Floyd Patterson vs. Dick Wagner (1st meeting)

From BoxRec
(Redirected from Fight:20827)
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Floyd Patterson 166 lbs beat Dick Wagner 175 lbs by SD in round 8 of 8

Notes

  • Floyd Patterson 5-0 (5 KOs) vs. Dick Wagner 33-18-5 (22 KOs)
  • The two met again eight months later with Patterson scoring a fifth-round TKO.
  • Wagner was coming off a knockout win over Joey DeJohn 70-11-2 two months prior.
  • For Patterson, it was his first bout to go the distance.


Dick Wagner proved to be Patterson's first really tough opponent. He was the first that went the distance, and he tested Patterson in ways he had never experienced before. His strategy was to tire Patterson with body punches, corner and pummel him, maul him in clinches, then knock him out. In the fourth round particularly, Wagner was able to corner Patterson and wail away at him with some body blows, "beating my belly like a drum," Patterson remembered. "How I survived that beating," Patterson sighed, "I'll never know." After the fourth round Cus D'Amato yelled at him: "You want to be a champion? Well start fighting like one!" Wagner continued to do some damage, but Patterson danced well, darting in and out, landing enough punches to maintain a slight advantage with the judges. Wagner was left with a big dent in his nose and his left eye was closed. Patterson would later admit that Wagner was the first fighter he faced who genuinely hurt him with the punches he landed. "He beat my body so bad," Patterson later recalled, "I was urinating blood for days."


Source: Floyd Patterson: A Boxer and a Gentleman by Alan H. Levy. 2008.

Newspaper Article

Floyd Patterson of Brooklyn, unbeaten 19 year old Olympic champion, knows he can go eight rounds and take the bruising body punching of an experienced veteran. He finished strong last night at Brooklyn's Eastern Parkway Arena to win a split eight-round decision over Dick Wagner of Topenish, Wash. Patterson weighed 166 1/2 and Wagner 175 1/2.

Patterson's next opponent will be Wagner or Gordon Wallace of Ontario if Matchmaker Teddy Brenner has his way. Making a rematch with Wagner may be tougher than he thinks.

"We'll take Wagner under the right conditions," said Manager Cus D'Amato, "but he'll have to make the same weight."

"I'll fight him again," said Wagner, "but not at that weight. I weighed 182 in training and had to take off too much to meet the 175 pound contract. If I had to do it again it would be the same story. He's a good comer, a credit to the Olympic team, but he never had me in real trouble."

Patterson called Wagner his toughest opponent. His manager agreed. Patterson's superior speed down the stretch told the story.

"He hurt me with those body punches," said Patterson. "I didn't notice how much until I got out of the ring. Most important I learned I can go eight, and ten if necessary. I got my second wind about the seventh round. I didn't touch him solid, but I thought I won decisively."

Patterson's goal for the future is the heavyweight title but, as he puts it, "that's a long time off."

The bout, cut to eight rounds because of Patterson's age, was televised (Dumont) in certain areas and witnessed by 2,000.


Source: "Floyd Patterson Whips Wagner" (1953 Apr. 14) The Day p. 12.

Retrieved from "https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php?title=Floyd_Patterson_vs._Dick_Wagner_(1st_meeting)&oldid=430382"