Which heavyweight champion retired undefeated with a 49–0 record?
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The answer is Rocky Marciano.
Rocky Marciano, the son of Italian immigrants from Brockton, Massachusetts, took up boxing while serving in the Army during World War II. He wasn’t tall and had a short reach, but he had tremendous punching power and stamina.
He won the heavyweight title in 1952 by knocking out Jersey Joe Walcott, and he defended it six times. He retired in 1956 with a perfect record of forty-nine wins and no losses, forty-three by knockout.
Marciano is the only heavyweight champion to retire undefeated. He died in a small plane crash in Iowa in 1969, the day before his forty-sixth birthday.
Facts to bring to dinner
49–0
Rocky Marciano’s perfect professional record.
43
His wins by knockout.
Brockton
His Massachusetts hometown.
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