Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said he's on Brockton's side when it comes to where the World Boxing Council should put a statue of Rocky Marciano--and it worked. The World Boxing Council (WBC) announced that it will erect a statue of Marciano in Marciano's hometown of Brockton after initially announcing it would be in Boston--much to Brockton's chagrin.

The Globe reported that Mayor Menino and Brockton mayor James E. Harrington got in touch with WBC president Jose Sulaiman, and they convinced him to complete the project in Brockton. The statue should be up in 2008. Marciano's family must be thrilled.

The news resulted in a flood of boxing puns. The Herald referred to the mayor's intervention as a "polite jab" at the WBC. The Globe went even further, titling its piece "Mayors' 1-2 Punch Wins It for Brockton" and led with the line "Now, apparently, it's a unanimous decision."

Image of Rocky Marciano from Wikipedia.