When exactly was Floyd Patterson's prime

Between Moore and Liston imo. What he did after is very impressive imo.

 

Floyd was protected like an endangered species by D'Amato in his Championship years. It was he who insisted on fighting Liston.
His best years in my opinion are 64 to 72. Just look at those winning streaks and some of the names there. It's great to see Floyd getting some respect these days, on here if not elsewhere.

 

I look at Floyd not necessarily as a great Champion but certainly as a great Fighter.

 

Knocking out Ingemar Johansson that was hist prime

 

I shudder at the thought of what he'd do to Carl Froch.

 

It’s a fair question. He definitely fought more polished after losing to Johansson the first time. The back to back Liston defeats would have permanently wrecked most men. But Patterson managed to fight on for many years and even rose back to title contention. He wasn’t the strongest heavyweight champion in history but a truly remarkable fighter he certainly was..

 

January 4th, 1945.

 

Patterson is one of my favorites. Such an interesting fighter and a gentleman! Muhammad Ali spoke highly of him as well calling him the most skilled fighter he ever fought. However, I am one of those who subscribe to the belief that he and Cus steered away from the punchers of the division such as The Big Cat (which imo wouldn't end well for Patterson even if he is the better fighter) . It's no coincidence that he missed out on all of the punchers in the division during his reign until Liston.

That being said, his greatest performance to me was against Chuvalo. A great fight worth checking out if you haven't seen it. It was voted fight of the year in 1965.

 

I do remember the Chuvalo fight, Feb 1 1965, good fight. The WBA announced after Ernie Terrell defeated Eddie Machen on March 5 1965, that Floyd would be mandatory challenger for Terrell, Floyd said that he was not interested, he wanted to fight the Muhammad Ali vs Sonny Liston winner of the rematch, to be held on May 25 1965, Ali won as we all know. Patterson was stopped by Ali on Nov 22 1965, in round 12. Floyd Patterson's prime was 1956 until 1962, Cus D Amato waited for Rocky Marciano to retire as he did in 1956.Floyd was a good champion and fine human being. It was a great effort on his part in regaining the title from Ingemar Johannson in 1960, after losing it in 1959. His loss to Sonny Liston was expected by many in 1962, he failed to regain it in 1963. Before his fight with Ali, he defeated Sante Amonti and Eddie Machen in 1964, as well as his defeat of Chuvalo in 1965.