IN MEMORY OF FLOYD PATTERSON

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KSTAT124
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IN MEMORY OF FLOYD PATTERSON

Post by KSTAT124 »

2008-05-11

It's been two years to the day since boxing legend Floyd Patterson passed away. Floyd, a 1952 Olympic middleweight gold medalist, the youngest man, at the time, to win the heavyweight title, and the first man to regain the heavyweight championship, was one of my early boxing heroes. As a tribute to his memory, I'm posting an article I wrote which first appeared in the February 1985 edition of Fight Beat magazine.



THE PATTERSON ERA: DID FLOYD DUCK EDDIE MACHEN AND ZORA FOLLEY?



For over two decades, it has been generally accepted that Eddie Machen and Zora Folley were ducked by Floyd Patterson during his two reigns as the heavyweight champion of the world. But is this axiom true? Did Patterson and his manager Cus D'Amato conspire to avoid these two worthy contenders? Or was it fate which precluded title shots for Machen and Folley until much later in their careers? An examination of each boxer's progress as a professional and of related results of that era provide the answers to these questions.

After winning a gold medal at the 1952 Olympics, Floyd Patterson entered the ranks of the paid pugilists. He won his first 13 bouts including a decision over Yvon Durelle, who would later twice challenge Archie Moore for the light heavyweight title. On June 7, 1954, Patterson tasted defeat for the first time as he dropped a controversial decision to former light heavyweight champion Joey Maxim. One month later, the tenacious Patterson began what would be a winning streak which would stretch nearly five years and encompass 22 bouts. The first 16 of those victories included two wins over Jimmy Slade, a 5th round knockout of Durelle in their rematch, and knockouts of Archie McBride and Dave Whitlock. These triumphs led to a 12 round elimination bout against fellow New Yorker, Tommy "Hurricane" Jackson. Held at Madison Square Garden on June 8, 1956, the bout saw Patterson emerge victorious by split decision thus earning the right to meet Archie Moore for the vacant heavyweight crown.

On November 30, 1956, Patterson and Moore squared off to determine who would be Rocky Marciano's successor. At 2:27 of the 5th round, referee Frank Sikora counted out the Old Mongoose and the 21 year old Patterson became the youngest man ever to possess boxing's most cherished diadem.

Eight months later, on July 29, 1957, Patterson made his first defense of his title against Jackson, who was rated no. 1 and who had beaten Bob Baker and Julio Mederos since their first meeting. At 1:52 of the 10th round, referee Ruby Goldstein rescued Jackson, who had been floored three times and had taken a terrible beating. 24 days later, Patterson defended against 1956 Olympic champion Pete Rademacher. Rademacher, a former Army lieutenant who had also won the National A. A. U. championship, was making his professional debut. This preposterous mismatch took place because the quarter of a million dollar guarantee offered Patterson was simply too much to refuse. Although the challenger did manage to floor an unenthusiastic Patterson in the second round, Rademacher went down six times before being counted at at 2:57 of the sixth round by referee Tommy Loughran, the former light heavyweight champion.

By the end of 1957, the top four contenders for the crown of the 33-1 Patterson were Machen, Folley, Willie Pastrano, and Roy Harris.

Machen had turned professional in 1955 and won all eleven of his bouts that year including ten by knockout. The following year, Machen fought eight times, winning all eight and scoring four knockouts. He defeated both Julio Mederos and Nino Valdes twice as well as beating John Holman and Johnny Summerlin. These victories resulted in Machen being rated no. 5 by the end of 1956. In 1957, Machen was victorious in each of his five fights. Two wins over Joey Maxim and a subsequent victory over Bob Baker led to his November 13 confrontation with "Hurricane" Jackson. Machen stopped the former top ranked title challenger in the 10th round and finished the year with a 24-0 record and as the proud owner of the no. 1 contender's position.

Folley's career began in 1953. That year, he won three, two by knockout, and had one draw. In 1954, Folley won all eleven of his contests, scoring six knockouts including one over Howard King. Folley posted a 7-2 record in 1955 as each of his victories ended by knockout as did his losses to seventh rated Johnny Summerlin and ninth rated Young Jack Johnson. 1956 saw Folley break into the top ten at the no. 9 spot. He won all six of his bouts, three by knockout and three on points. His decisions were over Roger Rischer, Nino Valdes, who had been rated no. 5 at the end of 1955, and Wayne Bethea, who finished 1956 ranked no. 10. In 1957, Folley won all 11 of his fights including seven by early cessations. His most important win that year was a repeat decision over Bethea, who, by the end of 1957, moved to the no. 8 position. Folley completed the year with a record of 38-2 and with a no. 2 ranking.

