Floyd Patterson, great boxer, has died.

[alfredo]

I remember how Mohammed Ali kicked his ass.

[Hubert Flottz]

1. Sad...

I remember the Clay Patterson bout.

[H2O Man]

7. Didn't happen.

Patterson never fought Clay. He did fight Muhammad Ali, twice.

[stop the bleeding]

2. I wonder what H2O Man will say about this

I know he comes from a family of boxers

[alfredo]

3. Patterson was a humble man. He was a good champion.

[0007]

4. Yes and Ali made him just a little bit more humble when he

wouldn't reconize his name change.

In 1953, Patterson made the switch to professional boxing. Three years later, on November 30, 1956, he knocked out Archie Moore in a fight for a world title. With the victory, 21-year-old Patterson became the youngest world heavyweight champion in history. His reign lasted almost five years, during which he won the world heavyweight championship twice. When he recaptured the title in 1960 after a brief loss, it marked the first time a boxer had ever made a successful comeback for the world heavyweight title.

More on Patterson

[alfredo]

5. Ali sure know how to play the mind game. He would destroy their

minds, and then put them to the canvas.

That fight you speak of was not my favorite Ali fight. I liked Patterson, but I also like Ali. I remember seeing Ali fight Golden Gloves back in Louisville. I still have a fight card with his name in it.

[brentspeak]

15. Using psychology against his opponents was what made Ali so successful

He had to use mind games, because he often faced heavyweight opponents who were physically stronger than he was. Plus, he didn't really have a killer "knockout" punch. He was always faster and more agile than his opponents, and had one of the best left jabs among heavyweights, but he KO'd the other guy usually by repetitions of left jabs in middle or later rounds, rather than with a powerful one-two hook and uppercut in early rounds.

[H2O Man]

16. While Ali fought

a couple people who punched harder, he was actually far stronger than almost anyone he ever fought. His ability to get into an opponent's head made fights easier. But as far as strength goes, Ali was extremely strong.

[brentspeak]

20. I wonder how Ali would have fared against Tyson

Tyson in his prime, I mean. Tyson wasn't actually much of a strategist, but a one-two-three would normally mean TKO in just a few minutes. I guess Ali would probably enrage and annoy Tyson the way he would enrage and annoy Liston, drag the fight out until Tyson was exhausted, and then try grab a KO.

[H2O Man]

22. I remember when

Mike was young, Cus said he had a guy with Patterson's delivery, and Liston's power. I never met Mike, but I know a number of people who have known him. He is intelligent, and he had a great understanding of boxing. Unlike Floyd, Mike didn't have a good experience in youth facilities ... he was in the NYS DFY. A friend signed him over to Cus; two of her sons boxed for me.

Mike was a great fighter for a while. But a guy about 6'3" could hold him inside. Guys like Mitch "Blood" Green and Bonecrusher Smith frustrated him, and that was in his prime. (Both were a little taller than 6'3".)

I think that Tyson would have been interesting againstguys like Liston, who is often underrated because he lost to Ali; Louis; Foreman; and Frazier.

As for Ali, I think Angelo Dundee is right when he said the early Ali who fought Cleveland Williams, or the "part 2" Ali in the second Quarry fight, would have taken any other heavyweight at any other time.

[H2O Man]

9. When Floyd was nearly broke

in the early '70s, Ali fought him a second time. It was when Ali took it easy on his victims. Ali had taken a lot of anger and frustration out on Floyd, who said some really, really stupid things about "bringing the title back to America" when he challenged Ali when the champ was entering his prime. Ali tortured him. The first round, he tried to copy Willie Pep, and not throw a single punch. (Pep is in a nursing home now. If anyone wants to drop him a card, let me know.)

[H2O Man]

8. I knew Floys Patterson.

I didn't know him really well, but enough to talk to a number of times. He was an interesting character. Howard Cosell wrote some of the most insightful things about Floyd in his book, "Cosell."

He wasn't big for a heavyweight, not even in his day. Guys like Sonny Liston and Muhammad Ali were a heck of a lot bigger. Today, he would be a cruiserweight. It would have been interesting to see him fight Roy jones, with both in their prime. I'd bet on Floyd by a knockout. He was faster than Roy, and hit very. very hard. His ability to deliver a combination was enhanced by Cus D'Amato's "peek-a-boo" style.

In his final years, he suffered from the problems that far too many old pugs endure.

[stop the bleeding]

11. very cool

I knew you would have something worth putting forth

[Deja Q]

6. Everybody dies.

It's just a mater of how, when, where, why, and in some cases by whom.

[H2O Man]

10. While everyone dies,

not everyone really lives. Floyd Patterson lived a life of significance.

[H2O Man]

12. A tribute to Floyd ....

Floyd Patterson wrote a book called "Victory Over Myself," that told about his extremely troubled childhood, and how he went on to be the 1952 Olympic Middleweight Champion, and then the first 2-time Heavyweight Champion of the World.

I knew Floyd, and so I'll say a few things about the man. He was an amateur in NYC when boxing was in one of its best eras. Won the 1951 NYC Open Class Golden Gloves; the '51 Eastern Golden Gloves; the '52 NYC and Eastern Gloves; and the '52 Inner-City Gloves. Then the Olympics.

There is an ESPN special on this champion, that has film from these amateur days. If you get an opportunity, watch it. He had an intensity that made him stand out.

In his pro career, he ended up 6' tall, and 182 lbs. He was managed, in his best years, by the great trainer, Cus D'Amato. Floyd had 8 KOs in his first 13 fights, which were mainly in the lightheavyweight division. He beat men like Yvon Durelle and Dick Wagner. Then Cus put him in with Joey Maxim, who beat him in 8 rounds. (I'll have to find some photos of Joey and my sons.)

