Could peak Floyd Patterson have been the greatest cruiserweight ever?

And Floyd Patterson would lose to Usyk...

 

If you mean the best fighter H2h weighing 200lbs or less, I don't think so. I'm not sure I'd favour him over sub 200lbs versions of Marciano, Holyfield or Usyk. I'd take a 200lbs version of Louis over him, too.

If you mean the greatest sub 200lbs fighter that fought above LHW, I don't think so. Marciano and Dempsey fought exclusively under 200lbs and are consistently ranked above Patterson on ATG lists.

I do, however, think Patterson gets underrated from a p4p perspective. He came around at the wrong time, into a growing division.

 

I think his best weight would be 190 pounds. At that weight I think he would compare favorably with any fighter that I know of.

 

Even Marciano?

 

He definitely could but I see guys like Usyk n Holyfield beating him.


Holyfield/Patterson and even Toney/Patterson would've been a hell of fun. I like his chances more in the later but still great matchups.

 

I think Holyfield is a better all around fighter, with more heart

 

Good point! But I think the Patterson that stopped Ingo in the 1960 rematch would be competitive with Marciano. He was motivated and at 25 years of age had a lot of energy and stamina. There's no telling what might have happened if that was the Patterson who fought Rocky.

The problem as I see it, is that Patterson fought so infrequently during those years that he never demonstrated he could maintain that level of excellence beyond that one fight. And at that point in his career he was a bit of a head case too.

If I seem like I am backtracking a bit from my previous post, I guess that's because I am!

 

No worries. I too think Patterson gets underrated p4p, because he came along at the wrong time and ran into HWs who were both brilliant and much bigger than him, in Liston and Ali.

I could see him giving Marciano hell early and wouldn't rule out a Patterson win. Gun to my head, though, and I'll say Marciano's greater durability is the telling factor and pick him to win via a late, come from behind, stoppage.

 

I think Patterson is competitive with Marciano but gets knocked out late after an excellent early start.

 

Dempsey, Ezzard Charles and Marciano would have done better,

 

Cruiser? No. Size-wise, he fits right into the modern LHW division.

Let's first talk power. He was probably a solid 7/10 in power for a HW -- for a LHW, that probably puts him a 9/10. Now let's talk speed. He had the speed of a middleweight or welterweight. Add to this that he's technically skilled with solid fundamentals, has plenty of heart, has great recovery ability.

Add up his attributes and he'd likely be a terror at LHW. He'd be something like a Mike Tyson analogue with his combo of speed and power at LHW.

 

I think he would've been better at 175.

 

No guarantees but yes. He could very well have beaten the best cruisers.