After winning a decision over Garvin Sawyer on New Year's Day, 1958, Folley signed to fight Machen in a 12 round eliminator which was to propel the winner into an unavoidable clash with Patterson. The bout, held on April 9, 1958 in San Francisco, produced a lackluster draw, which failed to generate interest in either a Patterson-Machen or Patterson-Folley matchup. Rather than thrusting a victor into the limelight, the Machen-Folley bout caused the popularity of both fighters to temporarily wane. Thus, after serious attempts to lure Rocky Marciano out of retirement proved fruitless, Roy Harris, the undefeated but relatively unknown Texan was chosen as Patterson's next opponent. Harris had beaten Pastrano, Bob Baker, and Willi Besmanoff but had not had any national television exposure and had fought only in and around Houston. Although the press initially condemned Patterson for scheduling a defense against Harris, stories about the colorful Cut and Shoot, Texas native dominated the sports pages prior to their fight. Harris, a college graduate who would later become a successful attorney, had wrestled alligators as a youth and came from a family which, according to newspaper accounts, seemed to step out of the "Li'l Abner" comic strip. The bout itself beheld an obviously rusty Patteson recover from a flash knockdown in the second round and retain his title by butchering a brave but outgunned Harris, who was dropped in the seventh, twice in the eighth, and again in the twelfth. The fight was humanely stopped after the twelfth round. While artistically the bout was somewhat unsatisfactory, financially it was a rousing success. 21,680 fans attended the bout, which was held in Los Angeles on August 18, 1958, while another 196,762 people attended various closed circuit outlets.

One month later, on September 14, 1958, Machen met undefeated European champion Ingemar Johansson in Sweden. Bolstered by the knowledge that Johansson had struggled to defeat journeyman Archie McBride, Machen assumed a victory over the Swede and an ensuing shot at Patterson were foregone conclusions. Johansson, capitalizing on his opponent's blatant overconfidence, shocked the boxing world with a startling first round knockout of the previously unbeaten Californian. Sixteen days later, in London, Pastrano was stopped in the fifth round by British and British Empire champion Brian London, who reversed an earlier loss. The coup de grace was completed on October 14, 1958 when, also in London, Folley was outpointed by Henry Cooper. Thus Johansson was now the leading contender while a revitalized Nino Valdes, who had won 12 out of 13 bouts since losing to Folley in 1956, was listed as no. 2. Third rated was Folley, who compiled a 4-1-1 record during 1958 as he also decisioned Art Swiden and halted Pete Rademacher and Joey Bygraves. Cooper was rated fourth, Pastrano fifth, and light heavyweight champion Archie Moore maintained the no. 6 position. Machen finished the year no. 7 as he was 0-1-1 during 1958. London was rated no. 8, Sonny Liston, who was 8-0 in 1958 and 22-1 overall, broke into the rankings at no. 9 while veteran Mike DeJohn was ranked tenth.

Patterson was originally scheduled to face Henry Cooper in a tune-up before taking on Johansson. When negotiations with Cooper's management broke down, London, despite having lost the British and British Empire titles to Cooper by a 15 round decision on January 12, 1959, was substituted. On May 1, 1959, Patterson dropped London with five seconds left in the tenth and finished him off at 0:51 of the eleventh thus clearing the way for the much anticipated encounter with Johansson.

On June 26, 1959, at Yankee Stadium in New York, before a crowd of 21,961, Patterson met the man he felt could provide him with the recognition that so far had evaded him. Although Patterson trained harder for this fight than any other, mentally he was not prepared. Law suits concerning the promotion of the bout had been distractions. More importantly, the image of a visibly frightened Johansson being disqualified in the 1952 Olympics in his bout with Patterson's teammate Ed Sanders had permeated Floyd's consciousness and resulted in the same malady which had plagued Machen prior to his match with Johansson, overconfidence. After wining the first two rounds by a slight margin, Patterson moved in for the kill in the third and in doing so, he walked into a thunderous right which began his downfall. Johansson completely demolished Patterson, knocking him down seven times before referee Ruby Goldstein stopped the bout at 2:03 of the round. It would be six days short of a year before Johansson would make his first defense as he busied himself making a war movie and a television drama in Hollywood, appearing on The Dinah Shore Show and The Ed Sullivan Show, and accepting accolades on the banquet circuit. Meanwhile, Folley moved into the no. 1 contender's spot by winning all seven of his fights including victories over Alex Miteff, Willi Besmanoff, and Alonzo Johnson. Patterson was ranked second followed by the fast rising Liston, who had kayoed DeJohn, Cleveland Williams, Valdes, and Besmanoff during 1959. Cooper remained at no. 4 as he defeated Gawie de Klerk and Joe Erskine in defense of his British and British Empire titles. Machen moved up to the fifth position a he went 7-0 in 1959 with his record including decisions over Young Jack Johnson and Besmanoff and a first round destruction of Pat McMurtry. Rounding out the top ten were Billy Hunter, the comebacking Roy Harris, DeJohn, the Welshman Erskine, and the New York based Argentine Miteff. Hunter had entered the select group of contenders on the strength of two victories over Miteff, whose 19-5-1 record included wins over Archie McBride, Besmanoff, Julio Mederos, Nino Valdes, and Wayne Bethea. Valdes, who was no longer rated due to his losses to Charlie Powell, Alonzo Johnson, and Liston, closed the year and his career on a winning note by blasting out Brian London in seven rounds, thus eliminating the Englishman from the top ten.

