Floyd Patterson stopped Archie Moore in Round Five when the pair met in Chicago for the vacant heavyweight world title.
Patterson was only 21 years old when he faced then 160-20-8 Moore, nicknamed ‘The Mongoose’. Ranked as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters to have ever lived by BoxRec, it came as a huge upset when Patterson stopped Moore in the fifth round to become the youngest heavyweight world champion.
There is one aspect of both Patterson and Moore’s careers that transcends a boxing record, which came only three years after the pair crossed paths.
In 1959 Patterson defended his title against 21-0 Ingemar Johansson. Patterson was reportedly exuding confidence, so much so that he felt he was unbeatable, which ultimately proved to be his downfall.
Patterson was dropped seven times before the fight was stopped in the third round and his world title was stolen by the Swede.
- READ MORE: Top 10 highest-earning heavyweight boxers in the world include Usyk and Tyson Fury at No.2
Archie Moore writes Floyd Patterson a letter of encouragement
Despite being stopped by Patterson, Moore understood the pain he felt and took it upon himself to pen a letter to his former rival.
He wrote: ‘I know how you must feel. I hope you don’t continue to feel bad. The same thing has happened to many fighters. Of course, I hated to lose to you, and fate decreed it that way.’
Moore would then address Patterson’s mistakes and what Patterson could change in order to win a rematch with Johansson, before signing off, ‘If you concentrate your jab and move around this guy, you can be the first one to regain the crown. You can do it. Your friend, Archie Moore’.
And, in 1960, that’s exactly what happened. Patterson stopped Johansson in the fifth round to become the first-ever heavyweight to regain a world title after losing it. He would go on to face Johansson once more and would cement himself in the trilogy by winning via sixth-round stoppage.
According to Boxing News, Patterson said of the letter: ‘Archie Moore sent me a beautiful letter indicating that this could be a blessing in disguise. In other words, in order to be the first to win it back, you’ve got to lose it.”
Patterson and Moore would both finish their careers with losses to Muhammed Ali and with records of 55-8-1 and 186-23-10 respectively.
Muhammed Ali sings Floyd Patterson’s praises
Following his losses to Liston and a series of subsequent wins, Patterson would take on boxing’s greatest heavyweights – Ali.
Patterson went into the fight with an injured pelvis but proved to be a durable opponent, and fought on until the final round when the referee stopped the fight.
A New York Times reporter said the fight was like watching someone ‘pulling the wings off a butterfly’.
Ali praised Patterson’s ability to take his punches, and the pair crossed paths once more almost seven years later, in what would be Patterson’s final fight.
In his retirement, Patterson became a trainer, working with the likes of Donovan ‘Razor’ Ruddock. He also formed a friendship with Ingemar Johansson, and the pair are said to have visited each other every year.
Patterson, sadly, passed away in 2006 at the age of 71.