| The picture below shows a larger view of all (4) 1955 Unused Rocky Marciano vs. Don Cockell Boxing Sports Ad Mat Molds in this lot. The ad mats are not dated but they are believed to be from 1955. These are molds in which lead is poured to create a thin metal negative image that is then mounted on a wooden block for printing. Advertising is no longer being made or printed like this. The ad mat is like a miniature 3-D poster and would look nice framed, or you could still use them and make print blocks from them. The print block would have been used to print on movie pages in newspapers, in magazines, or in the movie theater programs. These are made of a thick compressed paper board. This admats have an image of two boxers fighting and they are marked as follows: TOP THRILLS IN SLOW MOTION!
SEE IT NOW ON FILM!
BETTER THAN RINGSIDE!
ROCKY MARCIANO VS DON COCKELL
OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP CONTEST!
RELEASED THRU UNITED ARTISTS To judge the sizes, the largest ad mat here measures about 4-5/16'' x 2-7/8''. These are in mint unused condition as pictured. Below here, for reference, is some additional information: World heavyweight title fight On 16 May 1955, Cockell fought Marciano for the world heavyweight title at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco, California. Cockell was a 10 - 1 underdog and weighed 205 pounds against Marciano's 189. For the first three rounds the fight was fairly even, but as it progressed further Cockell began to take more and more punishment, without being able to hurt Marciano at all. Cockell ended the eighth round hanging through the ropes after withstanding a terrific beating. Marciano won the fight by a technical knockout 54 seconds into round nine after Cockell had been knocked down twice, for counts of eight and seven. After the fight, Marciano stated, ''He's got a lot of guts. I don't think I ever hit anyone else any more often or harder.'' Many boxing fans in Britain felt that Marciano employed unfair tactics, such as hitting after the bell and low punches, but although the British Boxing Board of Control protested, Cockell himself made no complaints. |
