Rocky Marciano retired undefeated, but nearly tasted defeat when he was knocked down in his first world title fight.
The Brockton Blockbuster was only knocked down twice in his 49-fight career and remains one of the greatest Heavyweight fighters of all time.
In 1955, Archie Moore knocked him down in his final fight, threatening his unbeaten record before he came back to finish the Old Mongoose in the ninth round.
Three years before that ordeal, Rocky Marciano’s first world title shot almost ended in a first-round finish in a super fight against a fighter whose later career would end in controversy.
Jersey Joe Walcott floored Rocky Marciano for the first time in his career
The boxing world was shaken when undefeated title contender Marciano was knocked to the mat at the hands of the reigning world Heavyweight champion, Jersey Joe Walcott.
The 38-year-old Walcott was, at that time, the oldest man to hold the belts and had little intention of letting it go to his younger, hungrier opponent
His experience and boxing acumen shone in the 1952 title fight, as Walcott dominated the Brockton Blockbuster using his impressive reach and effective counter shots to control the bout.
Despite Marciano’s perfect 42-0 record going into the fight, he was knocked down in the first round, the first time he had been floored in his career, before Walcott racked up an impressive points lead throughout the fight.
By the 13th round, it was now or never for Marciano. If he didn’t land a knockout, he’d lose the fight by a points decision.
He had landed some heavy blows while being on the back foot in the previous rounds, with the damage adding up before a single right hook sent Walcott crashing to the mat, knocking him out cold.
It was an incredible comeback from Marciano as he became world Heavyweight champion for the first time after looking so close to defeat.
The pair would rematch a year later, where Marciano won with a first-round knockout, ending Walcott’s career as a professional boxer.
Jersey Joe Walcott’s top-level refereeing career ended after the controversial Muhammad Ali ‘Phantom Punch’ bout
After his career as a boxer ended, Walcott moved into refereeing, where he oversaw one of the highest-profile controversies the sport had seen in years.
In 1965, Muhammad Ali embarked on a rematch against Sonny Liston, shortly after he had beaten the former champion to become the Heavyweight king in boxing.
Ali had shocked the world by knocking out Liston in the first fight, and did the same in the second, but for very different reasons.
Walcott was in charge that night to witness Ali knock down Liston with what has been called a “Phantom Punch”, which didn’t seem to connect with the challenger before he was thrown to the ground.
The left jab barely grazed Liston, but he fell to the ground. Walcott fought Ali into his corner and never actually counted out Liston before calling off the fight after two minutes, awarding Ali the victory.
Fans called the fight a “fix,” and Walcott never refereed a major fight like that again.