For the most part, I found "Ali-Patterson" pretty boring.......... Ali was in complete control from start to finish.... Patterson was game throughout, but largely ineffective.... Them 12 rds are a hard watch.... Cheers.... MR.BILL
Patterson was a fine man and an excellent fighter,but we are also talking about the man who had a disguise ready to sneak outa town for his loss after the first Liston fight.Who is to say,Floyd didn't realize he didn't have a chance to win by the middle of the Ali fight,and just pulled an injury,to take some glory out of Ali's last three wins.Two clouded victories over Liston and now Patterson.Liston's rep was bad,and lot of people thought he threw those fights.Floyd was beloved,maybe he wasn't as hurtin as he let on,no one would qustion Floyd's integrity.
I believe "Clay-Liston 1" down in Florida to be legit...... Clay battered a semi-conditioned Liston to pieces.... The rematch of '65 in Maine sucked long pool stick and was as crooked as the Mississippi river.... BUT! Clay / Ali and company were on the level..... :huh As for Floyd Patterson.... That bit about keeping a beard and stache with shades in his dressing room upon bailing the scene after getting iced by Liston in 1962 bothers me....... Their is / was NO SHAME in getting parked by Liston early on... The pre '64 Liston was a ruthless mother in the ring..... :deal MR.BILL:bbb
IMO, Ali's best wins during his first title reign were Patterson and Chuvalo. Patterson, imo, had the fastest hands of any HW, including Ali, whose jab may have been the fastest, but not in combination. As far as the back thing, it was an excuse. Patterson was still a contender by the time he faced Ali a second time, and was robbed out of being a three time HW champion. Same with Marciano. The back thing was simply an excuse. But in Marciano's case, it was more financial/personal reasons for why he left the ring, than Patterson who was finding anything to make up for his loss to Ali.
Marciano did have back problems later in his rein though. Most of the Rock's freinds said Rocky could not bend down to tie his shoes. So I think there has to be some fact to that. I would not write it off.
I wish ESPN would show some of those Patterson fights with "Ellis & Quarry." I have Patterson's fight with Ellis on a crude tape.... Patterson still boxed well, but either settled for a draw or dropped a narrow decision to Ellis..... I'd have to check that... Its been yrs........ Same with his fights with Quarry..... Word has it that Patterson was robbed in one fight with Quarry, but clearly lost the other fight..... I'd like to see clear tapes of these fights....... MR.BILL
It's youtube but you won't likely find these fights in better quality than this. Patterson vs Ellis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pYwAGsgykdU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QYVzjcpVBg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad0xMJdEfJQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4Kl_cPARiA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4dMduwmXu9A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEQjP68NtP8 Patterson vs Quarry I http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6VipTmAOu0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xEdlyT9k8s http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO9Lu9iK4JQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWnEvSqhEMA Patterson vs Quarry II http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dJ8N2Gmgmw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_iVEFdPYfo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB4rwS242b0 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShjWMk5OWXY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZoCm7Ff1zNQ I'd be interested in hearing how other people scored these fights. I think a case could be made that Patterson won all of them but that's just me.
Youtube has its use, but I am not big on The Tube........... It would be nice if ESPN played more of this old school material.... I noticed ESPN Classics has been airing lotsa' modern crap that's only a few years old....... I normally just pass up all that jazz........ MR.BILL
Patterson kicked Ellis' ass. I am always amazed when supposedly knowledgeable fans say Patterson lost that fight.
Haven't seen the Ellis-Patterson fight in decades,seemed like the fight was in Sweden,the ref had the only vote.He picked Ellis,and he needed an escort to get out safely.
The general feeling is that Patterson got dicked a couple of times by the judges / scoring in the late 1960s against "Ellis and Quarry.":shock:
Howard Cosell touched on the Quarry fight,and mentioned the "perculiar" California scoring system,how he thought Floyd won.
Even if his back wasn't injured Ali was still gonna demolish him that nite. His back was alright at the start - Ali caused the back injury if there was one by hitting Patterson repeatedly. Watch the first few rounds and you know there was only ever going to be one winner. I think i counted Ali hitting Patterson with over 120 punches in one round alone.