I'd never seen that fight before. Thanks for posting. Floyd's hands were so fast. If I didn't see that right hand coming, I know poor Cooper didn't.
Patterson was a good fighter but he was a small HW with a not so great chin. He was down over 20 times. Patterson would not be able to hurt Tua. Patterson was fast but he was not a runner, he liked to brawl. So, Tua is much bigger and stronger. He punches harder and he basically can not be hurt at all by Patterson. Tua had good stamina as well. I just don't see this going well for Patterson, Tua by KO.
Patterson was never a particularly elusive target. He also lacked the strength and power to keep Tua off him. I'll go with Tua by stoppage.
Tua knocked out Lineal HW Champ Michael Moorer in 30 seconds. He stopped Lineal HW Champ Hasim Rahman in the 10th round, they also fought to a draw. He stopped WBA HW Champ John Ruiz in 19 seconds. He stopped WBC HW Champ Oleg Maskaev in the 11th round. He stopped WBA CW Champ Robert Daniels in the 3rd round. He also stopped Oquendo, Izon, Sullivan, and others. He went toe to toe vs. Ibeabuchi for 12 rounds and lost a close decision. He lost 7 or 8 out of 12 rounds vs. the very fast, elusive and durable 215 Lb. southpaw Chris Byrd. Lewis used his fsce as a punching bag for 12 rounds and never hurt him. He was well past prime in his other losses.
You are half right. He made some good use of movement against Chuvalo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLhQCkRemWg Is it just possible that these sort of tactics might win it for him?
I realise that this is a bad stylistic argument for Patterson, but there is a reason why Patterson became a lineal champion, then stayed in the rankings for more years than any other heavyweight in history. There is also a reason why Tua lost whenever there was something on the line.