Are Liston's 2 first round kayos of Patterson underrated?

I'm not understanding your last sentence but styles DO matter.
I had a thread about a year ago about a pvp Patterson vs. Young. IMO Patterson could potentially stop Jimmy, something many big bangers couldn't do.
An aging black maintenance man at an old job years ago summed up the Liston-Patterson bouts. "Floyd tried to fight the People's Fight! He put too much pressure on himself." Not that he could have won (I don't see how he could have) but he could have went deeper into the bout IMO had he displayed a little more 'smart'.
Patterson was a better fighter AFTER Liston. How many other former World Champions (in any weight class) can make that claim?

 

They are really, probably because Patterson himself is a bit underrated. Patterson was near the top of the heavyweight division for a decade and a half, fought a lot of good and great fighters, and no one ever got to him the way Liston did. No one else managed to keep him on the canvas.

 

That's what I was getting at. Imagine if Ali had stopped Patterson so early twice? Can anyone tell me that Patterson wouldn't suddenly be elevated by Ali supporters? Yet with Liston it's "Yeah, but Patterson was small and chinny", totally overlooking his career as a whole.

 

Yes Styles do matter up to a degree. What I am saying is a style advantage at World level is never entirely representative of determining a result every time. There are a lot of factors to consider against these large sweeping grouping of the one size fits all characterisations of styles. This nonsense about all Swarmers fitting into the same size peg and sluggers, pure boxers each fitting to the same size style peg in order to determine fantasy results is a huge over simplification when regarding ATG champions. So many complicated factors get swept away.

That maintenance man knew what he was talking about. This was a very popular view for many years by those around at that time. I remember speaking to so many boxing people around those days. Liston won so emphatically you can't take it away from him. Patterson was simply the most ineffective he had ever been. Twice!

I don't know. Liston smelt a weakness in him both times. He knew a victim when he saw one. Nothing to discourage Sonny. Ali worked out that You can't allow guys like Sonny to think that about you so he went ape sh!t at the weigh in.

Style advantage can't explain all of it. Liston was the best version of that kind of fighter that Patterson fought but Floyd beat guys with similar advantage before.

It is a unique case. Patterson was very psychologically motivated over achiever in a lot if ways. He used fear to help accelerate his senses but it can be a delicate balance. He spoke about it in the Ingo rematch saying it helped him perform at his greatest level to motivate him.

Liston, along with Tyson were two of the most intimidating champions in history. They knew how to work it. Both were aware of How an intimidated opponent cannot perform. Guys were beaten before the bell. I'm not saying Floyd was intimidated. But that fine balance of using fear to an advantage could backfire.

And that just one factor.

Among great fighters there is never just one reason.