Underrated and under appreciated Floyd Patterson

You probably could favor him over Tate. Patterson beat some powerhouses like Chuvalo and Bonavena and many thought that he was robbed against Quarry and Ellis....by rights, they should be Patterson victims as well. And Quarry convincingly beat big, modern sized heavies like Lyle, Shavers and Mac Foster and rumor has it that he outboxed George Foreman in sparring. Though, depending on who you ask, he arguably has 2 losses to a post prime Patterson.

 

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Floyd Patterson was ranked in the top ten by Ring Magazine, for more consecutive years, than any other lineal heavyweight champion.

Given his all action style, and small physical size, this is actually rather impressive!

I look at him as a brilliant and consistent champion, whose style and size made him a poor fit for the weight classes of his day.

 

Yeah pure class and the most honest, humble and reflective champs I've read about.

I give him a reasonable chance against about any sub-200lb champion.

He may very well have beaten Johnson Walcott or Charles, even Louis. Prolly not Marciano though.

Whether or not he would have or could have beaten other greats is fun to think about, what isn't ever in doubt is his courage and willingness to face those guys. He would have fought any of them.

He was too nice and he knew it, he knew that worked against him. Very introspective.

Like Charles, a great in the ring and out. A great example of a true champion.

 

Floyd was a fast skilled explosive knockout artist with the best left hook the world had seen until Joe Frazier came into the picture. Very underrated fighter, but easy to picture him getting chinned against another ATG. Prime against prime I'd still bet on Floyd to beat Archie moore, Walcott, ezzard, schmeling, Leon spinks, sharkey and carnera. If cruiserweight was an option for the time he may have retired undefeated.

 

Easily the most fascinating and admired figure in the history of boxing for me....easily.

 

Floyd Patterson transcended boxing IMO...again, the most introspective, fascinating and noble of the figures of boxing history.

 

Patterson was 188 lbs when he fought the 199 lb Ellis in 1968. (197 against Chuvalo & 191 against Bonavena)
He would be competitive til he got up to the Liston, Foreman, Tyson, Louis, & other superheavy grade fighters.

 

More fascinating than Ali?

 

Yes, considerably more fascinating than Ali. Ali, when you get past all the acclaim, accolades and worshipful writers who have written ad nauseum about him, was really a rather simple, childlike person..he couldn't write about himself, it would be beyond him....but Patterson was quite another character,...very capable of not only writing about himself, as he did in his autobiography "Victory Over Myself", which I read years ago...he also features prominently in some rather deep confessionals and deep introspective journeys into his own psyche...many available in the SI Vault. He was without a doubt, the most complex study I've read about yet...in the sport of boxing, in sports in general, and outside the boundaries of sport.

 

Patterson vs Holyfield for the 200 lb max Cruiserweight Title would have been a war.

 

He’s probably the most likable famous fighter there’s ever been. A quality person for sure. I work with a guy who’s 70 and he’s from NY and he said back in the 70s and 80s he was a friend of Patterson and would hang out in the same group of people. He said as much that he was a great guy that treated everyone well.

Like I said earlier, not a “great” heavyweight but he was a great boxer. He’d have dominated 175 and been an all-timer there but he obviously made great history and money at Heavyweight. He made his mark. I’d rate him around 15/16 at Heavyweight all-time. A top 20 without him is an incorrect top 20.

 

As a young kid the first fighter I ever got into, he’s been a hero to me ever since.
I loved his style and his speed, even as a young kid I could see he was much faster than other heavies.
Floyd’s trouble was simple, he was too small, he started as a pro fighting at 166 / 168 to me he would possibly have been the greatest light heavy ever if he had been able to stay there.
If you actually observe the Liston fights he was getting man handled in there like a rag doll.
His chin obviously wasn’t the greatest, but they could never have said he had a glass heart.

 

Couldn't agree more on him being underrated..... He sneaks in at number 10 in the heavies for me, although I give you, I am potentially the only or at least one of the few people you may see say that