Who was more skilled of the two? Who would've won had they met in their prime? Who had better HW career?
I'd say Charles based on how I believe he would have done against the 2 guys Patterson could never beat, Ali and Liston. I'd give Charles a very live chance to beat Liston and while I can't say he'd have defeated Ali, I will say that if a prime Ezzard Charles was around in the 1964-1967 time frame, he would have lost to Ali in a very competitive fight. Likely would have been Ali's toughest opponent during that time frame. But even with that said, there's no one that Patterson beat that Ezzard Charles likely wouldn't beat. As for who wins....I'd say Charles.....but if they had a 3 or 4 fight series like he did with Walcott, I'd expect Patterson to take one. Better career.....Ezzard Charles because he made more title defenses against more top contenders. But Patterson arguably fought some better opponents later down the line which he proved himself against. On the other hand, regarding total resume regardless of weight class, Charles MAY have him beat.
Floyd and Charles would be very competitive, Charles a sleight favorite, 6-5 .Strangely I think Charles would have given Ali trouble
