Floyd Patterson - P4P...

Definately alot better than he was at HW.

P4P he was excellent, when you look at what he did.

 

There aren't many fighters I'd pick to beat Patterson at his natural weight. Terrific and underrated puncher and very skilled with it; if he lacked anything it was perhaps a fragile mindset.

 

I rate him as a true POUND-FOR-POUND great.

He never lost to anyone smaller than himself. Quarry was the same size, all the others who beat him were 10-30 pounds heavier.

He beat plenty of good fighters who were bigger and heavier than him.

He convincingly beat Archie Moore, who should be recognized as a p4p great in his own right. The fight was for the vacant HEAVYWEIGHT title.

Moore outweighed Patterson by 6 pounds, and I believe Patterson could have gone down to 175 and whipped Moore for the light-heavy title too !

 

Totally agree, Patterson needs to be respected for what he actually was and what he chased. Could he have been potentially the greatest 175 pounder of them all if he dedicated to that division?

 

I think so.
Who's gonna beat him ? An aging Moore would never beat a maturing Patterson.
H.Johnson ? W.Pastrano ? J.Torres ? B.Foster ?
No, no, no and no.

 

That leaves Spinks, Tunney, Jones, and Charles. All decent choices.

 

I'd give Foster a good chance of shooting him down. Not convinced he beats Harold Johnson either.

 

(I was talking about light-heavyweights of Patterson's time.)

I think Patterson would beat all the names you put forward, prime for prime, except Gene Tunney.

Patterson was never the finished article below about 182 pounds, but I believe he could have remained at 175 and built a legacy there to put him alongside and above any light-heavy in history.

 

Just imagine if there was a cruiserweight division calling for him at the time. That hand speed, with with the power he would have possessed, would have been sleep inducing to say the least. People may have said Mike Tyson was the heavyweight Floyd Patterson.

 

Patterson would have torn them apart, IMO.

A sleek but mature Patterson would have looked savage going up against 175 pounders, IMO.
His power and speed would have been irresistible.

At heavyweight he only got stopped by Johansson (KO), Liston (KO twice), Ali (TKO twice).
He gave away 13,14,20,25 and 30 pounds on those occasions.
He took punches from men just as big.

Being shot down by Bob Foster - at the same weight as Bob Foster - doesn't seem likely to me.

It's all speculation though.

 

One of them.

 

I'd take him over Tunney and Charles. Jones and Spinks I would heavily favour.

Tunney isn't even worth mentioning against Patterson by the way, but Charles is a fair pick.

 

You'd heavily favor Jones? Based on what? Patterson had better power and similar speed at LHW, though not quite as good movement. Both had somewhat mediocre chins, but Patterson was the better puncher at LHW. Not sure I'd favor Jones at all. Unless you think Patterson was just "one of them old timers" in terms of technique.