CAN OLEKSANDR USKY MARCH OR BREAK ROCKY MARCIANO 'S 49-0 RECORD ?




On 25th April, 1956,  the then world heavyweight boxing Champion, Rocco Francis Marchegano, better known as Rocky Marciano announced his retirement from the ring 


The 33 years old son of a New England shoe maker,  Marciano, who became world heavyweight champion in 1952 was never defeated as a professional boxer. He fought 49 fights and won 49


Since  his retirement, the boxing world has produced world beaters like the invisible Sonny Liston, the great Mohammed Ali, Joe Freazer, George Foreman, Mike Weaver, Tim Witherspoon, Ken Norton,Tony Tubbs, Trevor Berbicks,  Larry Holmes, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lewis Lennox, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Furry etc but none had been  able to match Rocky's 49-0 record




The nearest we had was Larry Holmes. On  21st September, 1985, after  beating  the best in the heavyweight division, he turned to Micheal Spinks, the  light heavyweight champion  of the world.  It was believed then that Larry Holmes in his quest to match Marciano's record had given Spinks a shot at the title. He was accused  of trying to make it the easy way. Larry Holmes was 48-0, (34 kos) just one win to equal the record. Micheal Spinks was heavily underdog for the schduled 15 round bout at Las Vegas.  After the bout however, Micheal Spinks won. It was a huge boxing upset that no one saw coming. Just like that Larry Holmes' undefeated record,  his IBF Heavyweight championship belt and ambition to march Rocky Marciano's record went up inflame that night




On 22nd November, 1986, When Mike Tyson, aged 20 years beat Trevor Berbicks in round 2 to clinch the WBC world heavy weight belt,  boxing pundits had  predicted that he would not only match the record but would go on to shatter it, going by the way and  manner he was demolishing his opponnents. Thomas Pikolo Trill  Briggs, Larry Holmes,  Tony Tubbs, Micheal Spinks, Frank Bruno were all beaten via KO. Only James Smith, Tony Tucker and Carl Williams survived to hear the final bell




Like big Larry, after  beaten the best in the heavy weight division, James Douglas, a nobody in the division came and busted him in another greatest upset in boxing History. Tyson was  37-0 then




Since then till date, we have  had the likes of Evander Holyfield, Riddick Bowe,  Lennox Lewis, Deontry wilder, Dave Haves, Hitali klitsohko, wiladimr  Klitsohko, Anthony Joshua, Hasim Rahman, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usky as champions,  but like those before them, all but one  have fallen out of the race to equal the record. The only person whose record has not been dented is Oleksandr Usky, the current WBA, WBC IBF world heavyweight champion. Can he be able to march the record? The answer in my opinion is in the nagative. Age is not on his side   He is only 22-0  at 37 years. He needs 27 fights to be able to match the  record. It will take him 5-6 years to achieve this,  that is, if he fights an average of six fights in a year,  which i doubt he can do. Even if he fights 5 fights per year for four years, he will be 42 years when he is fighting his 42nd fight. By this time he will be vulnerable to emerging younger boxers.

As for the possibility of Rocky Marciano's record  been eclipsed by anyone, my humble opinion is,"time is a revealer'. It is possible  but very difficult to predict when or by whom it might be through. 





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