Depending on whether Moore was born in 1913 or 1916, he would have turned 43 or 40 the year he fought Patterson. Now since Moore seemed to improve with age, let's take the Moore who beat Maxim in 52. Could that Moore have beaten Patterson or is any Patterson too much for any Moore?
I don't think so. Archie in 1952 was a big difference to what he was in 1956. Archie in 1952 had it all and was very dangerous, which is why he was so heavily avoided. Walcott, Charles, and Harry Matthews all turned down very nice paydays to fight Archie in 1951-1952. Even Marty Weill, who was Marciano's manager at the time was happy Archie relinquished his top heavyweight ranking to fight Maxim, since he thought Archie in 1952 was the most dangerous heavyweight challenger. Archie wasn't as hungry in 1956, he had let his conditioning go, and his legs had declined a lot in 4 years. The Marciano beating the previous year also didn't help things. In 1956 and afterwards Archie started getting a lot more selective on his opponents for a reason. Here is a piece talking about Moore in 1952 and Walcott giving his opinion on Moore. Knocked Off Pretenders Moore is the most striking example of how matches have - or have not - been made in more recent years. For eight years the clever man with the little mustache has been the ranking challenger. He knocked off the pretenders as they came along - Lloyd Marshall twice, Holman Williams, Oakland Billy Smith thrice, Bob Satterfield, Harold Johnson three times and Leonard Morrow. Offered $50,000 and 55 percent as the 175-pound ruler, Gus Lesnevich was first to label Moore "too tough." Asked on a television quiz. "Why don't they fight Archie Moore?" Jersey Joe Walcott, then heavyweight champion, replied: "I wouldn't fight Archie Moore for the same reason. He's the greatest fighter fighting today." https://imgur.com/uPgEnIr Here is a piece with Henry Armstrong touching on the subject of Archie's age, their start in boxing, and Archie's chances in the upcoming Marciano fight. HOW OLD IS ARCHIE MOORE? ... (Ed's note: This piece was lifted from the St. Louis Mirror, contributed by Hiawatha (fite mags.) Gray... The paper that is) "There is some dispute concerning the age of the old boxing favorite Archie Moore, who recently knocked out Carl (Bobo) Olson to retain his light heavyweight crown." "The birth record he has for the ring that is filed at Collinsville, Ill., gives his birth date as Dec. 13, 1916, which would make him 38, but on that issue, former triple champion Henry Armstrong, stated last Wednesday that he and Archie had started fighting here in club smokers in 1930." "Now, it is really hard to believe that Archie, no matter dexterous he is, started boxing at the age of 13 or 14." ...On the record book, Archie has his first fight listed as taking place in St. Louis against Sammy Christian, in December, 1936. This means that Archie started his career at the age of 20, which is unusual for a youth was pressed for money and who was going to take this as his livelihood." "Armstrong, who is now 42, stated in an interview in Los Angeles: 'Archie and I started boxing at the same time. It was in St. Louis in 1930. We fought in the same smokers. I was a featherweight and he was a heavyweight. I left St. Louis and didn't meet Moore again until 1936. Archie was then a welterweight and he became my sparring partner. I remember him well in 1936 because he shook me up with the hardest punch I'd ever been hit with, a left hook. He didn't floor me, but I don't recall that we used him much after that.' "As for the championship fight with Rock, Armstrong thought if the bout goes over 10 rounds, Archie wouldn't have a chance, although Archie has a real chance to win, and Marciano isn't liable to hit him like he did the Englishman, Don C**kell." https://imgur.com/e6Rw15V
On the surface it seems that way. I realize Archie was way up there in age with a lot of mileage behind him but something tells me Floyd would always be a stylistic problem for him.
Moore was a heavyweight in 1930, but a welterweight in 1936?? Also, Walcott vs Moore in 51-52 would have been a great fight