Or so it seems. According to day after reports, the decision was "booed loudly for more than three minutes." Not in and of itself final but according to next day paper reports had it that of the 11 writers ringside, 11 had it for Patterson. Referee Goldstein had it 4-3-1, the judges saw it 5-3 and 7-1(!). What's interesting is that Cus, according to this book: This content is protected Cus already consider Patterson the fighter he was going to use to take on the Garden and boxing's power structure generally. This was the first step into their world. The Milwaukee Journal, The Oxnard Press and The St.Petersburgh Times all stress the 11-0 and the booing, but the Journal also points out that most people watching on television had a different view of the bout, and that television commentary seemed satisfied with the decision. Anyone know if this one is on film in full? The Times also points out that the fight was a hard fought scrap and a tough battle making me wonder if a close card for Maxim isn't ok, maybe? You can see decent highlights and hear the booing for yourself here: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgSWOKV9T2o[/ame]
I saw it about 5 years on ESPN classic sports....at the time I didn't know anything about the fight and just sat and watched and watched and thought Patterson was winning easy...and than they announced the winner....was odd to be suprised by a 50 year old fight.
I believe one or two of the postors on this board were actually at the fight. If I remember rightly, John Garfield, and/or maybe burt too ...
i thought Floyd, with his Olympic credentials and blazing hand speed, was the bright new star on the horizon, but from ringside at Eastern Parkway Arena, I thought Maxim schooled Floyd with his piston jab and earned the nod.
I didn't see it live like you did John, but I agree with you here. I think the old wily Maxim just outfoxed the young Floyd Patterson on that particular night.
What do you remember of the booing JG? The tv commentary indicated that it was "Patterson's friends" who made that noise, newspaper reports contradict this. Where did you see it? Do you own a copy? What do you both make of the 11-0 ringside reported cards? Any thoughts on this?
Really? hmmmmm just from what I recall from watching it on classic i thought it seemed clear that Floyd won..although I will be honest i didnt score it round by round or anything...just kind of watched it with partial interest. John I have another question for you if I could, I don't mean to derail the thread though, so if i could message you on it?
http://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Floyd_Patterson_vs._Joey_Maxim above is just the boxrec article about it... I see a guy online who has it listed as a fight he is selling..but who knows if that is legit.
My perception of the fight, Mc, was that it was a stacked house for Floyd, ready to anoint him king. Anytime he threw a flurry -- or did anything, ineffectual, or not -- they went crazy. Eastern Parkway was a small club so the noise was very loud. I was on the ring apron and scored it for Maxim. Can't account for the others at ringside scoring it for Floyd.
U,yes I saw that fight at Eastern Parkway Arena,Bklyn NY. I lived about 5 blocks from that "house of upsets" where the talented Teddy Brenner was the matchmaker...I must have seen almost all the boxing cards there. I thought Patterson forced the fight ,while Maxim fought a cautious defensive bout as was his wont...Tough fight to judge but Maxim past his peak at 32 was declared the victor which could have gone either way....
Floyd Patterson was the golden boy and was being given the big build up, 'the next Sugar Ray Robinson'.
I've only seen it on ESPN years ago and more recently on You Tube. I'm a big Patterson fan, but objectively, Maxim "strutted his stuff" (a ludicrous phrase to use in regards to anything about Maxim I know) and won a very, very close but deserved decision. The wily old fox frustrated Floyd enough with that harmless jab and other subtle moves to earn the nod IMO. Well, maybe they were right to see it for floyd, but maybe again they weren't up close enough to see what was really going on.