ROCKY MARCIANO - THE ROCK OF HIS TIMES

The rock of his times

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the final fight of boxing's only undefeated heavyweight champion. Marciano emerged from obscurity in the early 1950s and had snagged the heavyweight crown by 1952. When he quit the ring in 1956 he had never lost a bout a feat still unmatched by any boxer in heavyweight history. To sportswriters and fans, Marciano's 49-0 record was enough to warrant the prestige and honor they bestowed on him despite widespread discussion of his flaws as a boxer. Sullivan contends that Marciano's popularity was compounded by the uneasy racial attitudes of the era. He was a white man in a sport increasingly dominated by black men during a time when most Americans were hesitant to accept integration. He was also a second-generation Italian American, and although portrayed in the media through ethnic stereotypes, he was revered by immigrants and others who embraced the idea of the melting pot. Even more looked to Marciano as the embodiment of the American Dream and a way of life that was cherished in the early 1950s.