Floyd Patterson 'Chickened Out To Fight Cleveland Williams'

Nobody ever called Floyd Patterson 'a chicken', and he was not.

But, he 'chickened out' in fighting Cleveland Williams.

September 1964 Ring Magazine (reporting information from May 1964).

Floyd and his manager/promoter Al Bolan, tried to conspire a 'back-room deal'
to fight Doug Jones for the 'vacant' NYSAC Heavyweight Championship, while
trying to block out Ernie Terrell, Cleveland Williams and Eddie Machen.

Dan Florio (Floyd's trainer), 'If we can't get Doug Jones, we have an offer to
go to Sweden and fight Eddie Machen for the 'vacant' Championship. And
Floyd may even move to Sweden, where he is well liked and respected. We
can defend the Championship from Stockholm, it makes no difference to
Floyd.'

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Everybody loved Floyd,,,,,,,

But even Floyd said, 'a loss to Williams will end my career, as I can
ill afford another knockout loss'.

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LH71,,,,,,,,,,,

Can you say,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,'Ricochet Rabbit'

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May 1964

'Floyd Patterson to pull out of 5-man NYSAC Heavyweight Tournament'

Floyd Patterson, who signed a contract to fight to be a participant in
a 'special heavyweight tournament' has decided not to enter the elimination round.

Floyd feels that he is the 'name fighter' in the tournament, and that as a Former 2-Time
Champion he should be awarded a 'first round bye'.

Al Bolan, Manager/Advisor, 'We feel that Floyd and Doug Jones should
fight for the vacant NYSAC Championship in Madison Square Garden. And the other
fighters (Cleveland Williams, Ernie Terrell and Eddie Machen) should fight a round-robin
eliminator, to deterime the next challenger.'

'It makes no sense for Floyd to fight an 'Eliminator' for $75,000. We can get nearly the
same amount fighting in Sweden, and against who we want.'

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Tuesday - April 7, 1964

'The 'Big Cat' is waiting to use his 'big paws' on Floyd.

30 year-old Houston Heavyweight - Cleveland 'Big Cat' Williams (213 lbs.) won a 'one-sided'
Unanimous 10-Round Decision over 'Los Angeles Ernie' Tommy Fields (192 lbs.)

The 6' 3' Williams utilized his 80" reach and powerful left hand to repeatedly rock the 6' 1"
Los Angeles Heavyweight backwards. Williams had his opponent in trouble several times
throughout the 10-Round bout, but the 'cagey' Fields was able to shake free and use
good defensive skills to hold off the 'Big Cat'.

Cleveland improves to 59-5-1. Tommy Fields drops to 16-11-3.

Cleveland Williams, 'I have to stay busy while I'm waiting for Floyd. I haven't fought in
6-Months, and I have to stay active to be sharp. It took me about 5 Rounds to warm-up
to get going, but Tommy was smart, and kept moving and would not trade with me.'

'I honestly don't understand Floyd, first he signs to fight, then he goes to his training
camp in Harriman, New York and hides out. I wish he would let me know if he's going to fight or not.'

 

Harry Markson, Madison Square Garden

May 1964

Floyd completely and totally screwed up the tournament. It was important for him to be
involved, as boxing as a whole would benefit from his participation.

Even if he lost in the 'first round', he still has enough talent to make it back. A loss
would not end his career, depsite what Al Bolan thinks.

He agreed to all the requirements in the contract, and then complained when he drew
Cleveland Williams. Then we re-shuffled, and he didn't want to fight Ernie Terrell. He
only wanted to fight Doug Jones for the Champinship. We can't let him dictate the
rules, that is why the other fighters dislike him.

Now I find out, that all along while he said he would particpate in the '5-Man Tournament',
he was negotiating with the promoter in Sweden into setting up an International Heavyweight
Championship.

The current rankings list,
#1...Doug Jones
#2...Ernie Terrell
#3...Zora Folley
#4...Eddie Machen
#5...George Chuvalo
#6...Cleveland Williams
#7...Floyd Patterson
#8...Tony Alongi