Bad matchup for Patterson. And everyone knew it was the worst possible matchup for him ... Patterson, D'Mato, Liston, and the entire boxing community and even the fans all knew.
Same look M.Spinks had before the Tyson fight. He tried to put on a brave face, but his body language spoke volumes. In his mind, he was beaten when the contract was signed.
I don't think he looked as scared as Spinks ... But it didn't really matter since both lost via KO in round 1
Well, psychologically it wouldn’t have done Floyd much good knowing for the previous few years his manager had been making sure he avoided Sonny like the plague. If a man of D’Amato’s knowledge knew the score then Floyd certainly would have.
Very true because Cus D Amato was a very knowledgeable trainer that knew Floyd Patterson in and out. He knew that Sonny Liston was the mean bully of a fighter just waiting for Floyd much like the bully in school, who waits for his victim after class, only to inflict bodily harm. He knew that if Floyd had difficulty handling Ingo;s right hand in 1959, he would not be able to handle Sonny.
Spot on Richard. The thing is Floyd proved himself a brave and fearless fighter throughout his career but his confidence was shot regarding Sonny.
D'Mato trained boxers would always fall victim to the likes of Liston ... I don't know if Tyson could even beat him ...
He just looked apprehensive as always. He was confident enough after getting sparked badly by Ingo. Same in the rematch with Ali, after being badly humiliated the first time around. Don't see why he would turn into some quivering wreck all of a sudden. Floyd's character is being constantly underrated. Actually he was one of the strongest ever mentally. And Liston's quality in the fights with him gets underrated because otherwise it means Ali beat him while he was still at the top of his game. That Ali had him beaten mentally in their rematch is more likely to me than that Floyd was beaten in the rematch with Liston. I'll leave it at that.
“when I fought Ingemar, I thought I was going to win.” This quote says it all. He had no confidence in himself, and lost the fight at that point as far as I'm concerned. Oh yeah and the fact that he came INTO the bout with a fake disguise and prepared to leave with it tells me he didn't feel to good about his chances. Regarding Liston's performance against Ali, that has absolutely nothing to do with the thread, and I don't know why you even bought it up tbh.
I don't think Patterson was afraid of Liston either. I think he just got caught. Patterson was a small heavyweight, not physically strong, and things just went wrong for him. I've never thought Michael Spinks was scared either, he was fighting all right until he got caught. Patterson and Spinks were Olympic champions, they had seen a lot of fighters, can't imagine that either of them would be scared to the point of it affecting their performance by any opponent. With their amateur and professional background, they'd both probably sparred/fought fighters who were considered "monsters" when they were young, they probably got through those sessions, did well, built their confidence, and continued their careers. Long time fighters who start young usually experience a lot of things as they mature, being scared of opponents is something I've never seen from a fighter. In fact I've seen the opposite, if everyone thinks the opponent is a "monster", the fighter has no pressure and wants to prove people wrong. It's hard to believe that a fighter could win the Olympics, then the heavyweight championship and then fold because some opponent "mean mugs" him.