After that, he went on a run, and started beating most of the second-tier contenders, looking at a match-up against Rocky Marciano. Rocky retired on April 27, 1956, and Floyd beat top contender Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson two months later. Then he beat the great lightheavyweight Archie Moore (who decked Rocky in the Rock's last match) and was awarded the title.

It was a strange time. The mob ruled boxing, and only Cus had control over the grand prize in sports. He used to sleep in his gym, with a cot pulled in front of the door, with a loaded shotgun and a huge German Shepherd. Howard Cosell wrote about this time. Cus didn't let Floyd fight the best big men, including Cleveland "Big Cat" Williams and Charles "Sonny" Liston. Instead, he put him in with weak opposition. One was a European playboy named Ingemar Johansson. Ingo had flattened Eddie Machen in a surprising 1 round upset. Cus figured Ingo would be an easy payday. He wasn't. Ingo beat Floyd, and then Patterson went through a personal hell. Came back and devastated Ingo. (ESPN will play the 2nd fight soon. Watch Ingo's foot shake on the canvas, as if he's dead.)

Cus split from Floyd when he signed to fight Liston. My friend Rubin was one of Liston's sparring partners then. He quit when his ears both bled after one sparring session. Rubin told me he thought at that time that Sonny might kill Floyd. President Kennedy had Floyd to the White House, and told him he shouldn't fight Liston. JFK though Liston was a bad role model for American youth. He destroyed him in one round, and did it again in '63.

Floyd fought young Muhammad Alion 11-22-65. It was ugly. Ali was feeling the hatred of white America. Rough time. Malcolm had been murdered after the split from Elijah. I think that the confusion, anger, and frustration was taken out on Floyd.

Floyd went on, and fought a lot of good fighters like Oscar Bonavena, George Chuvalo, Jerry Quarry,and even lost a close 15 round decision to Jimmy Ellis for the WBA title in 9-14-68.

When he was broke, Ali fought him in NYC on 9-29-72.

He went on to be NYS's boxing commissioner. One night in Owego, he came up behind me in the locker room, as I was wrapping my fighter's hands. I had my hair down, and he thought a woman was in the locker room! When I turned around, we had a laugh. From then on, whenever we saw each other, we had a laugh about that.

The last time I saw him was in Binghamton's Broome County Arena. Larry Holmes was beginning one of his come-backs, and put on a dismal show in an exhibition with someone who the real Larry wouldn't have used as a sparring partner. After it was over, I saw Floyd walking towards me with that wonderful, boyish grin he had. We had a laugh about old fighters who weren't able to grow old gracefully that night.

Floyd was a class guy. He marched with Martin in the south. When the KKK-types in blue uniforms would beat black people for "not knowing their place," Floyd would go up the the water fountains, and drink out of both the "white only" and "colored" fountains. Then he'd say, "Huh, taste just the same to me." No one tried to knock him around.

Rest in peace, Champ.

[Jack Rabbit]

18. Thank you for your personal observations, H2O

It is a pleasure to read that.

[PDittie]

24. Excellent and thank you, H.

There's a good slideshow of Patterson's life at the WaPo. Click on "Photos":

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/sports/index/boxing/index.html

[Jack Rabbit]

13. RIP

Floyd Patterson knocking down Tom McNeeley, December 1961
From Hurricane Watch

[brentspeak]

14. He had a legendary rivalry with Swedish heavyweight, Ingemar Johannson

(From wikipedia)

After a series of defenses, Patterson met Ingemar Johansson of Sweden, in the beginning of what many consider one of boxing's most interesting trilogies of fights. Johansson triumphed over Patterson in 1959, with the referee stopping the fight in the third round after the Swede had knocked Patterson down seven times. Johansson became that country's first world heavyweight champion, thus becoming a national hero in Sweden immediately. Patterson came back and knocked Johannson out in the fifth round of their rematch, with what many boxing historians have called the best punch ever in boxing, to become the first man ever to recover the world's undisputed heavyweight title. After the count, Patterson showed his concern for Johansson by cradling his motionless opponent, and promising him a second rematch. Patterson further endeared himself with the people who had made Johansson their national hero, and when he went on a European exhibition tour after that rematch, he was greeted by Swedish fans, who were eager to shake hands, ask for autographs and take photos with Patterson everywhere he went during his stay there.

[Stephist]

17. R.I.P. Floyd.

I am too young to ever see a prime Floyd Patterson (he may have stoped all together by the time I was born) but the best thing I can say about him is that I have been to several boxing message boards tonight and there is not one bad word to be found about him and boxing message boards are not a bastion civilized conversation to say the least.

Rest in peace Floyd:cry:

Floyds adopted Son Tracy Harris Patterson was a pretty good fighter in the 90's and I think they had a falling out. Does anybody know if they got back together?

Edit: Floyd did retire before I was born. His last fight was in 1972. and I was born in 74 :)

[In_The_Wind]

19. RIP

[Robbie Michaels]

21. RIP

[dr.zoidberg]

23. RIP champ.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Patterson. The little that I have seen of him was on ESPN Classic. I enjoyed the way he fought, and I loved the fact that he was a small heavyweight and he became the "Man" of the division.

While I'm at it, apparently Patterson used a modified uppercut that he called "The Gazelle Punch". I guess he called it that because the leaping motion used looked like a gazelle. Here's a pic of it being used from an animated series in Japan:


Gotta love the crown. :)