September 24th in Boxing history: Rocky Marciano vs. Roland LaStarza

September 24th, 1953 was a historic day for boxing. Rocky Marciano impressively finished Roland LaStarza’s in the 11th round. This fight was the second title defense for Rocky’s heavyweight reign, and pushed his professional record to 45 and 0. Roland was a four to one underdog going into the fight. But this didn’t stop the challenger from putting on an amazing performance. This historic fight was the second time these two battled each other. Their first meeting was in March of 1950. Roland and Rocky fought for 10 rounds in a split decision victory for Rocky. In the fourth round, Rocky knocked Roland to the floor. However, Rocky was deducted a point for a low blow in the eighth round. This made the scorecard closer than anticipated. But what hurt Rocky in the first fight was the turning point in the 1953 showdown. September 24th, 1953 was an amazing day for boxing. Over 30 cities across America broadcasted the fight in movie theaters, which wasn’t the norm in those days. New Orleans’ Saegner Theatre hosted o