My name is John Cameron, an author from the United Kingdom who is currently heavily involved in researching and composing the (hopfully) definitive biography of Rocky Marciano, the former undefeated world heavyweight boxing champion.
Marciano reigned from 1952 until his retirement in 1956, ending his career with forty-nine victories in forty-nine starts, not bad for someone who was told to forget all about boxing when he started his professional career at the rather advanced age of twenty-four in 1948. All he had, they said, was a punch, but that punch flattened some forty-three opponents, leaving Marciano with the best stoppage percentage in all of boxing.
I was not even born when Marciano died in 1969, my birth came three-years later and I was to grow up at the tail end of the impossible Muhammad Ali, and rise of the incredible 'Marvelous' Marvin Hagler. I had no conception of Marciano, to me he was no more than a black-and-white image in fading photographs. That is until my father began to fill my young impressionable head with stories of this remarkable man. From then on, aged about eleven, I was hooked. I attempted to copy his style when I donned the gloves in my youth, I was lucky I didn't get killed as I learned the hard way that no one can copy his "style"!
However I did survive, although my face will forever be worn as a souvenier of my naivety. Over the years my hero worship of the man never waned as I collected all I could, I wanted to know everything about Marciano, what made him tick, how the hell did he fight the way he did, everything. Yet as my collection grew I was left with the empty feeling that the whole story was not being told (and in my research I have proven to myself that I was right, a first!), thus I have resolved to put it right.
This site is more a homage to the journey of putting the project together than it is the tale of Marciano, that is all being revealed in the project itself, however I will keep dropping in some excerpts from the book from time to time just to keep you, the reader, interested and remind myself of the almost impossible task I have set for myself. yet, taking a leaf from the man himself, I will not allow the impossible to hold me back!!*
Thank you for taking the time to follow me here, all being well I will see you at the other end.
Yours,
John.
*since I composed this it has become apparent that I should not give too much away...