[Verriasana]

It is sad to see the champions and heros of my youth passing away. Floyd Patterson became heavyweight champion of the world after Rocky Marciano retired. He lost to Inmar Johannson then reained the title. Eventually he lost it again to Sonny Liston. What made Patterson so unique was his gentle demeanor outside the ring.
Patterson was voted into the United States Olympic Committee Hall of Fame in 1987 and the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1991. The public loved him.
As Dave Anderson wrote in 1972 in The New York Times:
"He projects the incongruous image of a gentle gladiator, a martyr persecuted by the demons of his profession. But his mystique also contains a morbid curiosity. Any boxing fan worth his weight in The Ring record books wants to be there for Floyd's last stand. Until then, Floyd Patterson keeps boxing, the windmills of his mind turned by his own breezes."

[dayclaccikere]

I agree. I remember as a kid, driving thirty miles with my dad to see him fight Sonny Liston. He took a savage beating that night and was never the same fighter afterwards. The rest of his life should be a model for all athletes.