Oliver McCall vs Floyd Patterson

I mean, Holmes had a better chin and had a sounder defense than Patterson. We see the shift heavily in the 90s because he went from being an offensively minded outfighter to being a defensively minded one, and that's why he didn't get put to the mat at all during his comeback.
Holyfield, Ferguson, Mercer, McCall- These guys weren't bad offensively, Holmes just knew all the tricks to keep em at bay.

 

McCall would eventually land clean and shatter that glass later in the fight when the early fight freshness wears off.

 

I'm very impressed by how well Tyson took that punch.

 

Floyd should win on points but if he takes him lightly, as Lennox did, then he could find himself falling down the black hole again.

 

It was Greg Page, it was on camera, aired on all broadcasts which were covering the lead up to Douglas-Tyson, but sportscasters and commentators dismissed it with, "Well, yeah, but that's GREG PAGE!" We knew only after that upset in Tokyo that much more attention should've been paid to that incident by all parties involved with Tyson, his own camp, and those covering him. (The Douglas camp had to be emboldened immensely.)

Larry Holmes gave his sparring partners financial incentive for knocking him down in sparring. (Don't remember anybody ever collecting on that).

Jimmy Ellis dropped Ali by going downstairs during training for Muhammad's rematch for Liston, hurting the GOAT. Sonny told Ali years later that it came to him, "Like a hot tip on a horse," but dismissed it because he'd never known Ellis to hurt that hard, telling Muhammad he'd have believed it if it was somebody like Mel Turnbow, noted among boxing insiders for his hard punching in the gym.

After their rematch, Hagler took on Boogaloo Watts as a spar mate. Bobby hurt him badly to the body which made all the New England newspaper sports pages. I don't recall if a knockdown took place or not, but Marv was always a true middleweight who said his poundage went right down when he was training. After Michael Spinks-Larry Holmes I took place, there was some discussion of Michael dropping back down in weight to his 170 pounds with David Sears for a Jinx-MMH LHW/HW superfight defense against Marv, and Hagler immediately shot down that idea. He might've had a HW chin superior to Toney's, but never a HW body, and Michael could be extremely dangerous downstairs. (Of course Michael did well enough at HW that's he's been living quietly and extremely well ever since. Marv also remained very successful through the remainder of his far too short life.)

 

Floyd was extremely good with the physically powerful Chuvalo and Bonavena. Nobody clearly beat Patterson after 1963 except a peak then still prime Ali 2X.

Even though the GOAT took on Zora Folley during his peak, he always maintained after his career that it was Floyd who had the most skill of anybody he faced, not Folley, Moore, 'Enry,' JQ, Ellis, peak Norton or peak Holmes, but Patterson.

I wish Floyd had taken on a first rate big guy with a deadly punch like Mac Foster, but he wasn't active at the moment MacArthur was climbing the ranks. I'd also have liked to see him with Buster Mathis in 1968 or 1969 after Ellis, to have that visual of his competence against a somewhat limited but still highly competent big man who had trimmed down to a reasonable weight for him. (I viewed Mathis-Chuvalo. In Buster's post fight interview, he was asked if that was his toughest fight. He honestly replied, "No, Frazier was." I appreciate his candor.)

 

McCall, he's as big as Liston but has better chin.
Chuvalo and Bonavena were strong, but McCall is stronger,harder puncher and has better skills.

McCall by KO or clear decision.