In the only title bout of the 1960, the roles had switched. Johansson was now the champion suffering from excessive confidence while Patterson was the hungry challenger. For Johansson, winning the heavyweight title was the final act to atone for the embarrassment he caused his countrymen in 1952. For Patterson, regaining the crown would end the shame he felt for nearly a year. Patterson attained his goal of redemption on the evening of June 20. After outboxing the defending champion for most of the first four rounds, Patterson ended it in the fifth round. After landing a hard right to the Swede's body, Patterson dropped him with a vicious left hook. Johansson rose after a nine count, only to be floored for good at 1:41 of the round.

Ten seconds later, after referee Arthur Mercante finished his count, Patterson was officially the first man to regain the heavyweight championship. Before leaving the ring, Patterson graciously promised the groggy Johansson a rubber match.

By the end of 1960, Sonny Liston was the undisputed no. 1 contender, and, to many, the uncrowned champion. After having won his first three bouts of the year by knocking out Howard King, Cleveland Williams, and Roy Harris, Liston met Folley in Denver on July 18. Folley, who had solidified his ranking by scoring a 12 round decision over Machen in San Francisco on January 18, came into his eliminator with Liston off an April 5 tune-up which saw him outpoint journeyman Clarence Williams over 10 rounds in Sacramento. Despite his excellent defensive skills, Folley could not keep Liston away and fell in three rounds. Liston did not rest on his laurels as he met Machen, who had followed his defeat to Folley with a knockout of Billy Hunter and decisions over Alex Miteff and Alonzo Johnson. In what turned out to be a surprisingly unexciting fight, Liston outscored Machen over 12 rounds. Following the 31-1 Liston in the ratings was the deposed champion Johansson. Machen, who decisioned Wayne Bethea on December 19 in Portland, Oregon, held the no. 3 position while Folley, who finished the year with a victory over Willi Besmanoff, and Henry Cooper, who beat Miteff and Harris, were ranked no. 4 and no. 5 respectively. The rest of the top ten consisted of Mike DeJohn, Canada's Robert Cleroux, Miteff, whose 3-2 record for the year included a knockout of highly regarded prospect Don Warner, European champion Dick Richardson, who demolished Brian London, and the resilient Joe Erskine.

The third Patterson-Johansson fight took place on March 13, 1961 in Miami Beach. After recovering from two early knockdowns, Patterson knocked out the somewhat out of shape former titlist in the sixth round. Five days earlier, Liston, staying active, destroyed Howard King at the same site. Their victories led to Patterson and Liston signing to fight on December 4, 1961 but not against each other. As part of a closed circut doubleheader, Patterson was to defend against undefeated Massachusetts heavyweight Tom McNeeley and Liston was to meet Germany's Albert Westphal. These bouts would serve as a prelude to their actual confrontation which would take place in 1962. Liston disposed of the overmatched Westphal on one round in Philadelphia after which Patterson, fighting in Toronto, rose from the canvas to knock out the hard-punching but defensively deficient McNeeley at 2:51 of the 4th round.

1961 ended with Liston, of course, still the no. 1 contender, Machen, who won five of six, was rated no. 2. He knocked out Garvin Sawyer and decisioned Mike DeJohn before dropping a decision to N. B. A. light heavyweight champion Harold Johnson in a non-title bout. He then scored kayoes over DeJohn and Brian London and a points win over no. 3 ranked light heavyweight Doug Jones. Ranked no. 3 amongst the heavyweights was Folley who halted Norm Letcher before suffering an upset kayo at the fists of Argentina's Alejandro Lavorante. Folley bounced back by stopping Ben Marshall, decisioning Sonny Moore, and kayoing his one-time conqueror, Henry Cooper. Lavorante held the no. 4 position followed by Robert Cleroux, who stopped Harold Carter, Roy Harris, and Alex Miteff and bested tough George Chuvalo over 12 rounds to regain the Canadian championship. Johansson was rated sixth while the power-punching veteran Cleveland Williams, who owned a 51-4 record with 42 knockouts, was the seventh ranked contender. Henry Cooper, who again halted Joe Erskine but was stopped by Folley, slipped to no. 8. The 1960 Olympic light heavyweight champion Cassius Clay, whose 10-0 record as a pro included wins over knockout artist Lamar Clark, Alonzo Johnson, Miteff, and Willi Besmanoff, broke into the ratings at the ninth position while Idaho's hot and cold George Logan was rated no. 10.

