yeah well Patterson was old and certainly not prime because he had been through those beatings with Johannson Liston wasn't prime, no. He could just club Patterson around because he was much stronger and Patterson didn't have a good chin. Plus if you look at that compared to his earlier fights he's clearly not as fast and his reflexes are a little off. Still a good performance though Liston was way past it vs Ali, he was probably in his mid 30s, and was not in shape. He trained for a short fight so therefore he couldn't go the distance without gasing.
I think Holyfield-Bowe I is as good a shout as any - two great heavyweights - both IMO in their finest hours I wouldn't say Foreman-Frazier I as I don't think Frazier was in his prime in that one (last time he was is FOTC) and he also fought probably the worst fight you could ever fight against Foreman. Frazier-Ali I also doesn't really count for me because Ali wasn't at his peak Marciano-Moore - not really - definately Moore's finest hour as a heavy - but Marciano's swansong - not really his absolute best I think Walcott-Marciano I is up there with Bowe Holy I - both mens best ever fight overall in my opinion.
Moore's best run was 1949-1956. He was most active as a Heavyweight but also captured the Light Heavyweight title in the middle of this run. During this time he picked up the bulk of his most significant wins in both weight classes: Olson, Joey Maxim, Satterfield, Nino Valdez, Clarence Henry, Jimmy Bivins, Oakland Billy Smith, and Bob Baker. Also, the great Harold Johnson, who was a leading contender for the LHW and HW titles at this time.
The next time I see Patterson being accused of having a bad chin I'm going to cry And Patterson certainly wasn't "old" against Liston. If anything it's the opposite.
I agree, Patterson was prone to knockdowns...mostly because of his style. However, he was only KOed by all time great hitters. Liston and Ingo could take anybody down.
Okay so I think we can count: Marcinao - Moore Schmeling - Sharkey Schmeling - Louis Oh, and as for Patterson Liston. The reason Floyd got clobbered was because he did not want to be there. He had no idea what he was doing in the ring, once he climbed it. He was as close as you can get to having a nervous breakdown without physically showing it. Patterson wanted to get knocked out. And so Sonny just assisted him. One really cool off-topic story, is that when Sonny lost to Ali in their first fight, Floyd visited the dressing room. He saw Sonny sitting there with a look of depression, not even looking up at Floyd. Patterson told Liston that he knows how it feels, and to hang in there. Sonny didnt say a word, so Floyd turned around and started to leave the dressing room. Then Sonny got up, went over to him and just said "Thank You."
Jeffries-Sharkey II, though Jeffries was still developing as a fighter, and hard left-arm trouble. Corbett-Jackson ... Jackson maybe a bit passed best, and had an ankle issue, but he still had enough left in him go on to beat Frank Slavin. How about the Langford-McVea series in Australia? Or the Jeanette-McVea bouts? Holyfield-Bowe I?
Jackson was 30 years old. It's tempting to consider that his prime considering how long ago he reigned. However I wouldn't be as fair to more modern fighters. I also don't have extensive knowledge on his abilities as they differed from age 27 to age 30. I'll leave this one up to you guys. Jefferies was 24 I believe, and Sharkey was 27 for their rematch? Sounds like another winner here! I also don't have too detailed knowledge of McVea and Langfords bouts. If someone could help us out with this one (the dates, and ages of the fighters) would be great! I consider Bowe an ATG, but not a legend, but thats where conflict of perspective comes into play.
The first and only time when Norton beat Ali, Ali underestimated Norton, and showed up out of shape. Ali still made the fight pretty close. And lets not forget that Ali beat norton TWICE.
Good man. It's funny that one of the biggest Ali fans on here is actually one of the few who doesn't prop up the "OMFG FOTC ALI WAS WASHED UP!!!111" agenda.