37) Mike Tyson I TKO11: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Mike Tyson I 9 November 1996 WBA Heavyweight Nevada ***** [r1] … Mike Tyson comes out fast … A straight right hand [Tyson] … Holyfield with a combination … A straight right hand by Tyson … [r2] … Tyson able to duck under a number of others … Holyfield digging to the body with a right uppercut … That wrestling is tiring … Tyson against the rope … Combination by Holyfield … This is a fight between two champions … Great left hand by Holyfield … and again … [r3] … Holyfield also showing a lot of hand speed … Mike is not overwhelming him … good exchange … [r4] … Evander is out-speeding him … Holyfield is coming on … Tyson unleashing a flurry but it did not seem to phase Holyfield … He’s [Tyson] losing rounds … [r5] … back comes Holyfield … Holyfield is disorganising Tyson … Tyson unleashing uppercuts … Evander’s hurt … Right hand to the body … Short left hook from Tyson … The power stuff is coming on now … [r6] … Big left hook [Tyson] … Accidental head butt … Tyson is cut … both whaling away … The left eye of Mike Tyson … he’s mad … That was a low blow [Holyfield] … Down goes Tyson! A left hook! … We are seeing Mike Tyson tested … [r7] … Holyfield 1/5 … This crowd continues to chant for Holyfield … Good body shot by Tyson … Tyson walked into a straight left … The head-butt … That one buckled Tyson … [r8] … Left jab by Holyfield … Holyfield’s fighting one of those wise fights … drive you crazy … Holyfield comes right back … The guy that looks worn is Tyson … [r9] … We sit here and wait for Evander to show signs of fatigue … Look at this toe-to-toe action … Nice right hand by Mike … This is a real scorcher … Straight hand by Evander … [r10] … He [Mike] might need a knockout … Mike is slowing … Holyfield countering … A straight hand by Mike Tyson … Holyfield comes back … A straight right combination by Holyfield … Oh Tyson’s in trouble! … Mike is out on his feet … [r11] … He’s got Tyson in trouble! … The most unbelievable thing I’ve ever been privilege to witness! … Bedlam! US fight commentary
48) Mike Tyson II Won Disq 3: UK Fight Commentary TV
v Mike Tyson 28 June 1997 WBA Heavyweight Nevada [r1] … In that first fight Holyfield seemed to be armour-plated … There he [Evander] is again with the right hand … Gets in [Holyfield] with two good punches … The more positive start has come from Evander Holyfield … did enough to win … [r2] … He’s [Tyson] got a cut … doubts come into Tyson’s mind … and he’s [Holyfield] taking control early … Holyfield much the stronger … Tyson does not look a happy man … He feels Holyfield butted him … I don’t think it was deliberate … [r3] … Tyson goes for it … Pushing Holyfield off with the forearm … Good right hand from Tyson … Look at that from Holyfield … Right hand from Tyson … Some nasty stuff in there; there looked to be a bite almost … Holyfield is very unhappy; look at this! … definitely a bite … One point deduction or Tyson … Tyson looks as though he’s about to have another bite … The crowd are booing because they’ve just seen the slow motion … He could have been disqualified; the fight could he over … Now we’ve got a fight going on in the ring … UK Sky fight commentary
[8.8] ROCKY MARCIANO 49-49(43)-0-0 [Heavyweight 185-188 lbs]: Jimmy Cannon - Mills Lane - Ringside: Top 10 Heavyweights TV - Rocky Marciano: Boxing Legend TV - In This Corner: Great Heavyweights TV - Bert Randolph Sugar - Rocky Marciano - Jack Newfield - Kings of the Ring TV -
He would bleed without protest and ache without complaint if he could be called champion. Obscurity was all he feared. Jimmy Cannon
He stands out like a rose in a garbage dump. Jimmy Cannon
Great discipline. He had the Suzie-Q, the fight hand. Great talent. Mills Lane
Bert Sugar has him at Number Six. Ringside: Top 10 Heavyweights
He came late to boxing: twenty-four years old when he had his first pro fight. Rocky Marciano: Boxing Legend
And so it was that Marciano aged 31 after just 6 title defences retired undefeated before his powers had diminished. ibid.
