Smallish Heavyweight Took a Real Pounding

Thirty-seven years ago tonight, the era of little heavyweight boxing champions came to a concussive conclusion.

When 6-foot-1, 214-pound Sonny Liston was matched against 5-11, 189-pound Floyd Patterson in Chicago’s Comiskey Park, it looked like a gross mismatch, which is exactly what it was.

In the center-ring prefight instructions by referee Frank Sikora, Patterson looked like a middleweight standing in front of the hulking Liston, built like a guy who could straighten horseshoes.

Instead, he straightened Patterson.

In 2 minutes 4 seconds.

Early in Patterson’s six-year term as heavyweight champion--interrupted by a loss to Ingemar Johansson-- some quietly said there was a reason for Patterson’s peek-a-boo defense: to protect a fragile chin.

This became evident in 1958 in Oceanside, where Patterson was training for that summer’s fight with Roy Harris. A light-heavyweight stablemate, Jose Torres, put Patterson flat on his back with one punch to the jaw in a sparring session.

When Johansson did it in 1959, it was no longer a secret. Now it was Liston’s turn.

With Patterson on the ropes, Liston landed a left and right to the head and Patterson sagged to the canvas. He arose, but Sikora later said: “I asked him what his name was and there was no response.”

Nine months later, in a rematch, Liston did it again, in 2 minutes 10 seconds.

Since that night, only a few heavyweights have won championship bouts weighing less than 200 pounds, and all who did were bigger than Patterson.

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Also on this date: In 1929, Yankee Manager Miller Huggins, 50, died of blood poisoning. . . . In 1974, Dodger pitcher Tommy John successfully underwent a new surgical technique--Dr. Frank Jobe took a tendon from John’s right arm and transplanted it to his left. Result: John pitched 14 more seasons. . . . In 1993, Kansas City’s George Brett retired after 20 full seasons, a lifetime average of .305 and three batting championships.