Floyd Patterson was a fascinating figure born on this day 90 years ago. The first man in history to regain the world heavyweight title, Floyd was also a great fighter who was insecure.
Born in Waco in 1935, Patterson fought many heavyweight giants despite rarely weighing 180-185 pounds.
Consider:
Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, Jerry Quarry, Ingemar Johansson, George Chuvalo, and fellow natural 175-pounder Archie Moore. Patterson engaged in memorable fights with the above fighters and more. After winning Olympic gold as a middleweight in 1952, Patterson, who had only been an amateur boxer for three years before winning gold, went pro. Just 16 years old and having been spotted by Cus D’Amato, Patterson went 13-0 before he lost a decision to former light heavyweight champ Joey Maxim.
With D’Amato’s plan being for Floyd to win the world heavyweight title, despite his light heavyweight stature, Patterson earned his shot by beating Tommy Jackson via 12 12-round split decision in June of 1956. The great Rocky Marciano had retired, and Patterson was matched with former 175-pound king Archie Moore for the vacant crown. After five one-sided sessions inside Chicago Stadium, Patterson made history by becoming, at age 21, the youngest heavyweight champion ever.
Patterson, lighting fast and ever so agile while also packing a real punch, would make additional boxing history.
After making four title retentions (one of them against debutant Pete Rademacher), Patterson suffered an almighty upset at the hands of Sweden’s Johannson. Felled seven times during the short, extremely violent fight, Patterson was KO’d in the third. And he was devastated, to the point of going into hiding. The rematch took place a full year later, and Patterson, having lived like a monk and trained like a trojan, was determined to make up for the heavy defeat.
In the fifth round, Patterson scored a leg-twitching KO, his ‘Gazelle Punch’ wiping Ingo out in brutal fashion. Patterson, the first man to regain the world’s heavyweight title, said that this was the proudest moment of his career. In the rubber match in March of 1961, Patterson took some hurt before stopping Johannson in round six.
Then, after retention against Tom McNeeley, Patterson could no longer swerve #1 contender Sonny Liston. Patterson signed on to defend against the terrifying, intimidating Liston, and just like that, Patterson was blasted out inside a round. Patterson must have known he had no chance of avenging the loss, but he fought Liston again, with him again being stopped in the opening round.
This could have been the end, but Patterson, who genuinely loved fighting, with the ring being the place where he expressed himself best, boxed on for almost ten years.
Patterson never became the first three-time heavyweight king, but he gave his all in trying. Patterson defeated George Chuvalo in a great action fight in February of 1965 before challenging Ali in November of that year. Patterson entered the ring with an injured back, and he was a sitting duck for the new ruler, a man who was even faster than he was. Patterson took a terrible beating, being stopped in the 12th round.
Patterson wasn’t done yet, though. A KO win over British hero Henry Cooper came in Floyd’s next fight before he engaged in two hard, close fights with Quarry, Patterson getting a draw in the first fight and then losing a majority decision in the return. Then, with the two heavyweight titles up for grabs due to Ali being stripped for refusing to serve in the Vietnam War, Patterson came so close to becoming the WBA champ that he dropped a controversial 15-round decision to Jimmy Ellis.
A good win over Oscar Bonavena came in February of 1972 before Patterson got a non-title rematch with Ali. Despite being stopped five rounds quicker this time, Patterson acquitted himself better. Still, Ali was just too good for Floyd. And that was it for Patterson, although he never officially announced his retirement.
After hanging up the gloves, Patterson guided his adopted son, Tracy Harris Patterson, to a world title in the 1990s. Floyd then became chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission and served two terms. Sadly, in 1998, Patterson’s short-term memory failed him, and he suddenly and frighteningly could not remember the names of people he had known for years.
Patterson resigned from his post, and he was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and later prostrate cancer. The first two-time heavyweight champion of the world who carried so much mental baggage with him into the ring passed away in May of 2006, aged 71.
To this day, Floyd Patterson holds a special place in the hearts of many fight fans.
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