I'm reading "Bad Intentions: The Mike Tyson Story" by Peter Heller and on page 31 it says: "It has long been a myth that D'Amato always decided himsef whom his fighters fought, that their job was to do the fighting. In reality, if D'Amato felt Floyd's delicate psyche would come into play, D'Amato consulted more than once with Patterson before accepting an opponent." This is the first time I've ever heard that Patterson had a "delicate psyche." Has this been talked about ever, is this something that is generally thought about him? Heller interviewed Cus for the book so I don't know whether he told him that or where that came from.
There's the time-honored story of Patterson bringing a false beard along to the arena the night he rematched Liston, certain that he would lose. He didn;t want to be recognized leaving the arena, hence the disguise. Not sure if it's true or not, but it's a well-worn story. I don't know that anyone operating on THAT level as long as he did (there's an excellent thread here from a couple weeks ago about Patterson's long run at the top post-Liston) could really have too delicate a psyche. If he was all that fragile, he'd have imploded somewhere along the line and simply given up. On the contrary, I'd say that given his relative lack of size and his supposedly weak chin, he fought with a lot of confidence and a real sense of who he was. No emotional weakling could do that. Probably just D'Amato mistaking thoughtfulness and introspection with weakness. He wouldn't be the first.
He didn't have a delicate psyche in the ring. Outwith, probably, and you could see why it would be a problem for fight managers and trainers.
I've read that he was very critical of his performance as a fighter. Also, very introspective and thoughtful.
Interesting article on Floyd http://thestacks.deadspin.com/the-loser-the-most-honest-sports-story-ever-written-772260237
In his later years, he would on occasion say that he 'wasn't mentally ready' for certain fights, such as a rematch with Ellis; or that he was 'mentally ready' to fight Bonavena and Bonavena only. Statements such as these may have contributed to the "delicate psyche" theory.
I think Floyds psyche worked for him most of the time. It most often fired him up. Patterson was very brave, extremely sensitive and crippled by the burden of a real sense of duty. It gave him the edge to produce something extra and I think that is even why he took on Liston a second time and even talked about a third time. However playing with his psyche was a lot like cus talking about fear and comparing it with a fire that can walk an edge of being either in control or out of control. I think he walked a delicate edge but all in all Floyd did brilliantly. He was a great fighter.
Floyd was a good fast handed fighter, he just ran into the worse era to be a heavyweight champion, but it was the best era to be a fan.
Floyd's own autobiography...the excellent "Victory Over Myself" testifies emphatically, by his own admission to his introspective, "delicate psyche"...as much as any writer's observations have done.
not everyone develops emotionally and mentally at the same time. Floyd came up tough but was a soft heart guy, complicated adjustments and sometimes it takes pain to grow. Floyd was always a gentlemen and a good person and he got off the floor to win. As he grew older he matured and grew so he peaked late emotionally and mentally
Patterson did fine and handled interviews with charm and wit as long as he was the one dishing it out but couldnt handle the limelight when embarrassed by his opponents so he wore a disquise in public after a loss
What a stupid assessment! Two losses to Liston, yes disguises, One to Ingo, no disguises. He did fine after other losses (he was young against Ingo and young against Sonny with much more pressure on him against Liston, President Kennedy, NAACP, etc) Again, what a stupid assessment of Floyd's great career!