Editing Floyd Patterson (section)

==== End of career ====
Patterson remained a legitimate contender. In 1966 he traveled to England and knocked out British boxer [[Henry Cooper (boxer)|Henry Cooper]] in the fourth round at Wembley Stadium.

[[File:Floyd Patterson Wild Wild West 1968.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|Patterson tried his hand at acting. He is seen in this 1968 ''[[The Wild Wild West]]'' episode as a landowner who is in danger of losing his property.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0748555/ |title="The Wild Wild West" The Night of the Juggernaut |publisher=IMDb |access-date=July 16, 2018}}</ref>]]
When Ali was stripped of his title for refusing induction into the military, the [[World Boxing Association]] staged an eight-man tournament to determine his successor. Patterson fought [[Jerry Quarry]] to a draw in 1967. In a rematch four months later, Patterson lost a controversial 12-round decision to Quarry. Subsequently, in a final attempt at winning the title a third time, Patterson lost a controversial 15-round referee's decision to [[Jimmy Ellis (boxer)|Jimmy Ellis]] in Stockholm, in 1968, despite breaking Ellis's nose and scoring a disputed knockdown.

In September 1969 he divorced his first wife, Sandra Hicks Patterson, who wanted him to quit boxing, while he still had hopes for another title shot.

Patterson continued on, defeating [[Oscar Bonavena]] in a close fight over ten rounds in early 1972.

At age 37, Patterson was stopped after seven rounds with a cut eye while still competitive in a rematch with Muhammad Ali for the [[North American Boxing Federation|NABF]] heavyweight title on September 20, 1972.<ref>[https://boxrec.com/media/index.php/Muhammad_Ali_vs._Floyd_Patterson_(2nd_meeting) Muhammad Ali vs. Floyd Patterson (2nd meeting)]. Boxrec</ref> The defeat proved to be Patterson's last fight, although there was never an announcement of retirement.