Muhammad Ali vs Floyd Patterson 1?

Question

Was Ali justified in his unnecessary battering of Patterson in their first fight? Opinions?

Answer 1

Ali wasn't out of line. The heavyweight champ had better be willing to go into the ring and get respect, and Patterson had made a very distinct point of disrespecting him, in a manner that touched Ali at a very personal, emotional level, especially at that time in his life. I imagine it was gamesmanship by Patterson, who was a crafty, intelligent student of the sport, but if you are going to play that kind of game in a sport like boxing, you had better be prepared to accept the consequences. Nothing against Patterson, I think he is a generally classy individual and a credit to sports.  

Answer 2

patterson refused to call ali by his new name calling him cassuis clay ali made patterson who he called the rabbit pay and thats pretty much what the fight looked like the tiger vs rabbit true patterson had a bad back in the first fight but it didnt matter patterson had no chance

Answer 3

no, of course not, especially considering patterson went into the ring that night with a bad back.

ali made a lot of enemies with his treatment of patterson & terrell, simply because they choose to call him "clay", which incidentally patterson did up until his death......some say it was a low class thing for patterson to do, others say it is the same as calling a woman you have known all your life by her maiden name years after she's been married, either way, ali was out of line that night.

Answer 4

Nothing can justify the unnecessary infliction of pain by a fighter against another.  We just have to understand Ali's mindset at that time.  During his first reign as heavyweight champion, Ali was not very popular with the media because of his affiliation with the shadowy Black Muslims and his anti-establishment views.  Floyd's mistake was he jumped into the anti-Ali bandwagon and uncharacteristically attacked Ali, saying things like he ain't a good champ because he ain't a good American.  This infuriated Ali because all along he thought Patterson was true gentleman incapable of such foul remarks.  Also, Ali was young and at the height of his brashness and cockiness that he decided to punish Patterson the same way he did to Terrell.  Still, as I've said, nothing can justify such an act of cruelty.  At any rate, Ali never did that again to any opponent after that.

Answer 5

Cruelty is never justified regardless of Ali's being insulted because of Patterson refusing to call him by his Muslim name.  Ali tortured Patterson who was sufering from a bad back round after round.  Ali done his fair share of insulting opponents such as Joe Frazier and in a very racial manner nonetheless, but it seemed to be ok when it was him, so he was a hypocrite in a sense.  A lot of boxing folks lost a lot of respect for Ali in his fights against Patterson and also Ernie Terrell.  One should never do the things he done to these opponents.  Carrying an opponent to torture and beat them more is very classless and Ali was just that in these fights.  I have a lot of respect for the accomplishments, the skill, and other aspects of Ali's great career, but this isn't and never will be one of them as far as I'm concerned.

Answer 6

I agree with most of the prior statements, however, I think the better question is, Ali (Clay) vs. Sonny Liston in a legite, non mob controlled, fight. I think Liston gets the better of that meeting.  

Answer 7

Totally.  Floyd was a classless chump.  And Muhammad made him pay for it.

Oh, and BTW, Floyd was probably the most over-rated champion in the history of heavyweight boxing.

Answer 8

Nothing can justify the unnecessary infliction of pain by a fighter against another.  We just have to understand Ali's mindset at that time.  During his first reign as heavyweight champion, Ali was not very popular with the media because of his affiliation with the shadowy Black Muslims and his anti-establishment views.  Floyd's mistake was he jumped into the anti-Ali bandwagon and uncharacteristically attacked Ali, saying things like he ain't a good champ because he ain't a good American.  This infuriated Ali because all along he thought Patterson was true gentleman incapable of such foul remarks.  Also, Ali was young and at the height of his brashness and ********* that he decided to punish Patterson the same way he did to Terrell.  Still, as I've said, nothing can justify such an act of cruelty.  At any rate, Ali never did that again to any opponent after that.

Answer 9

I totally agree with Toughguy on this one.  I know Ali wanted to make an example of Patterson for his continually using the name "Clay" but he took it too far.  In the ring, I know there can be bad blood and but there should also be respect.  And the one thing about Ali that always bothered me (even though I wasn't even born at the time of this fight) was his need to bring politcal overtones into his fights.  

It didn't bother me when he called Sonny Liston "Big Ugly Bear" or George Chuvalo "Washerwoman".  But calling Joe Frazier "an Uncle Tom" and a "White Man's Champion" was totally uncalled for.  And people criticize Frazier for still being angry???  

I know Ali is a legend and a polarizing figure but looking back on his whole career and the things that he said and did, I still find it hard to be a fan.  Way too much controversy.

Answer 10

No.  Patterson showed how much heart and class he had by answering the bell round after round.  It also further exposed how Ali was lacking in the punching power department.  Brings up a big question of how could Ali KO Liston?