Francesco Damiani V Floyd Patterson?

It's not at all a foregone conclusion. It's about 50-50. Damiani was difficult to outbox and I think Patterson would be fortunate to get a stoppage.

 

what bodes well for Patterson is that damiani was no huge hitter. i pick Patterson by UD.

 

He could crack well enough to get the respect of Mercer and a prime Biggs.

 

99% Damiani.
Bigger , stronger, more durable.
Solid technique, intelligent man .
Fitter than he looked.
Points or maybe later stoppage.
Always on top in a war of attrition.
Patterson couldn't put a dent in this guy.
Damiani was cautiously managed.
Should've been seen on the world stage sooner.
His management were ultra cautious and possibly he was slightly past peak when he got the exposure of the Mercer fight.
Should've got a shot at the big one after beating Biggs.
Went on to be head coach of the Italian Amateur federation.
Good guy.

 

This. Damiani is one of the hidden gems of his era. He could do a bit of everything, fight inside, fight at range, and he was quite durable. Moreover he was actually a big dude, close on 6'4 and with a KO ratio of 75%, hardly a light puncher. Patterson himself was around 60%.

He beat one of our local boys Du Plooy like it was nothing, broke him down and straight up flattened him in three. Lest we forget, du Plooy has wins over Tillis, Bey, Pritchard and Weaver, when they were still worth something.

I'd fancy Damiani in this one.

He doesn't have Patterson's speed, but he's skilful enough to land consistently and tough enough to reach a point in the fight where Patterson can't take it anymore and he can.

 

This one has me on the edge of my seat

 

Would be interesting Floyd hit hard and was fast but was more fragile than Damiani who was also bigger and a decent boxer.Very difficult to call if Floyd lands he could KO Francesco but could be stopped late himself .Could go either way.

 

Poor Floyd, he never wins fights against greats....and now he comes up short against solid fringe contenders.

I don’t think he loses this even if he suffers a KD or 2 along the way (and I don’t really think he will). Floyd takes a solid 8-4 (even if he suffers 2 Kd’s I see him winning by at least 2) decision and if we try to force this into the 15?round era I think Floyd might stop him late.

Is there any solid fighter Floyd could beat?

 

Patterson beat Moore, who is a big scalp, albeit quite old. He beat Johanssen who is good. He's got wins over Chuvalo and Durelle and Bonavena who are also nobody's chumps.

On the other hand his win over Bonavena could have been a loss, and Johanssen also beat him in turn. He lost to Quarry and he lost to Ellis. I don't think any of these guys are "greats" tbh. Solid fringe contenders are pretty much their description.

I think Damiani, who has wins over Page, Biggs, du Plooy and Stevenson in the Olympics, is at least on their level. He was outboxing Mercer handily before he got caught and his only other loss to McCall, an exceptional fighter himself, was basically a cashing out and his last fight.

It's not an odd pick to take Damiani over Patterson.

 

Well to be fair...if you are going to say his win against Bonavena could be a loss, to be fair and balanced you could also say his loses to Quarry could be wins. It’s not fair to give one benefit one way and not reciprocate it the other.

In a microcosm I don’t think picking Damiani is unfair or unrealistic. I think he is a solid guy and a solid case can be made for him. I would pick Floyd and stand by that, but would not be shocked to be wrong.

My issue is I can’t remember the last time on this forum where Floyd recirved a consensus nod. It seems again the consensus is leaning towards Damiani. That is fine.

I just wonder who is the best fighter that this forum would name Floyd as a consensus favorite to win.

 

FLOYD BY7

 

That's a good question.

Personally I think some big slow fighter that gives people trouble due to his size might just find himself in trouble when confronted with Patterson's speed. Problem is that at the very top echelons size usually comes with skill too.

 

Some say that he'd have beaten Tony Galento