00:00He stood 5 feet 10 inches tall with a measly 67 inch reach and fists smaller than every heavyweight champion in history.
00:09He was a clumsy prospect with two left feet that most trainers would not have had the patience to work with.
00:14But trainer Charlie Goldman could see Marciano's advantages that couldn't be listed with numbers and fighting qualities that were not visible from the outside.
00:23He could not be described as graceful. Even his trainer Charlie Goldman refused to conceal the obvious.
00:29He was one of the clumsiest fellows I ever saw in the ring.
00:32Even when he began training stepped on his own feet and would knock himself down.
00:36He had to overcome nature's limitations.
00:39One critic described Marciano as too short to seriously challenge mediocre heavyweights let alone to be a contender for the world title.
00:47And here comes this little guy looks like a fireplug from Brockton, Massachusetts.
00:50All the smart sports writers say that's a Neanderthal type. He can't fight. He can't do anything. He keeps knocking everybody out.
00:56Marciano was small for heavyweight, even by the standards of those earlier times.
01:00But he fought for the will of iron, built upon the most dedicated training regimen boxing has ever known.
01:06He was dedicated. I don't think anybody ever worked harder than Rocky.
01:11Far more than most professional boxers, Marciano is a guy who likes to train.
01:15An unusual feature of Marciano's training routine is batting this giant-sized bag.
01:21It weighs 270 pounds, about four times heavier than the ordinary type, and it was designed and made especially for him.
01:29Under the careful eye of trainer Charlie Goldman, Marciano has developed into a first-class fighting man.
01:34After sparring 225 rounds in training camp, he definitely appears to be in tip-top shape.
01:41Despite his somewhat rugged technique, when it came to trading blows with Marciano over 15 rounds, skills were never what paid the bills.
01:50In the ring, Rocky was both an immovable object and unstoppable force.
01:55Appropriately nicknamed the Rock, Marciano had fists of stone and the finesse of a boulder.
02:00There was no subtlety or style hidden in the madness he displayed.
02:05In the ring, he was a man obsessed with victory.
02:09His opponents would face an onslaught that was fueled by the roars of the crowd.
02:13Roland Lestarza needed surgery on his arm after the nerve damage that was done by Marciano's pounding.
02:19And whilst Rocky rained blows on his foes, any attempt they made to return fire upon him only served to create openings for Marciano and further seal their fate.
02:28This man could fight.
02:31He would swarm all over you just throwing punches.
02:34He'd hit you on your arm, hit you on your soles of your feet if he could find him.
02:39Just pounding his opponent on the ropes.
02:40He only knew one way to fight and that's to come forward.
02:43Go murderous punches for 15 rounds until the opponent went down.
02:47I'm going after him and I'm not going to stop until the bell rings.
02:51Marciano, the rock, was the most vicious fighter of my time.
03:01Ooh, he hit hard.
03:02I did a computer fight with him.
03:04He was an old man just pretending.
03:06And my arms were sore just from joking with him.
03:09There it is.
03:10And down goes Matthew.
03:11The energy of Marciano's punch was equivalent to an armor-piercing shell.
03:18Marciano's hitting him in all kinds of unorthodox spots.
03:21His war was covering up and he was really taking a lot of pain.
03:24He told me about that.
03:25He said, this man, he hit you on the arms and hurt my arms so bad.
03:29That's the power of Marciano.
03:31Nothing seems to stop Marciano as he continues his relentless attack.
03:36Or his legs are gone.
03:37He's down again.
03:38One of Rex Lane's friends described Marciano's knockout punch
03:42as shearing Lane's front teeth off at the nubs.
03:46Charles, his voice reduced to a whisper from a Marciano punch to the Adam's apple,
03:51Savold was hospitalized overnight because his teeth had been smashed into his gums.
03:55Lestarsa suffered bone damage and broken vessels in his arms.
03:59Lestarsa goes soaring from the rock.
04:02Rocky waves are right on high.
04:04Marciano could probably go another 15 or 20 if he had to.
04:08The word fear wasn't in Marciano's vocabulary and pain had no meaning to him.
04:15But victory was never easily achieved for Rocky.
04:18Cuts over his eyes and inside his mouth were all par for the course of a Marciano fight.
04:23His battles were not for the faint of heart.
04:25Every fight for Rocky was a night of pain and a test of his toughness.
04:30Whatever his opponents gave him, he'd take it and return it tenfold.
04:36Marciano had no concept of retreat and he had only one response to adversity and that was war.
04:43Rocky Marciano was one of the toughest men ever to fight.
04:47He liked the sport, he liked getting hit and he liked hitting.
04:50Punches didn't seem to bother him.
04:52He just kept coming on.
04:53He looked like he was made of a stone man.
04:56Marciano got to me by this sheer bulldog and ruggedness and continuously grinding.
05:01And I mean, I hit the rocks for Marciano and was shocked that would have taken a hit off the average guy.
05:17Marciano got to me by this guy.
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