Have Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?

Yes. Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali have met 2 times and Muhammad Ali leads the series 2-0.

Who has the better record, Patterson or Ali?

Floyd Patterson is 55-8-1 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Muhammad Ali has the higher win percentage.

Who has more knockouts, Patterson or Ali?

Floyd Patterson has 40 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Floyd Patterson has more.

Do Patterson and Ali have any common opponents?

Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali share 9 common opponents: Jerry Quarry, George Chuvalo and Oscar Bonavena (and 6 others). Muhammad Ali fared better against 5 of them.

How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Patterson and Ali?

This comparison is drawn from 64 bouts tracked for Floyd Patterson and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

Floyd Patterson vs Muhammad Ali — Records, Stats & Common Opponents

🇺🇸UNITED STATES

Muhammad Ali

Floyd Patterson (55-8-1) and Muhammad Ali (56-5) are compared on record, finishing method, activity, and common opponents on Kill The Body. The two have met 2 times. They share 9 common opponents.

Patterson

Wins40 KO · 73%

Losses

Draw64 tracked bouts

Ali

Wins37 KO · 66%

Losses

Draws61 tracked bouts

Head to Head

Ali leads 2–0

Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali have met 2 times; Ali leads 2–0.
Met	1965Nov 22	1972Sep 20	Series
Floyd PattersonFighter A	LLost	LLost	0–2W–L
Muhammad AliFighter B	WWon	WWon	2–0W–L
Result	TKOR12Patterson vs Ali	RTDR7Patterson vs Ali	2Meetings

The Numbers

Patterson 4 · Ali 4 of 8 measurable rows

PattersonEdge = longer wingAli

Record: 55-8-156-5 (edge)
Win %0–100%: 86.7%
91.8% (edge)
Wins by knockoutmax 40: 40 (edge)
37
KO rate0–100%: 72.73% (edge)
66.07%
Stoppage rate (tracked wins)^†0–100%: 73% (edge)
66%
Times stopped^†max 5: 5
1 (edge)
Title reignsmax 9: 4
9 (edge)
Bouts per year^‡max 3.2: 3.2 (edge)
2.9
Bouts trackedcoveragemax 64: 64
61

† Counted from bouts Kill The Body has ingested, not a career total. · ‡ Across each fighter's tracked career span. · Bars are scaled per row — percentages on 0–100, counts against the larger of the two. Every figure is also printed as text.

Tale of the Tape

Heightnot held: Floyd Patterson: No height on file; Muhammad Ali: 6′3″
Reach+7″: Floyd Patterson: 71″; Muhammad Ali: 78″ (edge)
Agenot comparable: Floyd Patterson: Died aged 71; Muhammad Ali: Died aged 74
Stance: Floyd Patterson: Orthodox; Muhammad Ali: Orthodox

Floyd Patterson left, Muhammad Ali right, as everywhere on this page. Age is stated, not scored — neither age nor stance carries an edge.

How They Win

Tracked bouts only

Floyd Patterson55 wins · from 64 tracked bouts

40 by KO/TKO 73%15 on the cards 27%

Muhammad Ali56 wins · from 61 tracked bouts

37 by KO/TKO 66%19 on the cards 34%

One square per tracked win. Counted from the bouts Kill The Body has ingested for each fighter — Floyd Patterson 64, Muhammad Ali 61 — not from a career-complete method table.

Common Opponents

9 shared

9 shared · Ali better on 5 · even on 49 shared · Muhammad Ali better on 5 · even on 4

PattersonFloyd Patterson

Opponent

AliMuhammad Ali

Floyd Patterson
0–1–1 against
Loss, MD
1967Oct 1967
Draw, MD
1967Jun 1967
QuarryJerry QuarryUnited States 53–9–4Ali betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 0–1–1
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, TKO 7
1972Jun 1972
Win, RTD 3
1970Oct 1970
Floyd Patterson
Win, UD
1965Feb 1965
ChuvaloGeorge ChuvaloCanada 73–18–2 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 1–0
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, UD
1972May 1972
Win, UD
1966Mar 1966
Floyd Patterson
Win, UD
1972Feb 1972
BonavenaOscar BonavenaArgentina 58–9–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Muhammad Ali
Win, TKO
1970Dec 1970
Floyd Patterson
Loss, PTS
1968Sep 1968
EllisJimmy EllisUnited States 40–12–1 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 1–0 to 0–1
Muhammad Ali
Win, TKO
1971Jul 1971
Floyd Patterson
Win, KO 4
1966Sep 1966
CooperHenry CooperUnited Kingdom 40–14–1 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 1–0
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, TKO 6
1966May 1966
Win, TKO 5
1963Jun 1963
Floyd Patterson
Win, KO 11
1959May 1959
LondonBrian LondonUnited Kingdom 37–20–1 · HeavyweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Muhammad Ali
Win, KO 3
1966Aug 1966
Floyd Patterson
0–2 against
Loss, KO 1
1963Jul 1963
Loss, KO 1
1962Sep 1962
ListonSonny ListonUnited States 50–4 · HeavyweightAli betterMuhammad Ali better — 2–0 to 0–2
Muhammad Ali
2–0 against
Win, KO 1
1965May 1965
Win, RTD 6
1964Feb 1964
Floyd Patterson
Win, KO 6
1964Dec 1964
PowellCharlie PowellUnited StatesEvenEven — 1–0 both
Muhammad Ali
Win, KO 3
1963Jan 1963
Floyd Patterson
Win, KO 5
1956Nov 1956
MooreArchie MooreUnited States 186–23–10 · MiddleweightEvenEven — 1–0 both
Muhammad Ali
Win, TKO 4
1962Nov 1962

Both sides are set at the same size on purpose. Kill The Body does not score a second-round knockout above a split decision — the edge counts losses first and wins as the tiebreak, and the rest is yours to argue. Shared opponents are matched on fighter identity, not on name, so two different fighters with the same name never merge into one row.

Current Form

Oldest left · newest right

Floyd Patterson had won four in a row before losing by stoppage to Muhammad Ali. Patterson last boxed on Sep 20, 1972.WWWWL

Brown Aug 1971Harris Nov 1971Bonavena Feb 1972Agosto Jul 1972Ali Sep 19723.2 tracked bouts per year

Muhammad Ali has lost two straight, after one straight win. Ali last boxed on Dec 11, 1981.WLWLL

Shavers Sep 1977Spinks Feb 1978Spinks Sep 1978Holmes Oct 1980Berbick Dec 19812.9 tracked bouts per year

Common Questions

With the rows behind them

Have Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali ever fought each other?: Yes. Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali have met 2 times and Muhammad Ali leads the series 2-0.
Who has the better record, Patterson or Ali?: Floyd Patterson is 55-8-1 and Muhammad Ali is 56-5. Muhammad Ali has the higher win percentage.
Who has more knockouts, Patterson or Ali?: Floyd Patterson has 40 knockout wins and Muhammad Ali has 37. Floyd Patterson has more.
Do Patterson and Ali have any common opponents?: Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali share 9 common opponents: Jerry Quarry, George Chuvalo and Oscar Bonavena (and 6 others). Muhammad Ali fared better against 5 of them.
How much fight data does Kill The Body have on Patterson and Ali?: This comparison is drawn from 64 bouts tracked for Floyd Patterson and 61 bouts tracked for Muhammad Ali. Method and activity splits reflect those bouts only.

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Floyd Patterson vs Muhammad Ali — record, stats and common opponents compared

Floyd Patterson

Muhammad Ali