was a 7-2 favorite to win the sequel, but there were plenty of reasons to favor Ioka, 36, aside from his home field advantage. The first Japanese male fighter to win world titles in four weight classes, Ioka was 3-0 in rematches and his long-time trainer Ismael Salas was on a nice roll. Salas was 2-0 last weekend in Times Square, having handled upset-maker Rolly Romero and Reito Tsutsumi who was making his pro debut.
But the fourth time was not a charm for Ioka (31-4-1) who seemingly pulled the fight out of the fire in round 10 when he pitched the Argentine to the canvas with a pair of left hooks, but then wasnât able to capitalize on the momentum swing.
Martinez set a fast pace and had Ioka fighting off his back foot for much of the fight. Beginning in round seven, Martinez looked fatigued, but the Argentine was conserving his energy for the championship rounds. In the end, he won the bout on all three cards: 114-113, 116-112, 117-110.
Up next for Fernando Martinez may be a date with fellow unbeaten Jesse âBamâ Rodriguez, the lineal champion at 115. San Antonioâs Rodriguez is a huge favorite to keep his title when he defends against South Africaâs obscure Phumelela Cafu on July 19 in Frisco, Texas.
As for Ioka, had he won todayâs rematch, that may have gotten him over the hump in so far as making it into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. True, winning titles in four weight classes is no great shakes when the bookends are only 10 pounds apart, but Ioka is still a worthy candidate.
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In a torrid battle Mexicoâs Emanuel âVaqueroâ Navarrete and his staccato attack staved off the herky-jerky non-stop assaults of Philippineâs Charly Suarez to win by technical decision and retain the WBO super feather world title on Saturday.
What do they feed these guys?
Navarrete (40-2-1, 32 KOs) and his elongated arms managed to connect enough to compensate against the surprising Suarez (18-1, 10 KOs) who wowed the crowd at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.
An accidental clash of heads opened a cut on the side of Navarreteâs left eye and forced a stoppage midway through the fight.
From the opening round Navarrete used his windmill style of attack with punches from different angles that caught Suarez multiple times early. It did not matter. Suarez fired back with impunity and was just as hungry to punch it out with the Mexican fighter.
It was savage.
Every time Navarrete connected solidly, he seemed to pause and check out the damage. Bad idea. Suarez would immediately counter with bombs of his own and surprise the champion with his resilience and tenacity.
Wherever they found Suarez they should look for more, because the Filipino fighter from Manila was ferocious and never out of his depth.
Around the sixth round the Mexican fighter seemed a little drained and puzzled at the tireless attacks coming from Suarez. During an exchange of blows a cut opened up on Navarrete and it was ruled an accidental clash of heads by the referee. Blood streamed down the side of Navarreteâs face and it was cleared by the ringside physician.
But at the opening of the eighth round, the fight was stopped and the ringside physician ruled the cut was too bad to continue. The California State Athletic Commission looked at tape of the round when the cut opened to decipher if it was an accidental butt or a punch that caused the cut. It was unclear so the refereeâs call of accidental clash of heads stood as the final ruling.
Score cards from the judges saw Navarrete the winner by scores of 78-75, 77-76 twice. He retains the WBO title.
Interim IBF Lightweight Title
The sharp-shooting Raymond âDangerâ Muratalla (23-0, 17 KOs) maneuvered past Russiaâs Zaur Abdullaev (20-2, 12 KOs) by unanimous decision to win the interim IBF lightweight title after 12 rounds.
Both fighters were strategic in their approach with Muratalla switching from orthodox to southpaw at various times of the fight. Neither fighter was ever able to dominant any round.
Defense proved the difference between the two lightweights. Muratalla was able to slip more blows than Abdullaev and that proved the difference. The fighter from Fontana, California was able to pierce Abdullaevâs guard more often than not, especially with counter punches.
Abdullaev was never out of the fight. The Russian fighter was able to change tactics and counter the counters midway through the fight. It proved effective especially to the body. But it was not enough to offset Muratallaâs accuracy.
There were no knockdowns and after 12 rounds the judges scored it 118-110, 119-109 twice for Muratalla who now becomes the mandatory for the IBF lightweight title should Vasyl Lomachenko return to defend it.
Muratalla was brief.
âHe was a tough fighter,â said Muratalla. âMy defense is something I work on a lot.â
Perla Wins
Super flyweight Perla Bazaldua (2-0) eased past Mona Ward (0-2) with a polished display of fighting at length and inside.
Combination punching and defense allowed Bazaldua to punch in-between Wardâs attacks and force the St. Louis fighter to clinch repeatedly. But Ward hung in there despite taking a lot of blows. After four rounds the Los Angeles-based Bazaldua was scored the winner 40-36 on all three cards. Bazaldua signed a long term contract with Top Rank in March.
Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank
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Frank Warrenâs Queensberry Promotions was at Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham, England, tonight with a card featuring hometown favorite Leigh Wood against Irelandâs Anthony âApacheâ Cacace.
Wood, a former two-time WBA featherweight champion, known for dramatic comebacks in bouts he was losing, may have reached the end of the road at age 36. He had his moments tonight, rocking Cacace on several occasions and winning the eighth round, but he paid the price, returning to his corner after round eight with swelling around both of his eyes.
In the ninth, Cacace, an 11/5 favorite, hurt Wood twice with left hands, the second of which knocked Wood into the ropes, dictating a standing 8-count by referee John Latham. When the bout resumed, Cacace went for the kill and battered Wood around the ring, forcing Woodâs trainer Ben Davison to throw in the towel. The official time was 2:15 of round nine.
Akin to Wood, Northern Irelandâs Cacace (24-1, 9 KOs) is also 36 years old and known as a late bloomer. This was his ninth straight win going back to 2017 (he missed all of 2018 and 2020). He formerly held the IBF 130-pound world title, a diadem he won with a stoppage of then-undefeated and heavily favored Joe Cordina, but that belt wasnât at stake tonight as Cacace abandoned it rather than fulfill his less-lucrative mandatory. Wood falls to 28-4.
Semi-Wind-Up
Nottingham light heavyweight Ezra Taylor, fighting in his hometown for the first time since pro debut, delighted his fan base with a comprehensive 10-round decision over previously undefeated Troy Jones. Taylor, who improved to 12-0 (9) won by scores of 100-90, 99-91, and 98-92.
This was Taylorâs first fight with new trainer Malik Scott, best known for his work with Deontay Wilder. The victory may have earned him a match with Commonwealth title-holder Lewis Edmondson. Jones was 12-0 heading in.
Other Bouts of Note
In his first fight as a featherweight, Liam Davies rebounded from his first defeat with a 12-round unanimous decision over Northern Irelandâs previously undefeated Kurt Walker. Davies, who improved to 17-1 (8), staved off a late rally to prevail on scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 117-111. It was the first pro loss for the 30-year-old Walker (12-1), a Tokyo Olympian.
In a mild upset, Owen Cooper, a saucy Worcestershire man, won a 10-round decision over former Josh Taylor stablemate Chris Kongo. The refereeâs scorecard read 96-94.
Cooper improved to 11-1 (4). It was the third loss in 20 starts for Kongo.
A non-televised 8-rounder featured junior welterweight Sam Noakes in a stay-busy fight. A roofer by trade and the brother of British welterweight title-holder Sean Noakes, Sam improved to 17-0 (15 KOs) with a third-round stoppage of overmatched Czech import Patrik Balez (13-5-1).
Photo credit: Leigh Dawney / Queensberry
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