Ron Lyle & Earnie Shavers. I see Patterson cleaning Shavers' clock, but Im not so sure hed have the same success against Lyle. Could be interesting. Thoughts?
with Shavers, there is a 50% chance he boxes the shit out of him and knocks him out and a 50% chance he wakes up in the dressing room with Lyle, he's getting knocked out, IMO
It's a high-risk fight any way you slice it vs. Shavers, but I'd be a bit more favourable to Patterson than most on that one, IMO. Quarry got him in one without a fraction of Patterson's handspeed (& IMO, Patterson was a harder hitter than Quarry, too), & I think Patterson showed in his second fight with Johansson that he would not always be intimidated by a puncher. He had to overcome a lot mentally to take that second fight, & he nearly decapitated a fighter no more vulnerable than Shavers. Still, you'd never know & would never bet on it. Lyle is a tough case, IMO. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone picked him to knock Patterson out, but Lyle wasn't Liston & he was found out more than once against top-flight opposition. Quarry, again as a reference point, boxed him stupid at times, taking the decision in their fight. Patterson was leagues faster with his hands, had a good enough left hook (especially off the short right hand) to get Lyle's attention, & threw more. Lyle could sometimes be too conservative (he was not the all-out wrecking ball Liston & Foreman were), & it didn't always serve him so well. That said, Patterson would definitely be vulnerable to Lyle's punch, & Lyle was a more durable fighter than Johansson, & if he chanced his arm here (he may well fancy his chances), though neither the puncher nor the finisher Liston was, he has the power & the grit to stop Patterson.
