Did anyone else think Ali vs Patterson II was close?

Floyd had his moments but Muhammad seemed in control through most of the bout in my view.

Patterson unlucky with verdict in Ellis bout. Close one,though.

 

Wanna know something scary? Ali was about 14lbs heavier then Patterson and 4 inches taller give or take when they met close to or in there primes. Tyson Fury is about 5 inches taller then "67" Ali and about 55-60lbs heavier. The gulf in size between Ali and Fury is bigger then Patterson and Ali. Let that sink in.

 

Yeah it was I didn't score it RBR when I watched it ages ago, but I remember feeling it was definitely competitive. An argument could be made Patterson may of been ahead on points or on even terms.

But saying all that I don't think Ali was ever in danger of losing.

 

I saw both Muhammad Ali vs Floyd Patterson fights, the first one was a title defense for Ali on Nov 22 1965, Ali won by TKO 12. I saw the second one the following Saturday on ABC's Wide World Of Sports, Ali won by a TKO 7 on Sept 20 1972. The second fight was more competitive.

 

I think I had II 4-3 actually. Muhammad was holding back and allowing Patterson to get the better of the exchanges. Floyd did look good, but Ali evidently could've ended the fight sooner than he did. As it stands he didn't even appear to try that hard and he closed up Floyd's eye.

 

A plug for Fury it seems.

 

I think I had Floyd out ahead but the momentum had swung in Ali's favor and he was coming on in that last round. It was a noble effort from Patterson at 37 though

 

I feel the same way as what it appears to be the trending opinion.

Ali was a bit laid back but I think Patterson was boxing well and he did land some wake up call punches which gave Ali cause to put the pedal to the metal.

Ali was beginning to catch Floyd more and put it to him but it was still ultimately the cut eye that saw the fight stopped. Floyd’s conditioning at 37 yo was amazing and his hands were still blindingly fast, particularly in combination, with some very nice P4P oomph.

I don’t if he was since he was hyper self critical - but Floyd had every reason to be proud of his performance.

 

Spot on, Stevie. That was a tough one for Floyd against Ellis.

 

Although I had Patterson ahead, this was Ali in showman mode. He never even attempted to go into the next gear until Floyd caught him with a good right in the 6th round. It just woke a sleeping giant and he began to go to work. It really gives the viewer the impression that he could have done this anytime he wanted. I recall seeing the same thing when he fought Jurgin Blin. He sat there dawdling through an extremely dull contest, which one can only assume that Ali thought was crowd-pleasing before he abruptly went into the next gear and ended it.

 

Floyd was competitive but Ali was coasting a bit. When he kicked it into gear the difference was apparent.

And to the idea that Floyd was robbed against Ellis, it was a close fight that didn’t go his way. It wasn’t a fight where Floyd was almost all the rounds and got robbed. If Floyd’s hand had been raised, you could equally say Ellis got robbed if you want to call it a robbery. Somebody had to win.

 

I thought Patterson clearly won that one tbh.

 

Adelaide Byrd had Patterson 9 rounds ahead before the stoppage

 

I'm watching the fight rn and the british announcer said ali was 29.5 lbs heavier than Patterson for this fight.

Decided to do a RBR since it's been years since I've watched.

Round 1: 10-9 Patterson. Wow Floyd is definitely taking a page from Frazier for this fight. He's even hitting his hands together like Joe did. Very light on his feet, more frentic movement and leaping shots.

Round 2: 10-9 Patterson. Closer but pretty ineffective round for both men. Ali scoring with occasional jabs, clearly worried about getting countered. Patterson scored some good looking shots but a lot were rolled with or blocked.

Round 3: 10-9 Patterson. Ali had a good sequence but mostly Patterson roughed him up this round. The announcer said something about a back injury Patterson had when they had their first fight, so if that's legit it could (along with Ali's decline) put in perspective why Floyd is doing pretty well so far.

Round 4: 10-9 Patterson. Ali trying to steal the round with antics but he looks listless and distracted and tired.

Round 5: 10-9 Patterson. Much better round for Ali and he seemed more engaged but Patterson really seems to be flummoxing him. That sidestep-overhand when Ali had him against the ropes was truly beautiful.

Round 6: 10-9 Ali. Most exciting round so far. Very back and forth until Ali took over the last third of the round. The gap in power is apparent.

Round 7: 10-9 Ali. Despite the British announcer acting like it's a total massacre, Patterson had some moments. But clear Ali round. Patterson's eye looking completely closed.

Mercante stops the fight.

I definitely had Patterson ahead, but it really seemed like a case of "Ali wakes up, Ali stops him." Patterson came in great shape with a good gameplan and a style that should give Ali trouble. But that's Muhammad Ali in there. 70s Ali had a lot of listless rounds but he found ways to win most of the time.

As to the OP, Ali himself gets on the mic at the end of the fight and says "Patterson gave me a good fight, it was close, and he can have a rematch"

Was it close? Yes. Did Patterson really have a good shot to win? Probably not. Ali too big and skilled with too good of a chin and underrated power.