When exactly was Floyd Patterson's prime

I remember reading how President Kennedy even called Floyd to the White House, he told Floyd, you had better win

 

He faced the most dangerous puncher in Ingo, so I don't see this equation adding up. Ingo had ko'd Cooper and Machen. Williams hadn't KO'd one ranked fighter. In fact he didn't figure in The Ring's annual top 10 at any time during Patterson's first reign.

 

I think though, he had built a reputation for having broke Sonny Liston's nose in 1959, before he was kayoed. But he was a fighter who was around at that time.

 

When Williams broke Liston's nose, Floyd was in camp preparing for the guy who had crushed Machen in 1 round...

 

He sure did crush Eddie Machen on Sept 14 1958, and Floyd as brave as he was, lost to Ingo on June 26 1959, but he came back to win the title back on June 20 1960.

 

Kill him!!

 

Yes, yes he did JFK told him to do it for the dignity of his race or something akin to that.

 

"Still ducking Floyd Patterson is seen looking for a soft touch."

"McNeeley is undefeated in 23 fights in four years, but what fights! He has met no one. of importance,"

"Matching McNeeley with Patterson is shameful" Nat Loubet (editor of the ring magazine.)

Article also describes Patterson ducking many fighters.

"since winning the heavyweight title in 1956. Patterson has dodged everybody who might put his person. The likes of Eddie Machen, Nino Valdez, Zora Folley, Bob Baker, and a host of other more or less deserving contenders were in their fighting hey-day while Patterson hid."

This simply isn't true. Williams KO'd Miteff who was ranked. "Cleveland (Big Cat) Williams, who shattered the title hopes of 7th ranked Alex Miteff with a 5th round TKO, set up a howl today for a shot at champion Floyd Patterson. If Williams ever looked as though he deserved a shot at the title, it was Tuesday night. He took command of the fight from Miteff from the start, opened a bad cut over his left eye in the 2nd, floored him for eight counts in the 3rd and 4th, and was beating him badly when referee Ernie Taylor mercifully ended it 1:32 deep into the 5th."

Incidentally Patterson was offered a bout with Williams after this. "After this bout, Texas Boxing Enterprises, the promoter of the bout, sent Floyd Patterson an offer of $100,000 or an option of 40% of the gate to meet Cleveland Williams." Wonder why it didn't happen.

 

That must have taken a load off !

 

Cus D'Amato wouldn't let any dangerous challenger near Floyd. Johansson only got through the net because, despite his record and knockouts of Cooper, Richardson and Machen, he wasn't taken seriously in the States.

 

You cut out the part about my comment being about Floyd'd first reign.

No one is disputing McNeely was a soft touch, but he was the only opponent between Ingo and Liston. Sure, taking on Liston directly after Ingo would have been better, bu it's neither here or there in concern to Williams, who had beaten all of one top 10 ranked opponent when Floyd defended the title against the only one who beat had him.

So what are you saying, did Floyd duck Williams or Liston after honouring his rematch clause against Ingo? I can't see how it would be Williams, since both Folley and Machen and several others were ranked above him, and Floyd did face Liston in the very next fight... So Floyd's epic ducking of all and everyone lasted for one fight it would seem.

 

I would say by 1960, at age 25, Patterson was a full grown man and in his prime. And then maybe up to 1966, at age 31, when he stopped Henry Cooper.

He seemed to start showing his age (32) against Quarry in '67.

 

I think he was taken pretty seriously after he knocked out Machen (LOL).

Floyd's first reign looks a little odd, looking back, sort of like Holyfield's first reign does, because fights fell out. (With Holyfield, it was Tyson and Mercer being replaced by Cooper and Holmes).

Hurricane Jackson was a good first defense. Rademacher was a windfall of money they took just as a money grab like three weeks after Jackson because it was viewed by them as more of a gimmicky-type thing. They didn't expect to be out of the ring so long after that.

Floyd was expecting to fight Marciano, who had begun training and talks went back and forth. They waited a full year until Rocky decided NOT to come back. Then Patterson needed to fight because he'd been training for a year, so they plucked out Roy Harris. Then they offered Henry Cooper a fight, but he wanted more money than they were offering, so they gave the shot to London. Ingo knocked out the #1 contender Machen and Ingo got the shot.

Patterson wouldn't have the rep as being so "protected" if his defenses were Hurricane Jackson, Pete Rademacher, Rocky Marciano, Henry Cooper, and Eddie Machen.