Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson

Boxing competition

Date

1965 and 1972

Venue

Las Vegas Convention Center and Madison Square Garden

Title(s) on the line

WBC, NYSAC and The Ring heavyweight titles (first fight) NABF heavyweight title (second fight)

Tale of the tape

Boxer	Muhammad Ali	Floyd Patterson
Nickname	The Greatest	The Gentleman of Boxing
Hometown	Louisville, Kentucky	Waco, North Carolina, US
Pre-fight record	21-0 (17 KO)	43-4 (31 KO)
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)	6 ft (183 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg)	196+3⁄4 lb (89 kg)
Style	Orthodox	Orthodox
Recognition	WBC, NYSAC and The Ring heavyweight champion	Former two time heavyweight champion

Result

Ali won both fights via TKO

Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson refers to two heavyweight professional boxing matches. The first match took place on November 22, 1965, for the WBC/Ring/lineal world heavyweight championship; and the second on September 20, 1972, for the regional North American Boxing Federation (NABF) heavyweight title. Ali won both fights through technical knockouts. The first fight was stopped in the 12th round; and the second after the 7th round.

Background

Patterson had previously lost his heavyweight title to Sonny Liston in a 1st-round knockout. In a later rematch, Patterson lost again in the 1st round. Liston later lost the title to Ali. Meanwhile, Patterson won bouts against Eddie Machen and George Chuvalo. Patterson was now the number-one challenger for the title held by Ali.

Fights

On November 22, 1965, Patterson fought Ali for the first time. Patterson lost by technical knockout at the end of the 12th round, going into the fight with an optimistic view. Patterson suffered from a ruptured sacroiliac joint in his lower back which greatly reduced his mobility after the first round.^[1] Instead of scoring a quick knockout, Ali mocked, humiliated and punished Patterson throughout, before the referee stopped the fight in the 12th round. A New York Times reporter complained that the fight was like watching someone "pulling the wings off a butterfly."^[2]

On September 20, 1972, Patterson fought Ali for the second time. At age 37, Patterson was stopped due to a cut eye at the end of the 7th round.^[3] The defeat proved to be Patterson's last fight, although there was never an announcement of retirement.

References

^ Decker, Bill (1965-11-23). "Patterson Refuses to Use Back Spasm as Alibi in Game but Losing Fight; INJURY IS EVIDENT IN FOURTH ROUND". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-31.
^ Sports Illustrated, 13 June 2016, pp. 39.
^ Staff, B. N. (2019-09-20). "On This Day: Muhammad Ali defeats Floyd Patterson again". Boxing News. Retrieved 2024-01-31.

Muhammad Ali

Fights

Media

Docu films and series	Whicker's World (1967 episode) a.k.a. Cassius Clay (1970) Facing Ali (2009) When Ali Came to Ireland (2012) The Trials of Muhammad Ali (2013) I Am Ali (2014) Icons: The Greatest Person of the 20th Century (2019 episode) What's My Name: Muhammad Ali (2019) Blood Brothers: Malcolm X & Muhammad Ali (2021) Muhammad Ali (2021 series)