On September 25, 1962, at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Floyd Patterson's second reign as the heavyweight champion came to an abrupt end. At 2:06 of the first round, Charles "Sonny" Liston became the 21st man to hold the crown since the days of John L. Sullivan. Ironically, it was Frank Sikora, who had counted out Archie Moore in 1956, who administered the fateful toll over the fallen Patterson.

It should be noted that Patterson unsuccessfully attempted to regain the title for the second time on three occasions. On July 7, 1963, he was stopped by Liston, again in the first round. On November 22, 1965, Patterson was TKOed by Muhammad Ali in the 12th round. Finally, on September 14, 1968, Patterson dropped a controversial decision to W. B. A. heavyweight champion Jimmy Ellis. Patterson fought until losing to Muhammad Ali for the second time in 1972. His final career record was 55-8-1.

Machen, who suffered a nervous breakdown in 1962, recovered and resumed his career in 1963. After his comeback produced 5 consecutive knockout victories, he met Floyd Patterson in 1964. In Stockholm, Sweden, Machen dropped a decision to the former two-time champion after twelve hard-fought rounds. On March 5, 1965, Machen received a title shot of sorts as he met Ernie Terrell for the vacant W. B. A. championship. The 15 round bout, held in Chicago, ended with Terrell having wrestled his way to a unanimous decision. Machen retired in 1967 with a career record of 50-11-3.

Folley finally received a title shot on March 22, 1967, two months shy of his 35th birthday. Fighting in New York's Madison Square Garden, Folley tried his best but was knocked out by Muhammad Ali at 1:48 of the seventh round. Folley continued fighting until 1970. His record at the time of his retirement read 79-11-6.

The argument will continue as to whether or not Machen and Folley were cheated out of title shots through collusion by Patterson and Cus D'Amato during Patterson's reigns. To this writer, they were not. Being that the objective of a good manager is to make the most money for his fighter at the least risk, D'Amato, due to financial considerations, was not eager to put Patterson in with Machen or Folley. Had the public demanded that either get a shot, undoubtedly, D'Amato would have consented and a contract, with an obligatory return bout clause, would have been signed. Without the necessary public interest, bouts with Machen and Folley did not promise an economic return worth the physical risk. Later, untimely defeats prevented Machen and Folley from advancing into a challenge for Patterson's crown.

Simply, Machen and Folley were victimized by fate which took form in their April 9, 1958 draw, which dulled the appeal of both fighters, the defeats they suffered later that year at the hands of Ingemar Johansson and Henry Cooper, and the emergence of the redoubtable Sonny Liston, who beat both boxers in 1960. It is true that if Patterson had been more active while champion, Machen and Folley may have gotten their chances earlier but, like his predecessors Jersey Joe Walcott and Rocky Marciano, Patterson at no time engaged in more than two title bouts in any given year. Neither of the men who dethroned him were any busier. Johansson sat on the title for 360 days before defending it and Liston put the title on the line only twice in 17 months. While it is certainly unfair that both Machen and Folley had to wait until they were past their primes to finally fight for the title, it is equally unfair to hold Floyd Patterson solely responsible.


Article By: Ken Pollitt

(Note: IN MEMORY OF FLOYD PATTERSON is currently on the Main Page also but will be moved to the archives shortly. To make it accessible to new posters in the future, I've taken the liberty of also posting it here in the OLD SCHOOL FIGHTERS section.)

1/5/23 edit:

There are a good number of International Boxing Hall Of Fame enshrinees mentioned in the above article:

Floyd Patterson

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... erson.html

Cus D'Amato

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... amato.html

Joey Maxim

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... maxim.html

Archie Moore

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... moore.html

Rocky Marciano

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... ciano.html

Willie Pastrano

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... trano.html

Ingemar Johansson

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... nsson.html

Sonny Liston

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... iston.html

Harold Johnson

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... arold.html

Muhammad Ali (first mentioned in the article as Cassius Clay)

http://www.ibhof.com/pages/about/induct ... n/ali.html
Last edited by KSTAT124 on Sun Dec 28, 2008 7:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.
scappoosejohn
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Post by scappoosejohn »

Good read KSTAT.
"A champion, a true champion is to take on all capable challengers. A true champion defends his title, and looks for matches that pose a threat in order to prove to the world he deserves to be called the best of the best."
KSTAT124
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Re: IN MEMORY OF FLOYD PATTERSON

Post by KSTAT124 »

Scan of Cover of February 1985 Fight Beat; Index Page; Title; and Photos:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B4qgFk ... sp=sharing

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