Four (4) years Rocco Francis Marchegiano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1923. Marciano won the heavyweight boxing title for four years throughout his career in the 1950s, and he is the only boxing champion to ever retire undefeated. After retiring from boxing, he became a successful restaurateur in New York City.
Marciano died of colon cancer on November 30, 1969, at the age of 36. He was living in Greenwich Village with his wife, Dolly Mae Marciano.
She had been his girlfriend since they were teenagers. They married on August 24, 1948, in a Catholic church in Newark, New Jersey. The wedding was not well-publicized because it took place so soon after his last fight, and there was no need to rush into things after a possible death sentence. However, according to Dolly, "It wasn't his first marriage. That happened when he was drafted into the Army in 1943. He said it was his fault that their marriage didn't work out because he was always traveling around so much."
They had two children together: a son, Peter, and a daughter, Linda.
Peter Marciano followed in his father's footsteps and became an undefeated boxer himself. He was active from 1971 to 1973 but never won any titles. After his retirement from boxing, he worked as a bartender in New York City.
Childhood Rocky Marciano was born on September 1, 1923, in Brockton, Massachusetts, to Italian immigrants Pierino Marchegiano and Pasqualina Picciuto. His father died when he was only nine years old, and his mother soon after married a man by the name of Marciano. She took her son's surname for herself and her husband.
Rocky Marciano grew up in poverty in Boston's South End. He had two sisters and was very close with them. When he was 14 years old, he started working as a truck driver for a bakery to help support his family. At first, he just drove bread trucks around the neighborhood, but later became a full-time employee. In fact, during his job at the bakery, he learned how to make cookies and cakes which led him to start a business for himself selling homemade treats to other workers in the area.
In 1939, when Rocky was 18 years old, he fought his first professional fight. It took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the undefeated boxer known as The Rocker defeated his opponent by technical knockout after only six rounds. After this victory, many top boxing promoters were interested in signing him up for fights, but Marciano wanted to save some money for college.
Rocky Marciano was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, on September 1, 1923, to Italian immigrants Pierino Marchegiano and Pasqualina Picciuto. His father worked as a bartender at a local hotel while his mother worked as a housekeeper to help support the family.
Marciano had eight siblings. His parents' marriage was filled with conflict, which led Marciano to take up boxing as a means of escape. He began training at the age of 14 with former professional boxers who lived around the area where he grew up. In 1939, at the age of 18, Marciano turned pro under the name "The Brockton Blockbuster." He went on to have a successful career as a heavyweight boxer, winning all but one of his bouts during an 11-year period from 1943 to 1945. In that time, he won the National Boxing Association (NBA) title, three world championships from 1944 to 1946, and the opportunity to fight for the vacant NBA title in 1949 when Joe Louis declined the match with him.
After retiring from boxing in 1952, Marciano worked as a truck driver and delivered milk products before starting his own business, which failed miserably. At the age of 26, he was forced to file for bankruptcy. After this failure, Marciano didn't work for another five years.
He also hosts sports talk shows on TV and radio. Rocky Marciano, born Rocco Francis Marchegiano, is regarded as one of the greatest boxers of all time. He never lost a fight and finished his career with a 49-0 record, including 43 knockouts. He was well-known for his "unyielding fighting technique," "iron chin," and endurance. During his career he fought some of the most experienced boxers in the world, such as Charley Mayer, Max Baer, and Joe Louis, and won every fight by knockout or decision.
Marciano started his professional boxing career at the age of 18 in 1934 with a record of 39-0. He captured the heavyweight championship from Louis by defeating him in an elimination match that ended in a no-contest. At the time of their meeting, Louis was considered the number 1 contender to the title held by Gene Tunney. However, less than a year later, Louis regained his title after beating Tommy Farr out in another elimination match.
After losing the title, Marciano decided not to give up fighting and continued his career until it came to an end in 1949 at the age of 36. During this time he defended his title seven times, winning all of his fights by knockout or decision.
Following his boxing career, Marciano worked as a sportscaster for NBC and ABC and today works as a radio host and television analyst.
Rocky Marciano retired in 1955 with a 49-0 perfect record that included 43 knockout victories. "The Brockton Blockbuster" didn't start boxing until he was 23 years old, which is astonishing given the success he had during his terrible career. His first fight was against a 21-year-old kid who already had more than one victory by then. He lost that fight but quickly gained attention with several more wins.
Marciano's career was cut short when he was shot in the face by a jealous boyfriend and suffered permanent damage to his left eye. After this incident, Rocky said he would never fight again. But almost immediately after his retirement announcement, he changed his mind and started training for his first comeback bout. Although he lost that fight, it wasn't long before he got back into shape and fought again. This time, he won all of his matches by knockout and announced himself as the new heavyweight champion of the world.
During his second reign as champion, Rocky defeated some top-notch opponents including Lester Ellis, Duke McKenzie, and Rex Leasing. However, he failed to make an impact on the world stage and was never involved in any major controversies. In fact, many consider him to be one of the best heavyweights of all time. He ended his second career with a total of 50 fights (including exhibition matches), 42 wins (40 by knockout) and no losses.
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