The original Rocky had a heavyweight record of perfection

I’M IN full agreement with fellow reviewer Dean Goodison who is a big fan of American sportswriting. Authors on that side of the water tend to tackle any topic from every conceivable angle, giving the reader a fully rounded view of their subject matter.

And in that regard, Pulitzer Prize winner Mike Stanton has covered all the possible bases in ‘Unbeaten - The Triumphs and Tragedies of Rocky Marciano’.

This is so much more than a straightforward run through of the career of one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time, a fighter of Italian extraction who packed a ferocious punch nicknamed the ‘Suzie Q’.

And, given that Marciano died in a light aircraft accident in 1969 on the eve of his 46th birthday, it has taken an admirable level of research to present such a fully-rounded account of the popular pugilist. Indeed, it’s worth reading Stanton’s ‘note’ on sources at the back of the book which runs to a whopping 30 pages just to get a clear indication of how every possible angle was pursued.

Marciano, the Brockton Blockbuster, was the son of Italian immigrants, and his short arms and stubby legs made him an unlikely hero inside the ring.

Yet, he ended his professional career with a record to be envied; when he retired after a sixth successful title defence against Archie Moore in September of

1956, he had a proud and unblemished unbeaten record of 49-0.

Just to put that into its proper context, a similar feat eluded the likes of Muhammad Ali, Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey and

Mike Tyson.

Marciano was raised in abject poverty and learned to survive on the tough streets of Brockton. And after indulging in petty crime and ending a spell in the military overseas with a court martial and a jail sentence, he managed to turn his life around through his boxing talent.

He was prominent in an era when Mafia bosses wielded most of the power behind the scenes, and his own manager, Al Weill, was answerable to a notorious figure with the movie star name of Frankie Carbo.

Weill interfered in his personal life to such an extent that he decided when Marciano should marry his beloved Barbara, and his constant stepping over the line was one of the chief reasons why the fighter retired when he still had a lot to offer.

Life outside the ring didn’t go according to plan though, as he found it difficult to cope with the fame of being an unbeaten champion and the sometimes dubious attractions of being constantly sought after and in the limelight.

Cheating regularly on his wife was just the tip of the iceberg for Marciano as his life gradually went off the rails, but his boxing legacy survives and those 49 victories are outlined here in impressive detail.

He won the heavyweight title with a 13th-round knockout of Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952, and successfully defended it against Walcott again, Roland LaStarza, Ezzard Charles twice, Don Cockell, and finally Archie Moore.

The real Rocky was a worldwide star more than 20 years before the release of the first film of the same name.

And like the majority of brilliant boxers, he had his numerous flaws which are raised and explored by an astute, talented author.

Do yourself a favour if you’re a fan of quality sportswriting. Thumb through the works that originated in America in The Book Centre, and prepare to look at the genre in a fresh new light.

ALAN AHERNE

Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.