Floyd Patterson vs. Tommy Harrison

Floyd Patterson 169 lbs beat Tommy Harrison 176 lbs by TKO at 1:29 in round 1 of 8

• Date: 1954-08-02
• Location: Eastern Parkway Arena, Brooklyn, New York, USA
• Referee: Mark Conn

Notes

• Floyd Patterson 14-1 (9 KOs) vs. Tommy Harrison 22-9 (5 KOs)
• Patterson entered as the # 5 ranked light heavyweight contender.
• Patterson was one fight removed from the first loss of his professional career to Joey Maxim (72-21-4).
• Harrison, a 12/5 betting underdog, was coming off a first-round knockout loss to Earl Walls (28-8) four months prior.
• At 176 lbs., Harrison was nine pound lighter than in his previous bout.
• Harrison was considered to be Patterson's first "name" heavyweight as he had been fighting above 180 pounds for a year prior to the bout.

Bout Summary

Patterson staggered Harrison against the ropes, floored him with a clean flurry for "four" and the mandatory eight-count, and floored him a second time with a left-right combination to the head that sent Harrison down flat on his back. Harrison barely made the count of ten. But he lurched helplessly around the ring with his arms down. Referee Conn appeared contented to let the bout continue but Patterson refused to attack and implored him to step in. Harrison said he didn't remember the second knockdown and couldn't figure why the referee was stopping the bout.

Quotes

• "I'm glad he didn't throw that last one. I'm glad he didn't hit me again. If I was as bad off as everybody says, I might have been truly hurt." - Tommy Harrison
• "He didn't land a single punch on me." - Floyd Patterson

Sources:

• "Vaniquished Harrison Glad Patterson Stopped Punching" (1954, Aug 3.) Reading Eagle p. 16. Article
• Floyd Patterson: A Boxer and a Gentleman by Alan H. Levy. 2008.