Joe Lewis vs. Rocky Marciano - The Passing of the Baton

Joe Lewis vs Rocky Marciano – the passing of the baton

The match where a future legend ended the career of the best so far

It is often said in boxing that to become the best, you have to beat the best. But this may not always bring you the vocation, you can be left with only this significant victory and then everything collapses. Such exceptions happen very often and start already at the beginning of the 20th century.

Since then, however, the case of the first big transmission of the baton is also known. The moment Joe Lewis dethroned Jack Johnson and began ruling the heavyweight division. Shortly after, Lewis is in the role of defeated, so that another name can rise in the sky - that of Rocky Marciano.

The story can again be considered an exception to the rule because Lewis was not a world champion at the time, but the holder of the belt is still far from the great career of the "Brown Bomber". And on a purely technical level, Marciano's victory in this clash gave him the confidence and self-belief that made him the next legend in the sport.

The date is October 26, 1951. The day Lewis played his last professional game and Marciano's star. The 37-year-old former world champion had given up in 1949, but financial problems forced him to return to the ring. Marciano, on the other hand, is only 28 and is not yet the fully polished diamond that he can become.

The arena of one of the greatest fights in the history of boxing is "Madison Square Garden" in New York, and the fact that the fight is not for the world title does not take away from the glamor and quality of the meeting. A meeting between the future world champion and his idol.

Although Marciano was still undefeated in his professional career before this fight, he was considered an absolute underdog and knew how difficult it would be for him to face the significantly taller Lewis. However, the match starts evenly and the millions in front of the televisions in the USA are not disappointed. The first rounds bring delight, bring intrigue and raise even more interest in the sport.

As time went on, however, the older boxer looked more and more tired and landed some dangerous shots from Marciano, who made the fight extremely contested and even took a slight advantage. It was the shorter of the two who stepped into a more attacking role and eventually managed to take the legend to the ground in the eighth round. Lewis gets to his knees and waits for the ref to count to 8 before standing up, but he's clearly in trouble and will struggle to last the rest of the round. Marciano took advantage of this and ended his idol's career with a right hook that sent Lewis helpless into the ropes. It is a completely devastating knockout, and after the defeat, the "Brown Bomber" decides to stop the sport.

For Rocky Marciano, victory also brings tears, and it's no secret that he sheds them in the locker room he shares with Lewis. Still, knocking out your idol brings, in addition to a sense of pride and confidence, a bit of sadness. After five more fights, Rocky also put on the world champion's belt, which he successfully defended until the very end of his career, which ended with 49 victories and no defeats.

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