It’s 1961/62 instead of meeting Liston, Floyd decides to take on the great Harold Johnson. A fight that somehow never happened how goes this one?
If Floyd was busy I think he could take it, but I'd say 7 times out of 10 that Johnson could outbox him from a distance.
Johnson's form was wonderful but he reached a bit with that jab. Imagine Floyd got the ranges right? Could be over very, very quickly with those fast hands and that spring going over the top of that jab.
I was thinking of the Satterfield v Johnson fight and Harold lost one to him and won one, then I thought of Machen v Patterson which I haven’t seen in some time but Machen and Johnson weren’t that dissimilar to get an idea. I’d prob edge out Patterson but wouldn’t be surprised if Harold won one of three
Harold Johnson was an excellent light heavyweight and even beat a few decent heavies. But I can’t see him capturing the heavyweight title. And frankly I just think that Paterson was better at that weight
Not a match really. Johnson was a brilliant defensive Fighter but Floyd was immensely aggressive and brave. Patterson within 6.
Think Johnson is a bit underrated for his abilities. I see him somewhere between slightly below Ezzard Charles and better than Eddie Machen. He has wins over both coincidentally. Charles Machen Bivins Nino Henry Satterfield Moore Brothers Godoy Slade Jones Is a list of his best wins…prob forgetting someone. I think Patterson is a rough fight for him based on the Satterfield bout but let’s not pretend these two aren’t on the level. I’d even wager Patterson’s team didn’t want anything to do with Johnson.
