GOAT Index

Two legends at a time. Thousands of votes. One ranking.

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Rocky Marciano: the case for the GOAT

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    Rocky Marciano: the case for the GOAT

    Heavyweight · USA · Born 1 September 1923, Brockton, Massachusetts, USA · Died 1969 · Career 1947–1955

    Heavyweight champion from 1952 to 1956. Small for the division but tireless, durable and a crushing right-hand puncher known as 'The Brockton Blockbuster'.

    Career highlights

    Why Rocky Marciano could be the GOAT

    Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to retire with a perfect record, and he stopped 43 of his 49 opponents. He beat every leading heavyweight of his time, including Walcott, Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore, often after being badly hurt. His case rests on something no one else here can claim: he was never beaten.

    What fans say

    Rocky Marciano is #8 of 25 in the fan ranking, with a 1–0 head-to-head record from 19 Men's boxing votes. See the full Men's boxing GOAT ranking

    Rocky Marciano head to head

    How the ranking works. Every head-to-head vote is a result, like a game. The standings use a Bradley–Terry model, the same idea behind chess ratings: beating a highly rated legend counts for more than beating a long shot. Ratings are shown on a chess-style scale centred on 1500.

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      Photos come from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses listed. Each links to its source page.