Floyd Patterson Record & Stats
In a career spanning 20 years, Floyd Patterson fought 64 times with 55 wins, 8 losses, and 1 draw. By his last professional fight on September 20, 1972, Patterson's boxing record stood at 55-8-1 (40 KO wins, 5 KO losses).
- Born
- Jan 4, 1935
- Died
- May 11, 2006 (71 years)
- Debut
- Sep 12, 1952
- Record
- 55-8-1
- Rounds
- 421
- KOs
- 40 (62.5%)
- Height
- 183 cm
- Reach
- 180 cm
- Ape Index
- -3 cm
- Stance
- Orthodox
- Last Fight
| WBA | TheRing |
|---|---|
| HV e1 d0 | HV w2 d6 |
Floyd Patterson (The Gentleman of Boxing) was an American professional boxer. He was born in Waco, North Carolina, U.S. on January 4, 1935. Patterson made his professional boxing debut at the age of 17 on September 12, 1952. He was a heavyweight world champion. He died on May 11, 2006 at the age of 71 years. Patterson is a Hall of Famer.
Boxing Record
| Total Fights | 64 |
|---|---|
| Wins | 55 |
| Losses | 8 |
| Draws | 1 |
| No-Contests | 0 |
| KO Wins | 40 |
|---|---|
| Total Title Wins | 6 |
| Title Defenses | 6 |
| Title-Fight KO Wins | 8 |
| Losses via KO | 5 |
| # | Date | Age | Opponent | Result | Via |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 64 | Sep 20, 1972 | 37 | Muhammad Ali | Loss | RTD7 |
| 63 | Jul 14, 1972 | 37 | Pedro Agosto | Win | TKO6 |
| 62 | Feb 11, 1972 | 37 | Oscar Bonavena | Win | UD |
| 61 | Nov 23, 1971 | 36 | Charlie Harris | Win | KO6 |
| 60 | Aug 21, 1971 | 36 | Vic Brown | Win | UD |
| 59 | Jul 17, 1971 | 36 | Charley Polite | Win | UD |
| 58 | May 26, 1971 | 36 | Terry Daniels | Win | UD |
| 57 | Mar 29, 1971 | 36 | Roger Russell | Win | TKO9 |
| 56 | Jan 16, 1971 | 36 | Levi Forte | Win | KO2 |
| 55 | Sep 15, 1970 | 35 | Charley Green | Win | KO10 |
| 54 | Sep 14, 1968 | 33 | Jimmy Ellis | Loss | PTS |
| 53 | Oct 28, 1967 | 32 | Jerry Quarry | Loss | MD |
| 52 | Jun 9, 1967 | 32 | Jerry Quarry | Draw | MD |
| 51 | Mar 30, 1967 | 32 | Bill McMurray | Win | KO1 |
| 50 | Feb 13, 1967 | 32 | Willie Johnson | Win | KO3 |
| 49 | Sep 20, 1966 | 31 | Henry Cooper | Win | KO4 |
| 48 | Nov 22, 1965 | 30 | Muhammad Ali | Loss | TKO12 |
| 47 | May 14, 1965 | 30 | Tod Herring | Win | TKO3 |
| 46 | Feb 1, 1965 | 30 | George Chuvalo | Win | UD |
| 45 | Dec 12, 1964 | 29 | Charlie Powell | Win | KO6 |
| 44 | Jul 5, 1964 | 29 | Eddie Machen | Win | PTS |
| 43 | Jan 6, 1964 | 29 | Santo Amonti | Win | TKO8 |
| 42 | Jul 22, 1963 | 28 | Sonny Liston | Loss | KO1 |
| 41 | Sep 25, 1962 | 27 | Sonny Liston | Loss | KO1 |
| 40 | Dec 4, 1961 | 26 | Tom McNeeley | Win | KO4 |
| 39 | Mar 13, 1961 | 26 | Ingemar Johansson | Win | KO6 |
| 38 | Jun 20, 1960 | 25 | Ingemar Johansson | Win | KO5 |
| 37 | Jun 26, 1959 | 24 | Ingemar Johansson | Loss | TKO3 |
| 36 | May 1, 1959 | 24 | Brian London | Win | KO11 |
| 35 | Aug 18, 1958 | 23 | Roy Harris | Win | RTD12 |
