Evening star., 1960-01-11
WIN, LOSE OR
DRAW ,, FRANCE, ,rAuu
Floyd and the Peekuboo

DEPENDING ON WHAT one has in mind, it is interest
ing to note that Floyd will stick to his peekaboo
style when he faces ngemar JohanSSon in their heavy
weight title remach You want short evening? Go it,
Il won the title with it," Patterson is quoted referring
to his style of boxing with his fists held in front of his
10 Ie pulled apart on occasion like person operating
traverse rod Il definitely not going discard it now
Old-timers shudder when they watch Patterson in
action Not that there standard style Dempsey
was weaver. Gene Tunney affected the
CLASSIC pose, refinement of Jem MaceS Joe Louis was
shuer hiding his chin behind perhaps the best left ab
and hook of all
. But every of these champions was balanced to
throw the Big Punch ncludng Tunney Patterson never is
THE LATE BILLY CAVANAUGH famed boxing coach
at West Point for years, had look Patterson
before the exchamp turned pro- He was good-looking
hghter Billy conceded. This about the time Floyd
represented the United States in the Oympics O course
he was only middeweight and he hit like mddleweght
but liked him. Then saw him turn pro and that
peekaboo technique and wondered"
1t was Gus DAmato, his unfrocked manager who ad-
Vocated the peekaboc The evidence is that DAmato and
Patterson got considerable mileage of it, Floyd re-
minds he did the title But the sylists over the years
Louis Braddock Tunney, Dempsey-have cast suspect
eyes at Floyds system
- Patterson himself, indcts the peekaboo when inter-
viewed his three-round knockout last June against
JehansSon Floyd down seven times but the first blast
was the that counted 1t straight right hand
lingo never landed another good.
Il never saw it coming" Patterson has repeated time
after time.
OF he didn't according old timers Floyd
simply parted his fists at the time the Vivacious Viking
unloading his 'toonder and lightning"
WHEN HE TRAINED for Johansson, Patterson lived
and worked out at incredibly hot and squalid place
New Jersey. Rocky Marciano, who had been hired by
newspaper to write about the fight already had Travelled
the plush GroSsnger resort in the Catskl, where
Swedish challenger allegedly training.
"Jeez, the guy don't fight" Rocky complained Hes
laying out there by the swimming pool Or he's the golf
course"
Marciano himself used to train at GroSSingers but that
merely matter of address. Rocky the swim
ming pool the links Jennys famous hotel AL WE'LL saw
to it that Marcano lived in unpanted frame house
eral miles away from the center of activities matter
OF fact Rockys Setup unused areld and there is
nothing more barren.
BUT TO RETURN to the topic Rocky returned from
his ruteSs study of the fun-lovng lingo and nostrils
faring at the sight and sweat of EShans looked at
Patterson.
Patterson lived the Spartan life which Marciano knew
only too we'll Floyd lived a single and slept in an
old brass bed.
OF none of this did Marcano dsapprove This the
tough guy, Patterson. There wasn't Bikin in his
robe But then Rocky the champion of the world at
that time in his boxing exercises against sparng partners
He has fast hands" Rocky proclaimed when pressed
Then moment later he admitted that he might try
comeback on his own.