rocky marciano vs david tua?

This is a very good question.

Before anything, with respect, I completely disagree with most of the posts previously made. Rocky Marciano, as historically great and important as he might have been, hasn't got a snowball chance in hell in this match.

In sport of boxing, styles make fights and his style would have flatt out gotten him killed here in 3 rounds or less. First of all, as hard as he may have hit, Tua hit much harder and secondly, the difference in physical strength between them would have been beyond overwhelming. You think that Marciano would engage Tua like Ike Ibeabuchi did perhaps and be able to hold his ground in that sort of a match?! I don't think so. He would have gotten mauled and beaten to a pulp by much, much bigger, stronger and more powerful fighter, its that simple.

People say that slugging it out with Marciano would have been suicide for anyone. And you know why they say that - because he never fought David Tua! Or Sonny Liston, or Mike Tyson, or George Foreman for instance. Had he ever taken on someone of this caliber and style, the general opinion would have been much different now, you can believe that.

But back to the match. When you enter the ring with David Tua, and especially someone as small as Marciano, you do not go in to brawl with the man, you do not meet him head on, you do not try to bully him or pressure him. If you want any chance of, even ending the match on your feet, these are the things you avoid desperately. And this is exactly what Marciano's style was all about, he didn't know anything else. To beat Tua he would have to do the exact opposite. He would have to take advantage of his lack of mobility. So speed, jab, distance control and lateral movement would have been the keys for winning and, even more importantly, surviving this fight. And which of these exactly was Marciano known for? OK, so he might not have been as easy to hit as some people claim, and that's a big might, but does that change the fact that he was a slow punching, slow moving, undersized, straight forward slugger? No it doesn't. And being a slow punching, slow moving, undersized, straight forward slugger Rocky Marciano would catch a straight forward beatdown in this fight, plain and simple. He might last a round or so, but inevitably it would only be a matter of moments before David got one of those left hooks in and good night Vienna.

Tua by KO in 2.

David Tua never been knock down as a pro, Rocky was knock down by light heavyweight Archie Moore. David will beat small Marciano up pretty badly. Don't get me wrong I think Rocky is p4p better than David but 50lbs different is way too much to overcome. Remember the great Sugar Ray Robinson couldn't even overcome a mere 15 lbs different and lose to Joey Maxim.

As hard as Tua hit, he never quite took it to the next level, Rock on the other hand most certainly did just that. I have to agree with Toughguy, Marciano would take Tua apart and odds are good they both would take some serious shots before it ended. I like Marciano in this slug fest, great match up but they were two different level fighters, and Rock would be the odds on favorite.

Contrary to popular belief, Marciano was much harder to hit with a clean shot than most realize getting in to a low crouch and able to slip and duck punches very well. And when he did get hit, he could certainly take it. I also think that slugging it out with the Brockton Blockbuster would be suicide for almost anyone that ever stepped in to a ring. Marciano was like a pit bull with tremendous endurance like not too many fighters ever had and was never afraid in the ring. Tua while powerful and strong, would get hit way too much against Marciano to last. He might not get knocked down as he can take a good shot and has tree trunks for legs, but he would have to absorb a terrible beating. Tua would land some good shots against the Rock but it wouldn't discourage him at all as Rocky would batter him and make him miss often on his way to knocking David Tua out in the 9th round.

Go to Marciano's undeerrated defense on youtube. It backs up what I've been trying to tell people who think Rocky was a punching bag. It's just not true.

Tua wouldn't have stood a chance against Marciano, the ONLY undefeated Heavyweight champion in history with a record of 49-0.

Some uninformed "young" boxing fans believe Tyson was the greatest. So wrong. Marciano was small for a heavyweight at 5'10" and a weight of 185. Pretty small fella, wasn't he? He held the title from 1952 to 1956. Of his 49 wins, he had 43 KOs, 31 of which were within 5 rounds. He had a reach of 68 inches, the shortest of all his opponents. I believe his toughest opponent was Jersey Joe Wolcott who knocked Marciano down in the first round.

Those who believe Tyson was strong need to look at Jersey Joe. He was a mountain of a man in muscles who had a punch that could match anyone, even today's fighters. He fought the best heavyweights of his time.

With a record like that, how can anyone pick a Mike Tyson over Marciano. Marciano was only 185 lbs. - basically a light heavyweight who ALWAYS fought opponents bigger and heavier than himself.

Marciano's reach of 68" was 4" SHORTER than Floyd Mayweather, yet at 185 lbs. he fought Primo Carnera who was 6'6" and weighed 260 lbs; Max Baer, 6'3", 210lbs; Buddy Baer, 6'5" and 237 lbs. One opponent was 260 lbs. Basically, this was an UNDEFEATED light heavyweight in against giants who were all known for their punching power, but the small Marciano KOed them all.

Tua via 1st round ko. Marciano fought in a weak era all the top contenders were old and ex welter and middles. Tua all the w ay in one-sided win.

Good question. And a hard one too. Marciano and Tua are similar in that we know both of them to a bundle of dynamite ready to explode in their opponents faces at any given time. I saw a few Marciano fights on tapes wherein he obliterated Louis, Charles and other noted heavyweights of his time. I was also able to watch Tua's fights on TV in which he also acted like a meat grinder in brutally kayoing many noted heavies of our time like Tommy Morrison. Both of them are awe-inspiring to watch as Mike Tyson during his prime. But their fights do not always end in picture-perfect KOs. Marciano's 49-0 indicated that he can still win if the opportunity for KO was not there. On the other hand, Tua's losses, though not so many, indicated that if didn't get his KO, he is liable to loss. This is where the main difference between him and Marciano lies. In their prime, I would take Marciano to win by close but unanimous points decision. It's inconceivable that either one could knock each other out with their comparable conditioning, toughness and stamina. And since they will realize that they could not dent each other's jaw, they will go for the next best thing---to box. Marciano's got to be one of the most underrated boxers in nthe heavyweights but i think he would have enough skill to outbox Tua.

To compare Tua to Marciano is like trying to compare Tyrell Biggs to Mike Tyson (and we remember how that fight went!)

i heard david tua was 5-9 at some point.......tua would win

The Rock all the way in this one!!!!!!!