July 2, 1962 - The heavyweight champion, Floyd Patterson, and the challenger, Sonny Liston, will wear 8-ounce gloves and take the mandatory 8-count in case of knockdowns in their title bout Sept. 25. These facts were disclosed today by Joe Triner, chairman of the Illinois Athletic Commission. At the formal signing of contracts, Triner said both moves were made without request by either fighter, “as insurance.” It was obvious that he intended to avoid the chance of permanent injury. Patterson indicated he assumed the moves were made because of the death of Benny Paret from blows suffered in his welterweight title bout with Emile Griffith in March. “This is a sport,” Patterson said, “and sometimes steps must be taken to protect the fighter. I imagine this has some bearing on the Paret-Griffith fight, which to me is good enough.” “It’s okay with me,” Liston said. “All I want is a referee who can count further than eight and not stop somewheres along the way.”
