Floyd Patterson. So damn underrated

[JayID]

One of the youngest heavyweight champions of all time.

First to regain heavyweight title.

Bounced back from heavy KO loss to ingemar johansson to KO him.

Fought absolutely everybody even though he had little chance of winning. (i.e Sonny liston)

One of the fastest Heavyweights in history.

Not only jumped up from Light Heavyweight to heavyweight. But won a gold medal by KO'ing all 5 opponents in the Olympics as a MIDDLEWEIGHT.



Just imagine if he fought today and bounced between Middleweight to Cruiserweight. Guy would have been a monster.

Sure you can say he was Chinny. But as someone who once fought as a Middleweight coming up against killers like Sonny liston... kind of hard not to be Chinny.

Just look at the size difference between Ali and Patterson.

[billeau2]

Kudos!

A man who KO'ed Archie Moore as well, not an easy feat. patterson was an excellent fighter. Here's my take on him, which along with the proper fare amount will get you on the IRT!

Many times people argue that a fighter from the past, would never make it in the present division, because of their size. On a case by case basis this argument takes us to different places. I think with Patterson because he was a more mobile heavy depending on speed and reflexes, he did get into trouble against Liston who was bigger and younger. Liston's weight was not what made him so big, it was the size of his reach, his hands, his neck...even at under 200 pounds, or just over, Liston was a big heavyweight.

If Patterson was at his peak he might have given a better account of himself, but sometimes size is a factor... Just like when Foreman (protege of Liston) did much the same thing to Frazier. Liston and Foreman were great fighters who knew how to use their size and it was in the case of Patterson, I believe, a major factor in his loss to Liston. I should also note, that reach is part of size as I am referring to it.

[GhostofDempsey]

Patterson would have benefitted greatly from a CW division. Would like have gone down as one of the best ever at that weight. You could see the influence of Cus D'Amato in his style, always moving his head, throwing combinations.

[_Rexy_]

People say he’s Chinny, yet I’d love to see how Andre Ward would fare against Luis Ortiz (that’s the size disparity between Floyd and Sonny)

[Zmerai Khan]

The dude was phenomenal. He might be the greatest Light Heavyweight that never was.

I really think he was a victim of thinking. He was too young when he made the leap to Heavyweight. And it occurred right before the arrival of the titans.

People tend to forget that he grew into his frame, and proved a more resilient fighter than the "chinny" kid champion.

He was a better Heavyweight than Bob Foster, and had more tenure at Heavyweight than Tunney and Spinks combined.

Against the best Boxers throughout history, he's really hard to pick against when paired with men his own size.

[YNG]

"They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most, but I also got up the most."

Olympic champion at 17 years old, world champion at 22, technically sound, one of the fastest heavyweights of all time, fought everybody despite the size disadvantages, could hit like a truck, first man to regain the heavyweight title and he was respected by almost anyone that fought him.

[Ben Bolt]

"They said I was the fighter who got knocked down the most ...

Ingemar Johanssons wife Edna tells a story in her book about Ingo, when they visited New York in the 1990s.
She asked Ingo if it wouldn’t be fun to meet Floyd again, he said yes, so she called the Pattersons.
Floyd answered, was very happy to speak to her, and when she suggested that Floyd and his wife should join her and Ingo at a restaurant the following evening, Floyd was very pleased and said “Of course, we’ll come!”

However, Floyd and his wife never turned up at the restaurant, and Edna became worried something had happened to them. So she phoned them again, this time Floyd’s wife answered:
“Oh, you can’t arrange anything with Floyd nowadays. He forgot about your conversation as soon as he put the phone down.”

[Anthony342]

Ingemar Johanssons wife Edna tells a story in her book about Ingo, when they visited New York in the 1990s.
She asked Ingo if it wouldn’t be fun to meet Floyd again, he said yes, so she called the Pattersons.
Floyd answered, was very happy to speak to her, and when she suggested that Floyd and his wife should join her and Ingo at a restaurant the following evening, Floyd was very pleased and said “Of course, we’ll come!”

However, Floyd and his wife never turned up at the restaurant, and Edna became worried something had happened to them. So she phoned them again, this time Floyd’s wife answered:
“Oh, you can’t arrange anything with Floyd nowadays. He forgot about your conversation as soon as he put the phone down.”

How come? Dementia?

[Zmerai Khan]

Ingemar Johanssons wife Edna tells a story in her book about Ingo, when they visited New York in the 1990s.
She asked Ingo if it wouldn’t be fun to meet Floyd again, he said yes, so she called the Pattersons.
Floyd answered, was very happy to speak to her, and when she suggested that Floyd and his wife should join her and Ingo at a restaurant the following evening, Floyd was very pleased and said “Of course, we’ll come!”

However, Floyd and his wife never turned up at the restaurant, and Edna became worried something had happened to them. So she phoned them again, this time Floyd’s wife answered:
“Oh, you can’t arrange anything with Floyd nowadays. He forgot about your conversation as soon as he put the phone down.

That's heart breaking.

[Ben Bolt]

How come? Dementia?

That's heart breaking.

Yes, dementia.

Ingemar Johansson was also struck by dementia, and his wife Edna’s book is about his illness and how it was to live with him from the first days she sensed something was wrong to the harsh, later years when Ingo couldn’t fend for himself.

It’s a horror story. You get a clear insight into what dementia do to people.