Say hello to Rocky Marciano, the world's only undefeated heavyweight
champion, a guy called Rocky Marciano. With just a 67-inch reach, two
left feet and under six feet tall, Marciano blasted his way to 49 wins,
43 inside the distance. You could knock him down but you couldn't knock
him out. Marciano KO'd Jersey Joe Walcott in a 1952 thriller to become
world champion. Defending his title five times, he brought the
million-dollar gate back to boxing in 1955 when he crushed Archie Moore
in his final fight. He then criss-crossed the U.S. making public
appearances, for cash only. He built a network of friends, businessmen
and Mob guys who willingly paid his way and flew him around. And that's
how he died, hitching a ride in a plane that crashed in an Iowa
cornfield in 1969, on the eve of his 46th birthday. His mantra was, "If
you want to live a full life, then live dangerously." Rocky did that,
all right!