Rising up from the ground on the outskirts of Brockton, the two-ton, 20-foot statute of Rocky Marciano looms over the city like a god. Wearing boxing trunks wrapped around an Adonis-like body, he stretches his muscular right arm out to deliver the crushing knockout punch against Jersey Joe Walcott that ended their epic 1952 championship fight.

In many ways, the larger-than-life bronze sculpture is more reminiscent of one depicting a world leader than a local sports hero, built as a testament to the 49–0 record—Marciano’s the only undefeated heavyweight champion in history—that put this scrappy blue-collar town 25 miles south of Boston on the map.