Good info on status of the Heavyweight Division in 1965 (Terrell v Machen)

I agree, but I wouldn't even count attribute his loss to Terrell as inability to win the big ones, which to me really is just another way of saying that a fighter just does not quite have what it takes against the top fighters in his division. By the time Machen fought Terrell, IMO, he was pretty much shot, and the fact that he lost was more a matter of wear and tear both physically and mentally. He'd laid off for over a year following his mental breakdown in 1963, and then defeated a bunch of set-ups. His fight with Patterson in Stockholm (the first fight against a class fighter after his comeback) was one-sided. He never was really in the hunt after that. He was later able to bluff his way to wins over Quarry and Orbillo, but that was due more to their inexperience than anything else. I think last fight as a credible contender was the draw with Cleveland Williams in 1962.