He could not be described as graceful ... Marciano had a frightening tolerance for pain. Had a fury few have possessed. In This Corner: Great Heavyweights
I don’t know what to do with him. He was one of the greats. Bert Randolph Sugar
Nobody could stop that right hand. Bert Randoph Sugar
My mother said I was destined to be a fighter because I looked so much like one as a kid. Rocky Marciano
Pound for pound among the heavyweights he’s got to be among the very best. Jack Newfield, author Only in America: The Life and Crimes of Don King
Outside the ring Marciano slipped easily into the showbiz world. He was the perfect champion, the idol of the post-war generation. He never put a foot wrong. Kings of the Ring, BBC 1995
38) Joe Louis TKO8: Everett M Skehan - Joe Louis - US Fight Commentary TV -
A crowd of 17,241 fans at the Garden and millions watching on national television saw an unusual fight. For the first time in his career Joe Louis was not the aggressor. From the opening bell Rocky pursued him; the Brown Bomber relied on his famed left jab to keep his younger opponent at bay. Everett M Skehan, Local Boys Makes Good
96,270. And now the shark began to devour him, and there was nothing gentle about it. Rocky forced Joe to the ropes and ripped him with two savage left hooks. The King began to sag, alone and helpless, unable to prevent his own annihilation. Rocky’s eyes were wild with frenzy. In a split second he aimed the devastating right that range against the bone of Joe’s jaw, like a bell declaring a moment in history. ibid.
For true champions almost always have a chance against other true champions. And Marciano and Louis were both giants among the heavyweights. ibid.
While thousands waited in the playground, Rocky wolfed down a bowl of his favourite spezzato. Then he strolled across the street to where the crowd was roaring. Rocky grinned and waved a clenched fist over his head. In Brockton, Marciano was the local boy who made good. ibid.
He doesn’t really fight by the book. But I got hit by a library tonight. Joe Louis
38) Joe Louis TKO8: US Fight Commentary TV -
v Joe Louis 26th October 1951 New York Non-Title [r1] … Can the ex-champion come back? He’s the slight favourite … Rocky manoeuvres Lewis to the ropes and lands a right to the jaw in the opening seconds … [r2] A sweeping overhand right … Again Marciano bullies Louis to the ropes … A good Marciano round … A solid winging right to the head … [r3] … Some of the Old Bomber coming back … Left hook from Louis … Another right … A roundhouse right … [r4] … The left, the only weapon proving effective for him [Louis] … [5] … He [Louis] seems completely confident here in the 5th … Louis pushes Marciano away … the second awarded unanimously to Joe Louis … [r6] Louis has won his last round … Here comes another right … Another sweeping right by Rocky misses … [7] … The end is near … [r8] … Marciano knocked out one of the greatest champion the ring has ever known … Marciano exerting more and more pressure as he moves in for the kill ... Now watch this: Marciano’s hard left hook sends Louis sprawling to the canvas. US fight commentary
43) Jersey Joe Walcott I KO13: US Fight Commentary TV - Mills Lane - Jersey Joe Walcott - Don Dunphy -
v Jersey Joe Walcott I 23rd September 1952 Heavyweight Philadelphia [r1] Marciano staggered with a sharp right. Down from a left hook! ... [r13] ... There’s a right hand! Walcott! And Rocky Marciano is the Heavyweight champion of the world! Rocky Marciano! A beautiful right hand punch ... turned Joe upside down. Rocky Marciano! US fight commentary
Tremendous contrast in styles. Mills Lane
Rocky had a tremendous chin but he definitely knew he’d been hit. Mills Lane
Boxing is all profession. On the night of the fight naturally we looked at each other and tried to kill each other. But after the fight is over we become human beings and disparate American citizens. Jersey Joe Walcott, interview The Main Event
Walcott was a superb Heavyweight. He gave Marciano such a beating. And I didn’t think Rocky would be able to come out for the thirteenth round. Don Dunphy, broadcaster
The greatest single punch I ever remember. Don Dunphy
Walcott got hit with a sledgehammer. He might still be lying there for all I know. Bert Randolph Sugar