BoxRec

According to an interview with Ray Arcel in the September 18, 1962 edition of The Raleigh Register: Cus D'Amato agreed to a Patterson-Liston bout in the Fall of 1953 provided it was scheduled for 8 rounds. Television people wouldn't accept a main event scheduled for under ten rounds so the bout didn't get made.

Arcel said the bout would have been in St. Louis and drawn a gate between ten an twenty grand.

liston by murder in the first.

goose 5 wrote: ↑30 Jan 2023, 21:27 According to an interview with Ray Arcel in the September 18, 1962 edition of The Raleigh Register: Cus D'Amato agreed to a Patterson-Liston bout in the Fall of 1953 provided it was scheduled for 8 rounds. Television people wouldn't accept a main event scheduled for under ten rounds so the bout didn't get made.

Arcel said the bout would have been in St. Louis and drawn a gate between ten an twenty grand.

D'Amato knowing in advance of course that TV wouldn't accept ...

What's odd is that Patterson had already fought at least one 8 round main event on television.

goose 5 wrote: ↑30 Jan 2023, 21:27 According to an interview with Ray Arcel in the September 18, 1962 edition of The Raleigh Register: Cus D'Amato agreed to a Patterson-Liston bout in the Fall of 1953 provided it was scheduled for 8 rounds. Television people wouldn't accept a main event scheduled for under ten rounds so the bout didn't get made.

Arcel said the bout would have been in St. Louis and drawn a gate between ten an twenty grand.

This story reminds me of one that is seldom told but it is true that Rocky Marciano was wanting to have a 50th fight and was really waiting on the powers that be to pencil in Bob Baker, Nino Valdes or Earl Walls.

But since Baker and Valdes put on a horrible performance against each other where the IBC ruled that they were both undeserving of a title shot, and Walls unexpectedly retired to take care of his family, it left Rocky Marciano in limbo.

The heavyweight champion of the world had his eye on Floyd Patterson, who was still ranked as a light heavyweight, and a pitch was made for Marciano to fight Patterson in an exhibition fight on ABC's Gillette Cavalcade of Sports.

However they were not interested in staging about with Rocky Marciano unless the heavyweight title was on the line and since Patterson was not ranked as a heavyweight the concept vaporized.

Not long after this Patterson had his first fight as a heavyweight and Marciano decided to just retire from the sport all together and named Floyd Patterson as one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division to fight for his vacant title.