Floyd was at home in NY when he passed on today. This boxing great was the youngest to ever win the title, beating Archie Moore in 1956 at the age of 21. He was suffering from alzheimers and prostate cancer when he died. Floyd was small as a heavyweight boxer, but made up for that in spirit. Cus D'amato was his trainer. Cus, you may remember, was Mike Tyson's guy during Tyson's best years. Floyd successfully defended his title four times before being beaten. He came back to defend his title twice more I believe. Patterson retired in 1972 at age 37 with a professional record of 55-8-1 and served as New York state athletic commissioner.
Should be an interesting night in heaven tonight....
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IN THIS CORNER, FLOYD PATTERSON...AND IN THIS CORNER...THE ARCHANGEL GABRIEL!
Interesting night indeed. I wonder if Howard Cosell will be there?
Howard Cosell is burning in toupe hell.
And Floyd Patterson can finally have a go at Rocky Marciano.
So Patterson was younger than Tyson upon first winning the title?
Yes SR, he is the youngest heavyweight to win the title.
I served with a guy who trained at Floyd's gym and gor to know him well. Floyd was the man. Have a great weekend Dusty and thanks.
TG
SOrry to hear that. My husband and I are fight fans, but I didn't hear about it till you put it up. I remember watching his adopted son Tracy Harris Patterson fight, too. He loved his dad.
Sadly, boxing has really gone downhill in the last few years. I hardly follow it at all anymore - there's not much to get interested in. I'd rather watch the old fights on ESPN Classic.
Boxing is now a business like any other professional sport. But Floyd fought during the golden years and there are less and less of them left to tell the story.
Gay Talse has an excellent profile of Patterson that he wrote back in the 1960s, if you get a chance to read it you'll enjoy it. The book that has the article is called "Fame and Obscurity."
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