Rocky Marciano

Rocco Francis Marchegiano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, to Italian immigrant parents from San Bartolomeo in Galdo and Ripa Teatina. As a child, he survived a near-fatal bout of pneumonia. While serving in the US Army during World War II in Wales and the Pacific, Marciano discovered amateur boxing. Despite starting boxing relatively late at age twenty-three and having the shortest reach of any heavyweight champion (68 inches), his relentless conditioning transformed him into an unstoppable force.

Marciano turned professional in 1947, mowing down opponents with an aggressive, swarming forward style and his lethal, looping overhand right punch, which he affectionately nicknamed 'Suzie Q'. In October 1951, Marciano knocked out his boyhood idol, aging former champion Joe Louis, weeping in Louis's dressing room after the fight.

On 23 September 1952 in Philadelphia, Marciano challenged Jersey Joe Walcott for the world heavyweight championship. Trailing significantly on points after being knocked down in the first round, Marciano landed a catastrophic right hook flush on Walcott's jaw in the thirteenth round, rendering Walcott unconscious and capturing the crown. Marciano defended his belt six times against legendary hall-of-famers including Ezzard Charles and Archie Moore before retiring undefeated at age thirty-two. Tragically, he died on the eve of his 46th birthday in a small private plane crash in Iowa.