| 34 | Aug 22, 1957 | 22 | Pete Rademacher | Win | KO6 |
| 33 | Jul 29, 1957 | 22 | Tommy Jackson | Win | TKO10 |
| 32 | Nov 30, 1956 | 21 | Archie Moore | Win | KO5 |
| 31 | Jun 8, 1956 | 21 | Tommy Jackson | Win | SD |
| 30 | Apr 10, 1956 | 21 | Alvin Williams | Win | KO3 |
| 29 | Mar 12, 1956 | 21 | Jimmy Walls | Win | TKO2 |
| 28 | Dec 8, 1955 | 20 | Jimmy Slade | Win | TKO7 |
| 27 | Oct 13, 1955 | 20 | Calvin Brad | Win | KO1 |
| 26 | Sep 29, 1955 | 20 | Dave Whitlock | Win | KO3 |
| 25 | Sep 8, 1955 | 20 | Alvin Williams | Win | TKO8 |
| 24 | Jul 6, 1955 | 20 | Archie McBride | Win | KO7 |
| 23 | Jun 23, 1955 | 20 | Yvon Durelle | Win | RTD5 |
| 22 | Mar 17, 1955 | 20 | Esau Ferdinand | Win | TKO10 |
| 21 | Jan 17, 1955 | 20 | Don Grant | Win | TKO5 |
| 20 | Jan 7, 1955 | 20 | Willie Troy | Win | TKO5 |
| 19 | Nov 19, 1954 | 19 | Jimmy Slade | Win | UD |
| 18 | Oct 22, 1954 | 19 | Joe Gannon | Win | UD |
| 17 | Oct 11, 1954 | 19 | Esau Ferdinand | Win | UD |
| 16 | Aug 2, 1954 | 19 | Tommy Harrison | Win | TKO1 |
| 15 | Jul 12, 1954 | 19 | Jacques Royer Crecy | Win | TKO7 |
| 14 | Jun 7, 1954 | 19 | Joey Maxim | Loss | UD |
| 13 | May 10, 1954 | 19 | Jesse Turner | Win | UD |
| 12 | Apr 19, 1954 | 19 | Alvin Williams | Win | UD |
| 11 | Mar 30, 1954 | 19 | Sammy Brown | Win | TKO2 |
| 10 | Feb 15, 1954 | 19 | Yvon Durelle | Win | UD |
| 9 | Dec 14, 1953 | 18 | Dick Wagner | Win | TKO5 |
| 8 | Oct 19, 1953 | 18 | Wes Bascom | Win | UD |
| 7 | Jun 1, 1953 | 18 | Gordon Wallace | Win | TKO3 |
| 6 | Apr 13, 1953 | 18 | Dick Wagner | Win | SD |
| 5 | Jan 28, 1953 | 18 | Chester Mieszala | Win | TKO5 |
| 4 | Dec 29, 1952 | 17 | Lalu Sabotin | Win | TKO5 |
| 3 | Oct 31, 1952 | 17 | Lester Johnson | Win | TKO3 |
| 2 | Oct 6, 1952 | 17 | Sammy Walker | Win | TKO2 |
| 1 | Sep 12, 1952 | 17 | Eddie Godbold | Win | KO4 |
Featured Opponents
Statistics
Career Summary
Floyd Patterson's professional boxing career spanned more than 20 years — from 1952 to 1972.
Patterson made his debut against Eddie Godbold at the age of 17 on September 12, 1952, defeating Godbold via 4th round KO. He went on to win 12 more consecutive fights after the debut, which included 7 wins via stoppage.
Patterson had his first world title fight at the age of 21 on November 30, 1956 after 31 professional fights, against Archie Moore for the heavyweight NBA (vacant), NYSAC, and The Ring titles. He defeated Moore via 5th round KO to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
Patterson won two world titles at heavyweight. He was elevated as world champion once. For all the details about Patterson's world title wins and defenses refer to "Floyd Patterson World Titles".
Some of Patterson's best fights and notable victories include wins over two Hall-of-Famers (Ingemar Johansson, Archie Moore), Henry Cooper, George Chuvalo, and Oscar Bonavena.
