Floyd Patterson: The Fighting Life of Boxing?s Invisible Champion is W.K. Stratton?s attempt to unravel the enigma surrounding the man who was perhaps the most misunderstood heavyweight champion of all time. Patterson, who reigned from 1956 to 1959 and 1960 to 1962, was a bundle of contradictions. He was a concussive puncher, but often helped his opponents to their feet after knocking them down. He withstood the blows of sluggers like Oscar Bonavena and George Chuvalo, but average hitters like Roy Harris and amateur Pete Rademacher were able to knock him to the canvas. He lasted only two rounds in two fights with Sonny Liston, but went 19 rounds in two encounters with Liston?s conqueror, Muhammad Ali. He put himself at the forefront of the civil-rights movement, but was derided by militants as an ?Uncle Tom.? He was one of the most prominent African Americans of his time, but he preferred to be alone.
Indeed, Stratton?s ?Invisible Man? subtitle is a nod to Ralph Ellison?s classic novel of that title. Patterson was there, but not there ? or as some of his detractors might put it, not ?all there,? as the unkind nickname ?Freud? Patterson implied.
Patterson is ?all there? in this book, though. Stratton covers the familiar territory of Patterson?s rise from an emotionally disturbed boy who would hide in a hole in a subway tunnel to glory as an Olympic gold medalist, youngest man to win the world heavyweight title, and first fighter to regain that championship after losing it in the ring. Patterson doesn?t rank among the all-time greats in terms of overall ability, but he punched well above his weight in terms of historical significance.
Bringing that significance to the forefront is the strength of Stratton?s book. He debunks the ?Uncle Floyd? myth, and shows that just because Patterson favored integration over the separatism espoused by the Nation of Islam, for which Ali became a prominent spokesman, that didn?t mean Floyd was a ?white man?s Negro.? Patterson was actually what was then referred to as a ?race man,? who worked constantly to end segregation and achieve equality for black people. He was willing, for example, to scuttle his third fight with Ingemar Johansson in Miami unless the arena dropped its plans for racially-divided seating. And he marched with Martin Luther King, Jr., under less-than-safe circumstances.
For readers who were around during Patterson?s heyday, Stratton?s accounts of Floyd?s wars with Johansson, Liston and Ali, and the social context in which they unfolded, will bring back vivid memories. For those born after those tumultuous times, the book provides a colorful and valuable history lesson.
There are only a few minor errors in the text, such as referring to early Patterson opponent Joey Maxim as a lightweight before subsequently classifying him correctly as a light-heavyweight. The only major factual error occurs when Stratton writes that lightweight Joe Gans became the first black boxer to win a world title in 1902. Nope ? that distinction belongs to Nova Scotia?s own George Dixon, who won the world featherweight title in 1890.
Unfortunately, a ?howler? of a snafu appears in the dust-jacket copy, which states that Patterson ?had bouts with Marciano and Johansson.? Patterson did fight Johansson three times. But he never crossed gloves with Rocky Marciano. Floyd won the vacant title a year after Marciano retired as undefeated champion.
There is also a glaring error of omission. In writing about Patterson?s later life, and the outcome of his up-and-down relationship with his long-time manager-guru Cus D?Amato, Stratton passes over D?Amato?s late-in-life prot?g?, Mike Tyson, altogether. You won?t find Tyson?s name in the index, although three books about ?Iron Mike? are cited in the bibliography and he is mentioned in a footnote. Considering that Tyson was the last fighter D?Amato trained, and that Patterson tried to be a mentor to the teenage terror who would eventually supplant Floyd as the youngest heavyweight champion, one has to wonder why Stratton left this part of the Patterson story in the dressing room.
The book?s many pluses far outweigh these few minuses, though.
Floyd Patterson died in 2006 at the age of 71. He lived a fulfilling life and rose far above his humble origins ? origins he never forgot. Stratton?s book is an outstanding tribute to the memory of a man who was troubled in mind, but ultimately triumphant in spirit.
Charles R. Saunders is the author of several books including Sweat and Soul: The Saga of Black Boxers in the Maritimes from the Halifax Forum to Caesars Palace, as well as the Imaro series of fantasy/adventure novels. Considered by many to be one of the leading authorities on boxing in Canada, he is the current Vice-President of Boxing for the Society of North American Sports Historians and Researchers. His award-winning novel, Damballa, which centers around a fictional heavyweight title bout, is available at Amazon.com.
