Could peak Floyd Patterson have been the greatest cruiserweight ever?

A lot of the HWs who beat him Liston included would be cruisers today… he’d be a LHW…

 

I can see that argument with Johansson, Quarry, and Ellis. Probably not so much Liston unless he really tried hard to make that weight

 

Liston was 211lbs in his prime. He wasn’t exactly “cut” either he could lose the weight in fat if he wanted. Today he’s quite a small HW.

 

Yeah maybe

 

Michael Moorer made 175lbs with Modern means and was a natural 200lber. Much more severe cut. I don’t see how Liston couldn’t make 200lbs with a prime weight of 211lbs-ish.

 

It sounds realistic enough. But seeing that his best weight ranged from 209-213 and was very short lived you’d wonder if losing 10-12lbs might hurt him. Especially given that his prime came at a late age. But yeah your point is well taken and possible. Jimmy Ellis started off as a middleweight and was consistently small at heavy. I think he’s a good candidate for cruiser as was quarry and Ingo. So that leaves us with the question, could Patterson have beaten the best EXISTING cruisers who actually fought there? The guys we’d be talking about are Usyk, Gomez, DeLeon, Holyfield, Qawi, Norris, Cole, Huck, and a few others. Yeah I think he probably could have beaten a lot of them. Maybe not all. And I’m assuming the judging would be fair and honest as Patterson was reported to be robbed a few times in his career

 

Seeing Patterson fight Qawi would be extremely interesting.

 

That would be a good one. Or a young Evander.

 

I personally believe the older Evander is an easier fight then the young one. The bigger Holyfield got the dumber the became.

 

I think he may have abandoned some of his skill to get more physical. I don’t want to say he became “ dumb “ but perhaps his style underwent adjustments to accommodate old age and a larger figure

 

I said this awhile ago, would be an awesome fight I think.

 

Cruiser? No i dont think, Light Heavyweight? I think we would've witnessed some 20 years of dominance with Patterson as champion, I'd be so bold to say. He lasted exhaustively long in a division he just wasn't naturally built for and found huge success. The guy really has one of the most excellent resumes during one of the toughest times in the division even if you count his robberies against him.

I cannot see him losing any of his edge skill or speed wise had he stayed LHW, and he has awesome power that is as much strength as a mastery of putting his body into his punches.

 

I agree, assuming he was able to make 175lbs without losing much, he could have been one of the greatest ever at LHW

 

I can see him facing defeat of course, but in the same vein of Louis or Ali where one or two men found some weakness or vulnerability that they were uniquely poised to exploit. Other than that, I think he'd be able to recapture the belt once or twice if he lost it and in the end it would probably be time that defeats him. But credit where it is due Floyd certainly knew when it was time to retire. God I could talk about him all day

 

He isnt thought of an especially destructive puncher (he is to a degree, but not at the elite level). I think he would be, had he been able to make a career at LHW without losing much, which he most certainly would, had he been born into the weigh in the day before the fight, era.

His frame was no more than a 60's LHW, I genuinely don't know for certain if he moved up because he was naturally quite a stocky guy who couldn't quite make 175lbs comfortably or if it was in search of the greater glory and riches at HW.

I have often wondered how he would have faired had he come along 10+ years earlier, when he wouldn't have been so small at HW, or 10+ years later, when it would have been clear from day 1 of his career that he'd be undersized at HW and he would have done everything possible to forge a career at LHW.