Patterson - post Liston

its a great post, but not sure how to answer, i mean sugar ray robinson became even greater after losing to turpin....but, do you mean lose a title, never to win one again and yet improve ?

 

yeah...suppose, good point....i'll have a good think now...

nigel benn came back even stronger again after loss to eubank, if thats not too recent and if the wbo belt counts at all

i was also thinking of one of my favourite boxers, azumah nelson, but it wasnt his title when he lost to sanchez..

 

Patterson redeemed himself post Liston..even considering the 1st Ali fight. He went to Sweden and beat Machen...a guy many thought he was afraid to fight in his championship days...and took Eddie's best punches without flinching..even being clocked after the bell at one point...and decked Eddie along the way to the points win. He covered himself with glory in the Chuvalo fight...was screwed vs both Quarry (twice) and Ellis..and didn't squawk about any of them..that's a feature of being a real man, IMO...beat Bonavena and was a better man the second time around with Ali..would have gone the distance in a competitive fight were it not for the eye..I think Floyd redeemed himself quite well.

 

pacquaio after sinsarut ?

 

Patterson would have gotten into the diluted IBHOF on the strength of his first reign alone, but he might have had to wait until 2001, like Braddock, or 2003, like Willard. His post Liston career is what legitimately catapults him into near inaugural status with a 1991 induction. (The fact that Floyd was still alive and well in 1991 guaranteed that Canastota would bring him in early for promotional reasons, but his career after losing the title goes a long way towards validating that choice.)

He maintained first rate physical conditioning (even into retirement, he was a superb physical specimen, who kicked Ingo's ass yet again in a Sweden marathon race), and showed vastly improved ring smarts in the win over Chuvalo. A third match with Liston in the late 1960s would have been no sure thing for Sonny, and I thought Floyd should have gone after his aging nemesis following the Ellis robbery.

 

tommy hearns ?

 

I think you make a very good point. I mean, he not only lost his title, he was brutally slaughtered in the first round twice. To come back from that as he did and only lose again clearly to the greatest HW to ever lace them on. That is an achievement.

I agree that he was robbed against Ellis (the term is used too loosely, but he really was robbed), but I haven't seen his efforts against Quarry. Did he deserve to win both of them?

 

I think the Quarry fights were close, which says more about Quarry in my opinion. I think Patterson won both.

 

In my opinion Floyd beat Quarry twice and of course he beat Ellis. All three of those fights were exercises in good sportsmanship on Patterson's part, 'cause he won all three.

 

If so, Floyd has a really good record. Aside from Ingo, he only lost to bonafide ATGs.

 

Seriously, getting in the ring with Liston a second time after that first fight is one of the most couragious things I´ve seen.

 

The Ellis-Patterson fight was determined only by the referee's decision I believe.
referee: Harold Valan 6-9 ~
~ WBA World heavyweight title

Besides Ali & Liston, the only other heavyweight around that might have beaten Patterson in the mid-sixties was Ernie Terrell ......just too tall and a "grabber".