Editing Rocky Marciano (section)

==Amateur career==
Marciano's amateur record was 8–4.{{sfn|Skehan|1977|p=73}}  While awaiting discharge, Marciano represented the Army and won the 1946 Amateur Armed Forces boxing tournament. His amateur career was briefly interrupted on March 17, 1947, when Marciano stepped into the ring as a professional competitor at the [[Valley Arena Gardens]] of [[Holyoke, Massachusetts]], being billed as "Rocky Mackianno of Westover Field".<ref>{{cite news|work=Springfield Union|location=Springfield, Mass.|date=March 17, 1947|page=7|title=Saint Paul and Tommy Hubert on Arena Card}}</ref><ref name="rockoftime">{{cite book|year=2002|publisher=University of Illinois Press|location=Urbana and Chicago|chapter=Holyoke|pages=9–12|title=Rocky Marciano: The Rock of His Times|last=Sullivan|first=Russell|isbn=9780252027635|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH4LHMbERT8C&pg=PA9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BH4LHMbERT8C&pg=PA0}}</ref> That night, he knocked out local fighter Lee Epperson in three rounds. In an unusual move, Marciano returned to the amateur ranks and fought in the [[Golden Gloves]] All-East Championship Tournament in March 1948. He was controversially beaten by [[Coley Wallace]].{{sfn|Skehan|1977|p=69}} He continued to fight as an amateur throughout the spring and competed in the [[Amateur Athletic Union|AAU]] Olympic tryouts in the [[Boston Garden]]. There, he knocked out George McInnis, but hurt his hands during the bout and was forced to withdraw from the tournament. That was his last amateur bout.{{sfn|Skehan|1977|p=70}}

In late March 1947, Marciano and several friends traveled to [[Fayetteville, North Carolina]], to try out for the [[Fayetteville Cubs]], a farm team for the [[Chicago Cubs]] baseball team.{{sfn|Skehan|1977|p=66}} Marciano lasted three weeks before being cut. After failing to find a spot on another team, he returned to Brockton and began boxing training with longtime friend Allie Colombo. [[Al Weill]] and [[Chick Wergeles]] served as his managers and [[Charley Goldman]] as his trainer and teacher.