Would if there was a WBA Tournament in 1956 after Rocky Marciano had retired, would Patterson have won it all?
Well who would he be facing ? Without looking at the ratings for that year I’m guessing Williams, Folley, Moore, Pastrano and possibly Valdez. Might be a tough lineup
Looking at the top 10 at the end of '55 and taking into consideration the mini-tourney that was set up and the fact that Rocky didn't retire until April 27th of '56, this is how I think the 8 would have been set up according to the Ring Mag ratings. Floyd Patterson v Hurricane Jackson - we'll leave that officially intact Bob Baker v Johnny Holman - again, we'll leave that officially intact The next 4 combatants would probably be Archie Moore (officially the top contender), Willie Pastrano, Johnny Summerlin and I think maybe Eddie Machen. Not sure on Eddie though. He was only like 13-0 and had just deposed Nino Valdez of a spot in a tourney like this. That fight took place on April 16th - 11 days before the Marciano announcement - so this fight would have gone through with no knowledge of Marciano's intentions and he could have replaced Nino on a mythical '8'. However, Sid Flaherty, Eddie's manager wasn't in a rush with his gold-chip prospect and may have bailed out on a possible tourney, so who knows as this is all conjecture anyway. But there you have a probable 8 man tournament with 2 matches already set.
They wouldn't have used Ring Magazine ratings for a WBA (or at the time NBA) heavyweight tournament. They would've used the National Boxing Association ratings.
I understand that. Mine was purely hypothetical. Back then the Ring and the NYSAC held a lot of sway, so there is no absolute certainty whose ratings would be used. At the same time period the tourney to replace Carmen Basilio's welterweight title was held under the auspices of Ring. I would also venture to say that the NBA and Ring had very similar ratings. Not like today where the WBA's #1 contender is not even in the top ten of the WBC or Ring.
Nice to have someone looking at who was a serious contender around this time rather than just throwing out a bunch of names.
They unofficially did. Floyd Patterson beat Jimmy Slade (when Slade was rated #5 by the NBA), Floyd beat Hurricane Jackson (when Jackson was rated #2 by the NBA) and Patterson beat Moore (who was rated #1 by the NBA). The other deserving contender (other than Moore, Patterson and Jackson) was Bob Baker. Jackson had defeated Baker early in 1956 when Baker was the #1 contender (or "logical" contender, as it was called then by the NBA) for Marciano's title. And Moore had already knocked Baker out a few years earlier. So Patterson beat #5 to get into the ratings. Jackson beat #1. Patterson beat Jackson (who had moved to #2). Then Patterson beat the #1 in Moore. Seems like all the necessary players were involved. They just didn't call it a tournament.
Dubblechin, actually Bob Baker sort of got screwed here because he was a viable cog in this mini-tourney to begin with. Below is what unfolded and how he was simply forgotten right in the midst of the tourney. Check it out. Bob Baker 211 lbs beat John Holman 206 lbs by UD in round 12 of 12 Date: 1956-05-09 Location: Auditorium, Miami Beach, Florida, USA Referee: Jimmy Peerless 119-114 Judge: Stuart Winston 117-112 Judge: Eddie Thal 117-114 This fight was part of elimination tournament to crown new heavyweight champion. Baker's most important fight! "Bob Baker claimed today that his unanimous-but-dull victory over Johnny Holman has earned him the right to meet the Hurricane Jackson - Floyd Patterson winner in the next step toward the heavyweight championship. However, indications were strong that Wednesday night's nationally-televised fight here was so lackluster that it eliminated both men from title contention. Baker and Holman both moved heavily and slowly throughout their bout at Miami Beach Auditorium. Baker, the No. 3 contender, jarred Holman, No. 4, with a hard right in the 5th round when the crowd of 3,000 was hollering for action and opened a cut in Johnny's mouth. Baker did the most damage in the 12 round bout, especially with a 6th round blow that opened a big gash over Holman's left eye, but there was not the slightest hint of a knockdown in the bout opening the tournament to find a new heavyweight king." -United Press Baker's manager, Dusty Bettor, claimed he had a verbal agreement with IBC President Jim Norris that Baker would be rewarded for this victory with a shot at the winner of the June 8th meeting between Jackson and Patterson. However, another IBC official stated that that promise hinged upon not only beating Holman but doing it in an impressive manner. Something which the IBC official felt Baker failed to do.
The NBA released their rankings quarterly at that time. NBA (as of April 4, 1956) Rocky Marciano, Champion Outstanding boxers 1 Tommy (Hurricane) Jackson 2 Bob Baker 3 Nino Valdes Honorable mentions John Holman Johnny Summerlin Willie Pastrano Franco Cavicchi Harold Carter Bob Satterfield NBA (as of June 28, 1956) Title Vacant Logical contenders 1 Archie Moore 2 Floyd Patterson 3 Bob Baker Outstanding boxers 1 Tommy (Hurricane) Jackson 2 Willie Pastrano Honorable mentions John Holman Bob Satterfield Johnny Summerlin Harold Carter Ingemar Johansson Eddie Machen Nino Valdes
