Floyd Patterson vs

Floyd vs. Ezz 50/50. Floyd has the speed on his size, Charles his incredible skill
Floyd vs. JJW 50/50. Either Floyd decision based on his speed and beeing busier or Walcott lands a big one.
Floyd vs. Max 50/50. Floyd has speed here but Schmeling is quite different to anyone Floyd fought and his right is very dangerous.
As hws I see those four in the same class.

Floyd vs. Jack 60/40. I think Floyds speed, combinations and workrate will be too much for Jack. At least in a first fight.
Floyd vs. Jack 20/80. Jack get´s him out early. Bad style match-up for him here.
Floyd vs. Rocky 10/90. Marciano fukcs him up. Floyd might be up on points but Marciano´s constant battering with hard shots wears him down and get´s him stopped.

Floyd vs. Spinks 70/30. Spinks is awkward and has enough punch to trouble Floyd but I expect Patterson to tough it out and win on points.
Floyd vs. RJJ 90/10. Floyd was similarly fast, had more power, a better chin, better technique, better defence, was busier and threw more combinations.
Floyd vs. Moorer 90/10. Flyod´s combination of speed and power and Moorer´s chin. ´nuff said.

 

Floyd was nice guy. He always tried hard, and had courage. I hate to say, he loses to all above. Look how D'amato protected him as champ, having him fight people like guy making poor debut (ko in 5, but after Patterson was knocked down early_) while ducking top challengers.

 

Floyd was the greatest lightheavyweight who never was. The guy over acheived because (without P.E.D’s) Patterson was always in the wrong weight class. What a super, super talent. If there had of been super middlewight and cruiserweight titles up for grabs in his day Patterson could have been a 4 weight champion. He was that good.

What hurts floyd was the fact that he won the heavyweight title beating the light heavyweight champion then lost it to the first real #1 heavyweight he met. When he beats Ingo in the return people forget how potentially great ingo was then Floyd flops against the next #1 heavyweight -making Liston look fantastic.

However, you take the fact that patterson still knocked out one unbeaten heavyweight champion and in his comeback after the Liston farces wiped out cooper, decisioned machen and chuvalo, (three genuine HW contenders throughout his own era) then beat bonnavena and got robbed against ellis and quarry (who were part of the next era) and you realise that little Floyd did very well for a light heavyweight.

 

Hi Danmann, I'm on a roll tonite but I have to say, you've lost your credibility with me with that post.

 

Hey Chok!
My sentiments exactly. You can't come up with many fighters who were actually BETTER AFTER losing their title. It wasn't Floyd's fault he didn't fight Machen/Williams/Folley in the late 50's. IMO he could have won all three tho the Big Cat against Sonny in 59' does scare me a bit.

 

I am starting to think patterson found that the presure of being heavyweight champion got to him quite a bit. The resposibility of being a role model, representing decent america, it took its toll. he was a very young guy. Later without a title on the line the presure was off and he was a great contender beating better guys than when he was a champ. Only the best beat him.

 

He did well after losing the title -- the second time.

But please -- Ingo isn't an all-time great. He fought a debut guy in the biggest farce of a heavyweight title fight ever, and had to get off the canvas to win.

As the poster said it, VERY protected.

Game, heck yes. But as a heavyweight, not very sturdy. He might beat someone on that above list on his best night, but for the most part those guys are of a class far above him.

Floyd as a heavyweight is not the same as looking at his overall body of work, because some believe he could have dominated the light heavy ranks had he stayed at 175. Which makes his ATG rating higher than his place among true heavyweights.

 

Yes on the first three.

Spinks, Moorer and RJJ are better versions of Floyd.

He wasn't a legit heavyweight champ IMO -- he beat an old man (like himself a beefed-up light heavy) for a vacant title. He fought hand-picked opponents until he lost to one of them -- Ingo is a footnote in history only because he fought a paper champ.

Then he ran into Liston and couldn't last a round.

His ability to recover from that and become a respectable contender after those losses is remarkable, and a credit to his heart and determination. But all he ever was, to me, was a contender-class guy. None of those he beat were in the top tier of their day.

 

Yes on the first three.

Spinks, Moorer and RJJ are better versions of Floyd.

He wasn't a legit heavyweight champ IMO -- he beat an old man (like himself a beefed-up light heavy) for a vacant title. He fought hand-picked opponents until he lost to one of them -- Ingo is a footnote in history only because he fought a paper champ.

Then he ran into Liston and couldn't last a round.

His ability to recover from that and become a respectable contender after those losses is remarkable, and a credit to his heart and determination. But all he ever was, to me, was a contender-class guy. None of those he beat were in the top tier of their day.

 

This dosnt say much for sonny Liston. His whole resume is based on the patterson fights, the only great fighter he beat. For Liston to be great patterson has to be great. where do you rate Liston?

 

You have Patterson ahead of RJJ:think

 

Personally i think he'd knock Wally Klitschko the **** out