From Bethnal Green in London, Pattenden made his professional debut in July 1926 with a win over Billy Clark.
He won his first 14 fights, including victories over Frankie Ash, Nel Tarleton, George "Kid" Nicholson, and Harry Stein.
His first defeat came in April 1927 against the American Milton Cohen,[1] starting a run of five fights without a win, including a draw and a loss to Archie Bell.
In June 1928 he faced Nicholson at the National Sporting Club for the British bantamweight title that had been taken from Johnny Brown due to his failure to defend it for almost three years.
[8] He put together some better results, despite being out for several months due to burns to his hands sustained in September 1929,[9][10] and in March 1930 faced Dick Corbett in what was effectively a British title eliminator at the Royal Albert Hall.