He finished his amateur career with a record of either 9-4, with 7 knockouts. Marciano did not move on to the nationals because of a fractured thumb. In his last amateur fight, Marciano outpointed George McInnis to win the New England AAU Heavyweight Championship on March 22, 1948. On March 1, 1948, at the New York Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions, Marciano was on the short end of an unpopular split decision to Coley Wallace in what would be the last loss of his boxing career. Marciano then returned to the amateurs, where he fought under his real name. Marciano, fighting under the name 'Rocky Mack' in order to maintain his amateur standing, turned professional on March 17, 1947, with a third-round knockout of Lee Epperson.

He told me, 'Rocky, why don't you go home and forget about being a fighter. At the end of the workouts, Joe's father sat down with me. 'For three days, I hit the big bag and the little bag. 'His father took me to a gym in Chicago's Loop,' Marciano recalled.

Sarelli's father, who was connected to the fight game, agreed to assess Marciano's potential as a fighter. He took up the sport mainly as a way to avoid KP duty (assisting the cooks) and other less desirable activities, but he showed a natural ability and fought as an amateur following his discharge in 1946.Īfter being discharged, Marciano visited an old Army buddy, Joe Sarelli, in Chicago. Marciano didn't take up boxing until after he was drafted into the U.S. In 1947, Marciano had a tryout with the Chicago Cubs as a catcher but was let go because he couldn't make the throw from home plate to second base with accuracy. Before dropping out of high school to make a few bucks - as a gardener, delivery boy, laborer for the gas company and leather tanner at the shoe factory where his father worked - he starred in football and baseball. Marciano was the first of six children born to Perrino and Pasqualena Marchegiano. Marciano was World Heavyweight Champion from 1952 to 1956, and he is the only World Heavyweight Champion to permanently retire undefeated. Rocky Marciano was born Rocco Francis Marchegiano on September 1, 1923, in Brockton, Massachusetts. Cornerman: Whitey Bimstein, Freddie Brown, Chickie Ferrera.

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