Rocky Marciano statue to go to hometown

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BOSTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A statue of Rocky Marciano, the heavyweight champion known as the Brockton Blockbuster, will go to his native city in Massachusetts.

The World Boxing Council gave up on a plan to put the statue in Boston once Boston Mayor Thomas Menino supported Brockton, The Boston Globe reported.

"I am disappointed," WBC President Jose Sulaiman told the Globe. "Boston is a city that gets visitors from all over the world."

Marciano retired undefeated after four years as champion. He died in 1969 in a plane crash.

The WBC had offered to pay for a statue twice the size of the 5-foot, 11-inch tall Marciano in Boston. But the plan ran into objections from Marciano's family, Brockton residents and Mayor James Harrington.

Menino's decision to support Brockton, 20 miles south of Boston, was the deal breaker.

"I would never want to take Rocky Marciano away from Brockton," Menino told the Globe. "He put that city on the map."