Rocky Marciano statue to be built in Boston, not Brockton

(United Press International file photo)

By Brian R. Ballou and Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

Rocky Marciano, the rugged heavyweight known as the "Brockton Blockbuster," will be immortalized with a statue in Boston after the World Boxing Council voted to shun the champ’s hometown.

The council voted at its 45th convention in Manila to build a statue in a city with a higher stature, making the monument accessible to more people, according Jose Sulaiman, president of the World Boxing Council. A plaque on the statue will pay homage to Brockton and note that the champ was born and raised in the city 25 miles to the south.

"We don't want to hurt Brockton, but we want to honor Rocky," Sulaiman said today by phone from Mexico City, where the World Boxing Council is based. "We believe that when people from Brockton go to Boston and see the statue, they can say this is our hero."

Marciano, who was raised in a working-class family in Brockton, was undefeated in 49 professional fights, with 43 knockouts. He reigned as world champ from when he knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott in Philadelphia in September 1952 to April 1956, when he retired. He died Aug. 31, 1969.

Word of the decision to build a statue in Boston comes as Marciano fans are pushing to rename the post office in downtown Brockton in the champ's honor. The high school football stadium already bears Marciano’s name, as does the street where he grew up. There is also a plaque in a park near his childhood home.

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