Floyd Patterson had a total of eight losses in his professional boxing career — five of them in title bouts and three in non-title bouts. He suffered his first loss against Joey Maxim via 8 round unanimous decision on June 7, 1954, which ended his 13-fight win streak. He was stopped five times and lost three times via decision. For more details about these defeats, refer to "All of Floyd Patterson's losses".
His last professional fight was a non-title rematch against fellow American boxer Muhammad Ali at 37 years of age, on September 20, 1972. Patterson lost the fight via 7th round RTD.
Patterson retired from professional boxing with a record of 55-8-1, which included 40 knockout wins and five losses via knockout, and two title wins. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) in 1991.
Career Highlights
Floyd Patterson fought a total of 64 times during his professional career. He was among the very best of his generation and put on some incredible performances. These seven fights are the highlight of his career.
Floyd Patterson vs. Archie Moore
A 21-year old Floyd Patterson (30-1, 21 KO) had his first world title fight against Archie Moore for Moore's NBA (vacant), NYSAC, and The Ring heavyweight belts. Moore was 42 years old with a record of 160-20-8. Moore was on a 11-fight win streak with 116 KO wins. Patterson was the taller of the two by 3 cms but Moore had a 11 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Patterson defeated Moore via 5th round KO to win the vacant NBA , NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
Floyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson II
In an immediate rematch, a 25-year old Floyd Patterson (35-2, 26 KO) faced an undefeated Ingemar Johansson, who was now 27 years old with a record of 22-0. Patterson had lost to Johansson in their last fight, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 3 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Patterson defeated Johansson via 5th round KO to win the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles. He handed Johansson the first loss of his career, and put an end to Johansson's 22-fight win streak.
Floyd Patterson vs. Ingemar Johansson III
In an immediate rematch, a 26-year old Floyd Patterson (36-2, 27 KO) faced Ingemar Johansson, who was now 28 years old with a record of 22-1 in a heavyweight title defense fight. Johansson had lost to Patterson in their last fight, and was the taller of the two by 1 cm and also had a 3 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Patterson defeated Johansson via 6th round KO to retain the NBA, NYSAC, and Ring Magazine heavyweight titles.
Floyd Patterson vs. George Chuvalo
A 30-year old Floyd Patterson (41-4, 31 KO) faced George Chuvalo, who was 27 years old with a record of 29-8-2. Chuvalo was on a four-fight win streak with 23 KO wins. Both the boxers were of the same height and same reach.
Patterson defeated Chuvalo via 12 round unanimous decision.
Floyd Patterson vs. Muhammad Ali
A 30-year old Floyd Patterson (43-4, 32 KO) faced an undefeated Muhammad Ali, who was 23 years old with a record of 21-0. Ali was on a 21-fight win streak with 17 KO wins, and was the taller of the two by 8 cms and also had a 18 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Ali defeated Patterson via 12th round TKO.
Floyd Patterson vs. Henry Cooper
A 31-year old Floyd Patterson (43-5, 32 KO) faced Henry Cooper, who was 32 years old with a record of 33-12-1. Cooper was on a one-fight losing streak, and was the taller of the two by 4 cms and also had a 11 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Patterson defeated Cooper via 4th round KO.
Floyd Patterson vs. Oscar Bonavena
A 37-year old Floyd Patterson (53-7-1, 39 KO) faced Oscar Bonavena, who was 29 years old with a record of 47-7-1. Bonavena was on a one-fight win streak with 37 KO wins. Patterson was the taller of the two by 4 cms but Bonavena had a 5 cm reach advantage over Patterson.
Patterson defeated Bonavena via 10 round unanimous decision.
Floyd Patterson FAQs
What are some of Floyd Patterson's best wins?
Some of Patterson's best wins were against Ingemar Johansson, Archie Moore, Henry Cooper, George Chuvalo, and Oscar Bonavena.
How many KOs does Floyd Patterson have on his record?
Patterson knocked out 40 of his 64 opponents. By his last fight, his KO ratio was at 62.5%. Of his total 55 wins, 40 of them were via KO (72.7%).
Who did Floyd Patterson lose to?
Patterson had eight losses. Jimmy Ellis, Jerry Quarry, Muhammad Ali, Sonny Liston, and Ingemar Johansson are some of the boxers who have beaten Patterson.